On Friday 29 November, Portugal’s António Costa, who will replace Belgium’s Charles Michel as the head of the European Council from 1 December, took up the motto of the European Union, promising to work tirelessly to build the “unity” of the Member States, while respecting the “diversity” that enriches the continent.
Lisbon is my city, Portugal is my country and “Europe is our common home”: “There is no contradiction” between these three elements, he said at a handover ceremony with Mr Michel, in the presence of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
According to the former Portuguese Prime Minister, Europe is above all a community of “values” drawn from history: human dignity, human rights, the rule of law and the protection of minorities.
“We all want peace”, added Mr Costa, referring to Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine. “But peace must not be the peace (...) of capitulation nor reward the aggressor. It must be just, lasting and based on international law”, he said, adding that what was at stake in Ukraine was respect for the principles at the heart of the United Nations Charter.
The future President of the European Council wants the EU to write “a new chapter” in its peace project by being “stronger, more efficient, more resilient and, yes, more autonomous in terms of security and defence, and always working for a strong transatlantic partnership”. The enlargement of the EU, which must not follow “artificial timelines”, must also be a geopolitical project, he added.
Mr Costa also defended the idea of a Europe capable of building bridges at international level. “We should abandon concepts such as ‘Global South’ or ‘Global North’. The Union’s external action must acknowledge that both the South and the North are plural. The EU must be a global partner” acting for peace and championing causes such as the fight against poverty and climate disruption, and for the protection of the oceans, he said.
Finally, according to the Portuguese socialist, the EU has always been anchored in “the promise of shared prosperity”.
Referring to the ‘Draghi’ report on European competitiveness and the ‘Letta’ report on the internal market, as well as the Budapest Declaration of the EU27 (see EUROPE 13521/2), Mr Costa advocated completing the single market.
We need to demonstrate to the public that we are able to respond to their concerns, such as “housing, migration, ageing and the climate”, he concluded.
Mr Costa wishes to organise informal seminars on specific topics throughout his two-and-a-half-year term of office (see EUROPE 13534/20). The first seminar will take place in February and will focus on defence, in the presence of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
See Mr Costa’s speech: https://aeur.eu/f/ek9 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)