Smarter Europe. Stronger Europe. Safer Europe.  

Good evening everyone.

Given the title of today’s event, allow me to start with a simple truth: the time of hypothetical crossroads is over. We’re long past that stage. Europe simply does not have that luxury anymore. There is only one path left: forward and together.

How did we get here? We cannot have any discussion or debate about the future direction of Europe without a proper understanding of the messages sent by voters during the elections of last June. 

A political shift took place that saw swathes of people vote out of frustration and desperation. Their message was clear: Many felt they had been pushed too far, too fast. Taken for granted. Unheard and unappreciated. 

Our Conference on the Future of Europe, two years earlier, had outlined the need for reform, for change. It was shelved, forgotten almost. Extremists and populists took advantage of the static and instead of challenging them, they were ignored and their reach, underestimated.

Too often messaging came across as moralising rather than showing how our values can find solutions to make people’s lives better and fairer. People no longer recognised the easy ideological pigeonholes of left and right they found themselves placed them in. They saw red tape damage investor confidence and even, on occasion, short-term, headline grabbing regulation that chipped away at our competitiveness.

The political centre may well have held – just – but in an era of hyper-polarisation, ignoring the clanging alarm bells that went off would be foolhardy. If we do, then we should not be shocked when we witness the dramatic increase in the disenchanted, the disengaged and the disenfranchised. 

Those are some hard truths. I think they needed to be said. 

My responsibility as President of the European Parliament, together with my colleagues, is to push for a change in mind-set - a shift in priorities. To bring Europe closer to the people we represent, whom we were elected by. To counter the false narrative sold by those who offer easy answers to impossibly difficult questions.

That’s the realism. Now, I will switch to the more optimistic outlook: we are still in time to fix the system - to reimagine and to relaunch. 

We are the continent that changed people’s lives.
 
Where, as we will see, giants like Konrad Adenauer and Charles De Gaulle, found the courage to change the world. Where Sophie Scholl, Simone Veil and Daphne Caruana Galizia refused to back down.

Last week, millions marked 80 years since the end of World War II in Europe. In France, we saw President Macron standing side by side with Chancellor Merz - a powerful reminder that even in uncertain times, the bond between these two nations remains unshakable. And that matters to Europe and the world. 

It says that the promise of Europe still holds. It is no coincidence that the people in our neighbourhood standing up against tyranny, who are fighting for freedom in the streets, do so under the banner of our twelve golden stars. They look to you. They look to us.

Because Europe is still the greatest political project in history. It is still the best place in the world to live and start a family in. And we have no shortage of capacity, talent, capital, people and innovators to lead. To renew.

We are a single market of 450 million people. 

Where Airbus, BMW and Mercedes made the globe move. 

Where Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Gucci, symbolise European quality. 

Where Beckenbauer, Klinsmann, Deschamps and Zidane entertained and inspired.

Where BNP, L’Oréal, Novo Nordisk and so many more grew from nothing. 

Where Rovio gave us Angry Birds and Mojang gave us Minecraft. 

Where SAP, Spotify, Mistral, invent and innovate. 

This is the home of the builders, the champions, the risk-takers, and the inventors.

We just need the resolve - the political courage - to prove that we are still open for business. For ideas. For new ways to tackle old problems. That’s how we defy the cynics and defeat those determined to see Europe fail.

People do not ask too much from their Europe: 

One. They want economic certainty: a job, their business to grow and scale up. They want to get on the housing ladder that gets further and further away every year. 

Two. They want us to make their lives simpler, not more complicated. They want systems that work. Systems they understand. 

And three. They want safety and security. For their children to be able to walk safely down the street without fear. For the peace of mind that we can stand up for ourselves. 

I don’t think it can be be too much to deliver a Europe that is smarter, stronger and safer. 

A smarter Europe is one that recognises that our way of individual freedoms and social safety nets depends on our competitiveness. One where it is possible to turn an idea into a business, to find investment, to fail and to begin again, and again. Where start-ups can scale up easily. Where bureaucracy is cut drastically - even in small things like ensuring road safety without over-complicating peoples’ lives. Where simplification is a way of operation, engrained in our thinking and the way we do things, and not as an afterthought.

I met with Chancellor Merz a few days ago, and it is clear that the message we were sent last June, reverberated in Germany’s Federal elections. 

People want results and they want them quickly. 

We want to see a smarter Europe that understands that more regulation is not the same as better regulation – in many cases the opposite is true. A smarter Europe that is able to see that there are pieces of legislation that are simply not implementable or unrealistic, or come at a far higher cost than most are willing to pay. 

A smarter Europe that is unafraid to change or even reverse course if needed. A smarter Europe that is able to lead the world on high standards without forcing our businesses to work with one or two hands tied behind their backs. That doesn’t unwittingly penalise European companies at the expense of others from beyond our continent. 

A smarter Europe that recognises our obligations to future generations in investing in clean tech and, yes, leading on climate – but doing that without killing off our industry or agriculture. 

Europe’s simplification agenda needs to signal the start of a new Europe and with the upcoming Multi-Annual Financial Framework, trigger an economic boom. MEPs, Member State Governments, industry, start-ups are all looking with high expectations. 

