To mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, Antonio TAJANI, EP President, opens a &ldquo;Citizens&rsquo; Parliament&rdquo;, an event bringing together people from all over the EU to discuss the future of the EU in the plenary chamber, in the EP in Brussels. Statements by Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Barbara HENDRICKS, Singer and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and Robert MENASSE, Austrian writer, and performance by Barbara Hendricks singing "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child"&nbsp;(extract).

Brussels

TAJANI, Antonio (EPP, IT)

keynote speech

60th Anniversary of the Treaty of Rome (T)

HENDRICKS, Barbara (DE)

Citizens’ Parliament - 60 years Treaty of Rome: extracts from the speech by Antonio TAJANI, EP President, extracts from the event and ambiance shots

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, The recent Dutch election confirmed that we are not tired of our Europe, we simply want it to work better.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, We ned to open the doors, go out, listen , discuss, understand, we need to place citizen&rsquo;s problems and the dignity of people at the heart of all our activity.

SOUNDBITE (English), Barbara HENDRICKS, Singer and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, In 1976 I followed my heart and a young Swede and moved to Europe. Nearly 25 years ago I chose to become a European citizen in order to participate in this difficult complex and yet wonderful adventure. Often during my concerts there comes a moment in which I have the impression that we, the audience and I, are hearing the music with a single ear, vibrating with the same string (...) In a brief instant we are reminded of the truth of who we are, that we are all connected and members of the family of humanity. We must be fearless, daring to look at the one that we call &lsquo;the other&rsquo;, both threatening and different, and say: &lsquo;my sister, my brother, my child...&rsquo; (applause)

Performance by Barbara Hendricks (extract) Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (applause)

SOUNDBITE (German), Robert MENASSE, Austrian writer, Why is this not declared, the self-confidence? We do we look on helplessly as nationalisms gain ground everywhere in Europe? Why are we making concessions to them rather than opposing them with more effective arguments? We have had the historic experience of nationalism, it reduced this continent to rubble and brought immeasurable suffering to hundreds of millions of people. Nationalism is not a pleasant utopia, it is certainly not a human right, it is a historic crime (applause)

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Europe is first and foremost and ideal, it&rsquo;s our civilisation, our identity. Europe is our freedom, Europe is our future and that is what we should hand on to our children; a future of prosperity, of peace and of freedom (applause)