“Time is running out and Europe has no time to lose”. In the Strasbourg hemicycle of the European Parliament on Wednesday 10 May, the Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said the urgency to act was of the essence.
His speech on the challenges facing the European Union, given after a bilateral meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, opened with the observation that Europe has lost its illusions: “Many of us thought that we could always put off for a while reforms, the rapprochement of Europeans together and enlargements. But for how long? We didn’t know. Ladies and gentlemen, the time for deferment is over (...). That was another time, another world, another Europe”.
Preventing conflict. With good reason, 7 years since his last address to MEPs (see EUROPE 11531/4), Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa painted a picture of an EU in turmoil and facing a multitude of challenges.
One of the reasons for this is “two years of pandemic and more than a year of an illegal, unjust and immoral war” in Ukraine. The Portuguese President said the latter was a priority.
Mr Rebelo de Sousa expressed his wish to ensure that a “just, legal and moral peace in accordance with international law and respect for human rights emerges from the conflict”. In this context, he advocates preventing new wars and “giving a new future to those who live in economic and social uncertainty”.
A strong Europe. Furthermore, the Portuguese head of State stressed the importance of the unity of the EU in order for it to play a strong role in the world, as well as the need to carefully prepare EU candidate countries in economic and social terms. “Failure to prepare will lead to dramatic disillusionment for all those who are already in the EU and those who legitimately expect to join”, he warned.
The President also called for a “clearer” definition of medium- and long-term economic and financial governance guidelines to shape European policy: “If we put off this clear definition until tomorrow, everything will become more cumbersome and complicated to deal with”.
Strengthening agreements. The importance of not hindering agreements with countries from other continents and of promoting the EU’s values, particularly in the areas of climate, science, digital development and technology, was also highlighted.
Focusing on citizens. Mr Rebelo de Sousa also reminded MEPs of the importance of investing in youth: “For me, there is no doubt that the European Union must accelerate generational change. It does not want to forget the older people who have been sacrificed economically and socially because of the pandemic and the war”. He also said it was important to prevent young Europeans becoming distant from the European institutions, which could encourage the development of populism and anti-system movements.
Finally, he called on the European Parliament to be more concrete in its actions and to focus on the daily concerns of European citizens. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)