President Metsola receives the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Lisbon 

Dear Rector Luís Ferreira,
President of the General Council Carlos Pina,
Professor Ricardo Ramos Pinto,
Professor Carla Margarida Barroso Guapo da Costa,
Minister Rangel, 
Mayor,
Members of the European Parliament,
Ambassadors and Distinguished Guests, 
Dear professors,
Dear students,
Dear Europeans,

It is such an honour to return to beautiful, vibrant Lisbon. As Professor Guapo da Costa said, Portugal has been one of the countries I have most frequently visited over my Presidential mandate. And there is a reason for it. Portugal is a country that personifies what it means to be European. A place where I always feel at home, with a people who symbolise the spirit of resilience, of solidarity and of togetherness - values that Europe must continue to embrace. It’s what I call the Portuguese effect. 

The honour, however, is made all the greater as I stand before you in the prestigious University of Lisbon receiving the title of Doctor ‘Honoris Causa’. Obrigada por esta homenagem. Beyond a recognition of the European Parliament’s work, I see it as a responsibility to continue standing up for Europe. As a renewed impetus to push ahead in championing our shared European values of freedom, democracy, equality and justice - that perhaps too often we take for granted. And that are increasingly coming under threat.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Next week, Portugal marks 50 years since the 1974 Carnation Revolution that ushered in your country’s transition to democracy. That saw the end to an era of repression. And the story of Portugal continued and a new chapter in the story of a free Europe was written.

Three years later, Mário Soares, alumna of this great University, Prime Minister of the first constitutional government and former Member of the European Parliament, made the first important step towards Portugal’s membership into the EU and ensured our story continued to be written together. 

We are in the city of Europe. The Treaty of Lisbon defined modern Europe. In 2007, European leaders, headed by José Manuel Durão Barroso in the Commission, came together, here, in a powerful combination of symbolism and future-driven ambition to set out Europe’s path. It meant, a stronger European Parliament but, more importantly, it meant that we were able to face the challenges of the last decade and half together. Now, we need to find that same spirit – that political courage – to get to the next steps. And again, we will look to Portugal to lead.

Portugal understood, sooner and perhaps better than most, that we can never be free until we are all free. That we can never be safe until we are all safe. And that a united Europe is the best guarantee for all our people.

It is this philosophy that guides our response to Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. A war that no one wanted, that no one invited and that targeted all that we hold so dear in Europe. It was a wake-up call to the fact that there are still those for whom, our European way of life is a threat, simply by existing. That is why we could not and we did not hesitate to stand with Ukraine when it mattered the most. It is why we stand with them still. It is why we will stand with them for as long as it takes. 

In February 2022, just a few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I met a group of women and children in Strasbourg who had just made it out of Kyiv. I asked them where they were going and they told me “Porto” - a place on the other side of the continent. It was an emotional moment, but it showed that even in the most difficult of times, Portugal did not shirk away from its responsibilities. From the values that guided itself out of the grip of oppression into democracy towards the very heart of the European Union. 

That, dear friends, is, the Portuguese effect. It is the very best of Europe on display. 

Yours is the nation where Europe begins. And the gateway to the rest of the world. From Latin America, Africa to Asia, your unique ties have meant that Europe is able to speak with a global voice and listen in a manner that enables common understanding and protects multilateralism.  

We have lived through challenging times. But as the Portuguese saying goes: O ferro mais forte é forjado no fogo mais quente. That is why I argue that Europe is stronger than it has ever been. Because of and not in spite of the challenges that have come our way. That the crises we faced made us more resilient, more determined and more united than we have ever been before. That our values matter more and emerge stronger even when they are tested as at few other times in our story.

And in the last years, our faith in our project, our values, have been tested many times over. But Europe has met the moment and stood tall. 

At the height of the pandemic, we managed to ensure the provision of vaccines and ventilators, made huge steps forward in our joint capacity for health, we supported jobs and businesses, and helped national economies recover. We only managed to do that because we worked together.

Together, we have rallied with unprecedented unity to provide military, financial, political and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. We stood resolute and firm against Putin’s intimidation tactics, and cut our dependencies on Russia.

Together we stand for humanity as we push to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and build lasting, sustainable stability and peace in the region.

Together, we are making the first significant steps at building a real EU security and defence union. One that understands our core belief in defending peace that Europe stands for. 

Still, we know that our Union’s strongest geopolitical tool remains enlargement. It is a win-win process. When it came to Ukraine, to Moldova, to the Western Balkans, to Georgia, we put our words into action.

Like we did last week, when we defied all odds by voting in a robust legislative framework for migration and asylum that is the same in all Member States. That is fair with those who are in need of protection, firm with those not eligible for asylum and hard with traffickers who exploit the most vulnerable people on our planet. That secures borders. That is based on both solidarity and responsibility. That puts humanity first.

