Addressing the ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the International Charlemagne Prize in Aachen, the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola said that it is time to make real and concrete steps towards building a closer and stronger Union.
Mayor of the City of Aachen, President of the Landtag, Chairman of the Charlemagne Prize Board, Ministers, Members of Parliament, distinguished guests,
It is truly an honour and a privilege to join you in celebrating the 75th anniversary of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen. An important milestone for an impressive initiative that pays tribute to all those who mark our European journey, year after year. Today, however, is not just a moment for reflection. It is a moment to recommit ourselves to the ideals that sustain this award... that bind us together as Europeans.
Dear friends, Dear Europeans,
75 years ago, after the destruction, the violence and the callous murder that reached its tragic peak in World War II, two simple - yet powerful - words emerged as guiding belief: Nie Wieder. Never Again. And to ensure that those words were not just spoken but lived, six countries came together to affirm the Schuman Declaration. So that by pooling their coal and steel production they would make war between historic rivals "not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible”. But this is only one part of the story.
75 years ago, here in the epicentre of Charlemagne’s empire, the place where the idea of a united Europe first took shape, the citizens of the city of Aachen were also steadfast in their belief. And so, alongside this newfound political momentum, the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen was born. A prize that gives Europe - gives freedom and democracy - a voice, by annually honouring “exceptional work performed in the service of European unity”. And it really has.
If our political and economic project is the heart of European integration, the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen is the soul of it. And what makes this prize so unique is not just its history, but who awards it. Not governments, not institutions, but citizens – people who believe in Europe not as a distant project or an abstract figure on a map, but as a shared responsibility. That is the spirit of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen. And after 75 years, that idea, that spirit, is more important than ever before.
Last year, when millions of Europeans went to the polling booths to elect a new European Parliament, too many were those who went out to vote from da sense of desperation and frustration. It was not necessarily that they have lost faith in our shared project, but rather that they struggle to see how Europe is able to address their concerns. People sometimes feel unheard and under-appreciated. All they want to see is how Europe can make a tangible difference in their everyday lives.
Now if there is one thing you can be sure of, it is that as President of the European Parliament, I am as pro-European as it gets. I began my journey into politics precisely to campaign for my country to join the European Union. And that, by the way, is why the European Charlemagne Youth Prize is especially close to my heart. But even if so, I think a degree of self-critical analysis, of listening more, of changing course when needed, is precisely how we can rebuild people’s trust in our shared project. What will strengthen Europe in the long term.
I want our best days to be ahead of us and I know that that means putting our economy back on a stable path for growth. Boosting European competitiveness and cutting the red tape. Simplifying people’s everyday lives. We should be proud - and rightly so - of our European way. Of placing our people at the very core of everything that we do. We need to return to that. And that calls for an ambitious approach.
The same is true when it comes to completing our single markets for energy, capital markets, telecoms, banking, and security. Take capital markets, for example. Studies show that integration could boost European GDP by 2 or 3 percent. It is a resource that is ripe for the taking.
When Dr Duisenberg, then President of the European Central Bank, accepted the International Charlemagne Prize in 2002 on behalf of our common currency, the Euro, he made an interesting point. He said: “It is not enough to say that the Euro is the symbol of a large European community. As a matter of fact, the introduction of the Euro also goes back to the economic interests that it materialises”. He had it right.
We cannot just ask people to get behind something; we need to show them why it matters to them. Because when people see and feel it, that is when they feel the responsibility to protect it. And that is what we saw here in Aachen seven and a half decades ago.
The same approach applies to free and fair trade. Europe is one of the most open economies in the world, and trade has been a major driver of our prosperity. Now that does not mean that we should not continue to act decisively to protect our workers, businesses, and consumers. But this cannot turn into a permanent fight. Trade wars with higher tariffs and counter tariffs benefit nobody, and there is a way for us all to win.
Ultimately, this legislature must be as much about prosperity as it is about security. Because without a strong, competitive, fair, open economy, we will not have the resources we need to invest in our security, and our people. We will not have the weight to stand our ground.
I remember listening to President Zelenskyy two years ago in this hall, when he received the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen. I know many of you were here too. He opened by saying: “All of us in this room [...] We are all founders of peace. Exactly the founders of peace. This is our primary duty to our countries, to our Europe, and to our history”.
That is true. The European Union is first and foremost, a peace project. We know the cost and the devastation of war. The city of Aachen more than most. That is why peace will always, always, be something we are for. But let’s be clear about what that means. It means peace must be genuine, it must be dignified, and it must last.
Our people’s security and the security of the Ukrainian people are tied. And to get there, Ukraine needs sustained support. Because a Ukraine that is not supported, that does not have the strength to resist, will not be in a position to find that elusive peace. Europeans who spent half a century under a boot behind the Iron Curtain, understand this all too well. That is why we stood with Ukraine. And that is why we stand with them still.
It means Europe is now getting serious about its own security. Defence spending has risen 20% in the last five years. But we need to go further.
Last week, I attended the Special European Council with other EU leaders. We have some very good proposals to work with. Extraordinary times require immediate measures, so I welcome all creative and flexible solutions to substantially increase and accelerate our investments in the defence sector. But it cannot stop there.
Now is the time to make real and concrete steps towards building a closer Union. More than ever before. For decades, this is something the European Parliament has called for. Because as Count Coudenhove-Kalergi, the first laureate of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen, said, "It is not just a common history, but a common destiny that makes the union of the people of Europe a necessity".
Dear friends,
Europe is a shared responsibility. But that onus is on us to show that Europe can deliver. And we can do that. We will do that.
Ours is the greatest political project in history. We are the continent who bled to beat back tyranny. We are home of the builders, the risk-takers, the mavericks, and the inventors. The Renaissance of Europe is within our grasp.
It is remarkable how things unfold. The same parallel tracks that pushed Europe forward 75 years ago are the same ones that must drive us today: peace, security, and the everlasting promise of a better life for our people. And once again, the time for indecision is over.
As the 1950 Schuman Declaration foreshadowed: “Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity”. Like our founding mothers and fathers, like the people of this great city of Aachen knew back then, there is only one path left to take: forward and together.
You can read the President's speech in German here.