Let me start by congratulating Belén Martinez on her appointment as Secretary General of the European External Action Service. I wish you all the best in your new capacity.
Dear ambassadors,
The occasion today is dedicated to you. To say thank You for your work as representatives of the European Union. To say Thank You for your analysis, your contributions and your creative diplomacy. And to say Thank You to all colleagues in delegations who support you in those endeavours.
My thoughts are especially with all those who are on difficult missions for the European Union. In places far away. Of volatility. Under great pressure. Who steer European Union diplomacy through these challenges. Your work is essential. We count on you and of course you can count on us.
We face today a world of fragmentation and polarisation. Of disorder and complexity. A world in which power politics have made a comeback. In which some are working to weaken the rules of the international order. In which Russia has damaged the post-war European security architecture with its war of aggression against Ukraine. A world in which we have seen:
- Less multilateral commitments to tackle global challenges like climate change and poverty reduction;
- War used as a geopolitical tool to advance national interests;
- Hybrid attacks on our critical infrastructures and democratic processes;
- Protectionism as an economic way to address problems and economic coercion to apply pressure on others;
- New technologies disrupting the balance within political systems and between nations.
So, it is true. It’s a world of disorder, of paradox, of nuance and plurality, of risks and threats, of multipolarity, of uncertainty.
That is why the European Union needs to be a reliable partner who provides predictable and clear commitments to the rules-based order. In today’s multipolar world, the European Union doesn’t look to our future according to a logic of confrontation between blocks. The European Union doesn’t accept a division between the ‘global south’ and the ‘global north’. Because they are both plural.
In a world of competition and fragmentation, more than ever, we need joint action. Causes like fighting poverty, climate change and preserving the health of our oceans are global causes. They need common action. A shared vision.
First, despite all disorder and complexity in the world, one thing is clear: the facts in Ukraine.
- It is clear that Russia’s war of aggression was unprovoked.
- It is clear that it has caused enormous human suffering.
- It is clear that it has violated Ukraine’s sovereignty, Ukraine’s right to self-determination, Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
- It is clear that the war in Ukraine is not just a war on European soil.
- It is a war that threatens the fundamentals of the entire international community.
Rewarding the aggressor, rewarding the violation of territorial integrity, is a threat to everyone. And so, our stance is clear, too.
- The European Union will support Ukraine for as long as necessary, and whatever it takes.
- We will strengthen Ukraine’s position under any circumstances.
- For a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. A peace chosen by Ukraine and Ukrainians.
This is the message we convey to President Zelenskyy at every occasion. And we continue to do so.
Second, despite all geopolitical challenges, this is not a world for us to despair, but a world with opportunities for the European Union. Opportunities for building, strengthening, revitalising, expanding and boosting our bilateral and multilateral relationships. With the United Kingdom, with a new positive energy in our relations, confirmed by our meeting yesterday. We face the same threats and have a clear interest in closer cooperation and we are looking forward to a joint summit on 19 May.
With the United States we have a partnership rooted in our common history and deep bonds. They will endure in time. The US is our friend, our ally and our partner. Problems and differences of views can come up, also between friends. When they do, we need to address them, to talk and to find solutions. The European Union and the United States together have been pillars of the rules-based order, respecting national sovereignty, territorial integrity, stability of borders and the UN Charter.
The European Union will stand for this universal respect of international law and the rules-based order anywhere. In Ukraine, in the Middle East, in Africa and of course also in the Kingdom of Denmark. All the more – obviously – if the territorial integrity of a member state of the European Union is questioned.
The message on this I got from all 27 Member States around the table at yesterday’s leaders retreat was loud and clear. The world needs European engagement. Europe needs to bring its global partners closer.
Over these two months in office, I have been in close contact with leaders from across the world. More than thirty meetings and calls to improve our engagement and protect our interests. The European Union can play to its strengths. We have the instruments and the political will. We need to tailor our approaches, engage more effectively and deliver to our citizens. Foreign policy is also a tool to improve their lives. Strengthening our common interests, mutual prosperity and shared priorities, like climate action, sustainable development, poverty and disease reduction, the global debt, the reform of global financial institutions.
That is why the summits this year are so important. With South Africa, with Central Asia, with Brazil, with the United Kingdom and with Japan only in this first semester. We are also working on possible summits ahead, namely with the African Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
Third, it is also clear that enlargement is the best geostrategic investment in our peace, security, and stability that we can all make. With Ukraine, Moldova and the six Western Balkan countries. Because their future lies within the European Union. This proves the European Union is attractive and powerful. We now have a new momentum for enlargement, let’s create the necessary conditions, on all sides, to take advantage of it!
Fourth, despite disorder and complexity, we also have a clear way forward to renew the European Union as a project of peace. Today, the Europe of Defence needs to be an integral part of our peace project. To protect our democracies, our citizens, our borders. We need to assume greater responsibility for our own defence to guarantee a lasting peace in Europe.
As Robert Schuman declared 75 years ago, “World peace cannot be safeguard without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it.” Yesterday’s informal leaders meeting was precisely about that: We are not discussing the If anymore. We are discussing the What and the How. What joint capabilities to develop most urgently, how to fund them, how to strengthen our most important partnerships.
We have already done a lot over the last decade: our defence spending increased by 30% between 2021 and 2024. Today, on average, the 23 member states that are also NATO allies, are spending about 2% of GDP for defence investment. Of course, we must continue in the same direction, in the most balanced way among the member states.
We need to mobilise more private and public investments. Yesterday, we discussed different options: the EIB’s expanding activities, defence as an important topic for the next European Union budget cycle, possibilities under the current MFF as well as various other options. We will continue our work to see how best to move forward. Building the Europe of Defence is crucial for the European Union. A key response to a more volatile and unpredictable world.
The European Union is a stable international actor, reliable, credible, predictable. We have a clear sense of purpose. And a clear way forward: more united, more engaged.
Despite all disorder and complexity in the world, despite some pessimism and our tendency sometimes to self-doubt, with unity we can succeed. The European Union is a strong economic power and a powerful trade actor. One of the three biggest markets in the world, the biggest source of investments and the top global destination for investments, the world leader in renewable energy and the green transformation, the top donors of development aid. And our social model protects citizens, businesses and our resilience in a unique –European – way.
Yes, there are important challenges to our competitiveness, but Europe is home to world-class research and industry and high-skilled workers. Enrico Letta’s and Mario Draghi’s reports, as well as the recent Competitiveness Compass presented by the European Commission last week, pave the way forward.
Today, we have a new energy across the Union. Focused on competitiveness and security.
Acting as a well-coordinated and united force of the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and the High Representative-Vice President of the Commission. A new energy rooted in our historical experience that we come together each time we face a crisis, that we find collective solutions in unpredictable moments.
That unity is the core element of our Union. That each of us is stronger when we act together. A new energy also rooted in understanding. We gain respect from others by engaging respectfully with them, by understanding our partners’ points of view, by assuming our weight, our values, and our importance in the world. Not more, not less. Confident, collected, creative.
This is how we should approach a difficult world. This is how we will succeed. And for this, your role, dear Ambassadors, will be crucial, you are the European Union in all corners of the world. We need to leverage that network even more, together with member states embassies, together with our partners.
Thank you very much for your work. To a new year of confidence, unity and motivation.
Source – European Council