«In a few weeks, 400 million European citizens will be called to the polls to elect the new Parliament. It will be a great exercise in democracy and I hope that there will be great participation in the vote, because in this way citizens are protagonists of the future of the continent and of the Union of which they are part.” The President of the Republic stated this, Sergio Mattarellaspeaking in Ljubljana at a meeting with the Presidents of Slovenia, Austria, Croatia and Hungary for the twentieth anniversary of Slovenia’s accession to the European Union.
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European, Mattarella’s words
“It will then be the task of the European institutions and governments to ensure that the Union is a protagonist in international life by making its contribution, which is essentially a desire for peace, collaboration and stability”, underlined Mattarella. «We cannot remain in a condition in which Europe, and consequently all its member states, are in reality often spectators of what happens in the international community even in the face of events of which they sometimes suffer the consequences. This requires the courage of incisive and courageous reforms which are left to the next period, after the European Parliament elections.”
In his speech, the Head of State underlined how the EU is a “community of values” and not “a simple framework for useful economic collaboration”; just as “Slovenia’s entry into the European institutions was a very successful event”, he added “We can say that that Europe, that Union, was able to be wise and courageous by promoting, in addition to the major enlargement in 2004, also a Convention which proposed a draft European Constitution which was then not implemented due to the opposition of some countries. However, this leads me to say that today, because events demand it, we need a similar constructive spirit in the face of the challenges and also the threats that we face.”
«Incisive and courageous reforms»
Mattarella further underlined how “some countries that contribute to the life of the Union today find themselves on the border with the terrible war caused by the Russian aggression on Ukraine which violated every rule of international law. The condition of these countries that border that war would be very different if they were not firmly part of the Union. And here we see the value of choices made in due time, made promptly because history always presents the cost of lost opportunities and then it is the people who pay dearly for it later. price. This celebration of this very important event of twenty years ago for the entire Union recalls and urges us to underline the urgency, if we also want to contribute to the consolidation of peace, of the completion of the European project which is now more essential than ever, first and foremost. for the countries of the Western Balkans (countries that have been waiting for twenty years and which cannot be delayed any longer) naturally as well as for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia”.
The President of the Republic further observed that “the EU makes us progress together: among many elements we can indicate two as symbols: Schengen and Erasmus, two institutions, two realities, which mark and demonstrate European citizenship” and underlined that he is “very sensitive ” to the reminder made by the President of Slovenia, “on the full implementation of Schengen”.
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