For us it is clear: We must be ambitious. We must be able to deliver game-changers. It must be Europe’s answer. In this new world, relying on a blunt-edged knife in a chainsaw fight will not have the expected results. 

We need the additional flexibility the past years have proven are so badly needed. We need to get real about own resources, understanding how difficult this can be, and we need to be in a position to repay our debts. 

Smarter Europe also means faster Europe. The European Parliament understood this well. This is a new Parliament and a different one from 2019. We reformed. We can move much faster today - and we are able to do that without reducing our scrutiny and legislative obligations. We are ready to deliver on Smarter Europe. Quickly.  That is what voters expect. That’s what we’ve done on ‘Stop-the-Clock’ and on so much more.

It is why MEPs question attempts to tone down the involvement of the European Parliament on critical, often divisive issues. Europe is nothing without its people. Using Treaty provisions like Article 122 is not Smarter Europe. It is also why we will keep pushing to strengthen Parliament’s legislative initiative under Article 225. Not necessarily by changing the Treaty - but by respecting it and treating citizens with the respect they deserve. That’s the legitimacy that Europe needs now. 

It is that thinking and cooperation that will deliver a stronger Europe. A strong Europe that is able to recognise that individually we are all small, but together we are a force to be reckoned with. 

A stronger Europe needs to be able to anticipate the next challenge if we are to be best placed to beat it. One person described the age we are living in right now, with the speed of the digital transformation, and Artificial Intelligence in particular, as similar to the revolution that took place in the 19th century when the world moved from an economy based on agriculture to one based on industry. It is that big, that transformative and that critical. The future is being shaped now and we cannot afford to be a follower.

We have high hopes with the billions pledged in the French AI Summit earlier this year. It showed we are serious. We now need to live up to the hype and ensure that we allow our businesses, our researchers, our engineers, our coders and our patent-holders, the space they need to compete, to innovate, to lead. 

Because a strong Europe is an engaged Europe. An influential Europe. An outward looking Europe that can sense opportunities and chase them down. That must mean finally completing our Savings and investment Union. It cannot wait. The hurdles that have been used as an excuse for over a decade, to stop it from being achieved until now are far from insurmountable.

Europe cannot allow itself to be squeezed out. Our global economic philosophy has always been free – fair - trade that benefits everyone. And the impetus we have seen with India, with Mexico, Latin America are things that we can learn from and in many aspects replicate. Adapting must also mean that we are capable of not shying away from the benefits of forging a new, closer, relationship not only with the United States, but with Canada and the United Kingdom.

Yes, Brexit still means Brexit. Yes, the realities of geography are what they are. But extraordinary times call for extraordinary moments and we need to get out of our traditional comfort zones. Ensuring a strong strategic partnership with the United Kingdom will benefit us all and boost transatlantic cooperation. 

A comprehensive deal should be the end goal of negotiations with the United States. That’s the win-win that would benefit all. And we need to keep in mind the foundations of this relationship. 

There is no greater alliance in the history of the modern world that has shaped so many lives and created so much prosperity. We must keep building and reinforcing it, while remaining ready for any scenario. That is the guarantee not only of a stronger Europe and a stronger United States, but a Europe and a world that is safer and secure. 

Without security, there can be nothing else, and for too long we have looked outwards to guarantee our safety and our way of life. That thinking is over. Every Member State now understands that for Europe to control its own destiny it must be able to operate in a world that that is more dangerous and unstable than before. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought that horrifically home. 

We need to be ready as we double down our efforts for peace and on our continued support for Ukraine. This is the message symbolised so importantly by President Macron, Chancellor Merz, Prime Minister Tusk and Prime Minister Starmer’s Europe Day visit to Ukraine.

A visit that came on the heels of the Commission’s 800 billion euro plan for Europe’s readiness. This is our way of ensuring peace through strength. 

The tools may be different but the concept is not new.  Margaret Thatcher, addressing Congress in 1985 said: 

 “Wars are not caused by the build-up of weapons. They are caused when an aggressor believes he can achieve his objectives at an acceptable price... Our task is to see that potential aggressors, from whatever quarter, understand plainly that the capacity and the resolve of the West would deny them victory in war and that the price they would pay would be intolerable.”

She was right. 

Spending more on defence and security is the first step. But throwing money at the problem will not solve it alone. Bringing our defence industries together is the smart move forward. Of course, that means finding synergies between national security policies but more importantly, it means resisting the temptation of short-term gains in favour of a long-term, strategic approach. 

That strategic approach means ensuring a system that protects borders. That manages migration flows in a manner that is fair with those really in need of protection, firm with those who are not eligible and must be sent back, and harsh against human trafficking networks. 

The European migration pact is one step we’ve taken, but we need to plough forward with legislation on returns. Far too few return decisions are implemented. Too many people who should be and who can be are not sent back. 

This is an issue we cannot ignore or abandon to the political fringes. Doing that risks illegal immigration remaining a cause of societal schisms and damaging confidence in our ability to address the issue. 

Together we are smarter, we are stronger and we are safer, even if Non est ad astra mollis e terris via. There is no easy path from the earth to the stars. But easy never built Europe - or anything else for that matter. 

That is how we can relaunch Europe as a global player. It is how we assert our strategic autonomy and protect our common interests and our people. 

That’s the Europe we must work towards.

Thank you.