On the occasion of the Schuman day, Antonio TAJANI, EP President makes a statement.

TAJANI, Antonio (EPP, IT)

statement

Statement by Antonio TAJANI, EP President on the occasion of the Schuman day

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Today is Europe Day. Europe&rsquo;s story is one of freedom and citizen rights. These have brought 70 years of benefits that were simply unimaginable in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. This is a story of real and lasting peace, of an identity founded on the freedom and dignity of the individual, of democracies rooted in the rule of law, of the breaking down of walls and barriers to the movement of persons, goods and capital.

I want to bring Europe closer to its citizens once again. For this, as a guiding principle of my mandate, I am making sure that politics takes the front seat and that the European Parliament has a central role and its prerogatives respected. For this reason, I work to ensure that the Parliament exercise a decisive role in the construction of this new Europe.

Today, Europe stands at a crossroads. We can either listen to the crying alarms urging us to close ourselves behind our own borders, or we can choose to continue along our European path. That path is also the path of change. Europe&rsquo;s leaders must learn to look beyond the next election. Cooperation on the basis of solidarity and a shared vision for Europe: that is the only truly effective response to the concerns our citizens about security, immigration and unemployment.