Together, we set out a path for Europe’s green transition to address our climate emergency, boost sustainable growth and make our European economies more resilient. And here let me emphasise, that for our green transition to work, it must also be just. Just with Member States and regions. Just with businesses, with industry, with families, with people. Just in the sense that it leaves no one behind. 

In the digital realm, we have brought in legislation to make people safer online and companies more responsible.

We have passed the world’s first comprehensive Artificial Intelligence Act, striking the right balance between innovation and regulation, which is especially important amid fears of foreign interferences and election manipulation.  

And speaking about disinformation, we have just adopted two ground breaking pieces of legislations, the European Media Freedom Act and a directive to combat Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, which will ensure media independence, promote pluralism and protect journalists from abusive litigation.

Together, we have recommitted ourselves to the fight for gender equality and ushered in several laws to combat gender-based violence, to help shatter glass ceilings and to end discrimination. 

Professor, it was humbling to hear you expressing your pride in being my sponsor. I can only but reciprocate it. It is an honour to receive your nomination for my ‘Honoris Causa’. Not just as an accomplished academic and a staunch pro-European. But especially as a woman.

Because as women in academia, in politics, in economics, in most fields - we know a thing or two about what it means to be pigeon holed and stereotyped. How much steeper that hill is for women to climb. And that hill can only get steeper if women don´t help each other out. 

I think here too of Tajala Abidi. A 25-year-old Afghan woman who fled her home country in the first months of the Taliban’s crackdown on women’s freedoms and rights. 8,000 kilometres from the place she was born, today she calls Portugal her home. On one of my more recent visits to Lisbon, I met with Tajala, but she wasn’t alone. With her, she had several other women and girls who she had just helped to do the same. I am told that today, two of these women are studying Engineering at the University of Lisbon. And Tajala will soon be taking up a Masters course here herself. 

Once again, we saw the best of Europe on display: truly the Portuguese effect. 

Indeed together over the past five years, we have also given new generations the opportunity to travel, study, work, create businesses, research and innovate in a great space of freedom. Thanks to EU funding, we are giving young people across Europe the chance to live up to their full potential.

Of course, by saying all of this I do not mean to say that the European Union is perfect. It is not. And while I am proud of how we have delivered. Of the political work and solidarity that we have shown, I am so proud of the work of my Portuguese colleagues in the Parliament. At the same time, we also need to be honest about where we could have done better. Where we could have listened more and listened harder. Where the frustrations of our processes have pushed people away. Where we have gone too far too fast. Where perhaps, we haven’t gone far enough. 

In Europe, there are still too many people struggling to make it to the end of the month. Living pay-cheque to pay-cheque without knowing whether their salaries will last. Still too many young people are worrying about their future, whether they will be able to find a job or afford rent let alone buying their own home. Still too many businesses are struggling to innovate, suffocated under too much bureaucracy and excessive red tape. We can make it easier for people. 

Bringing that honesty forward is how we push back against alll those that sell a false narrative and try to undermine our democratic processes. 

But to do that we need you. 
We need people to believe. 
We need a heavy dose of that belief that you show here.

I understand that we are living in times, when it is easier to join the pessimists, when it is more popular to help destroy than it is to help build, when it is harder to navigate through the constant bombardment of social media on our senses. But our way, Europe’s way, is under pressure. And we cannot take what we already have for granted. 

I stood for my first election 20 years ago, as a wide-eyed 24 year old girl with little chance, little support but a lot of hope. I did it, knowing the impossible odds, because simply: I believe in Europe - in our power to change lives and shape the future. I believe in our way. I believe that we are better when we act together. I believe as much now as I did twenty years ago. Politics did not dampen my passion for change. It lit a fire under it. 

I did not get elected 20 years ago. I did not get elected the second time I ran for elections. But I never gave up or gave in. And eventually, I managed to convince enough people to give me a chance. I remember my father’s words to me: Be patient, be tough and believe. Words that I hold dear today as President of the European Parliament. 

Circumstances change, elections come and go, but it is that wide-eyed girl who believes who stands here today. Who still chooses politics as a way to enact change. And who is honoured beyond words at receiving this Honoris Causa today. 

If Europe is not yet the place you want it to be, understand that it is as much your responsibility to change it as it is everybody else’s. Portugal has already made history with the Treaty of Lisbon - one of the most important treaties to have shaped the EU. Do not give in to the comfort of easy cynicism or be swayed by the hollow solutions to complex questions peddled by the political extremes. 

Stand up, be the change, make your voice heard. Stop waiting for someone else to do it. On the 9th of June, go out to vote and be part of that historic Portuguese effect.

Believe. 

Thank you.

You can read the President's speech in Portuguese here.