Roberta METSOLA, EP President, pays an official visit to Vienna and addresses the Austrian National Council during the Plenary sitting. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

statement

official visit

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - Austria (T)

Austria

Vienna

president's agenda

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Vienna (Austria): Address at the Plenary sitting of the Austrian National Council

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Thank you, President Sobotka, distinguished members of Parliament. Ladies and gentlemen, what a pleasure to be back in Austria, in magical Vienna. I am honoured and grateful to have the opportunity to address the National Council. It is wonderful to be here representing the European Parliament after the renovation works have turned this beautiful building into a more open, more sustainable, more accessible beacon of democracy.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, It is that spirit of change, renewal and modernisation symbolised in this building that I want Europe to embrace. We can change, we can regenerate and we can do so while reinforcing the foundations of our European project.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Nostalgia may give us a blanket of comfort, but it cannot drive politics. We must remain future driven and have the foresight to understand that to meet tomorrow's challenges properly, we must take tough decisions today, and we must do so in a manner that is sustainable and that does not simply push more problems into the generation who come after us.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, We are in an era of polycrisis. We are facing an attack on our continent with an illegal invasion of sovereign Ukraine by Russia, with high energy costs and price hikes, with people struggling to make ends meet, raw materials becoming scarcer, inflation remaining a challenge for growth, a climate transition that cannot be ignored, migration challenges that need a holistic Pan-European approach and a postpandemic economic recovery that remains too fragile.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, But it is not the challenges that will define our era, but our collective response. And I am proud of how Europe has stood up and continues to stand up. These are as much Austria's challenges as they are for the rest of the union, and it is for us, an up to us, to show leadership.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, The key to our response has been our unity, our understanding that we are only able to face these challenges if we act together. Russia's invasion of Ukraine poses an existential threat to our union, to our way of life, and our response must be measured but proportionate. The brutal invasion is our line in the sand. Every generation faces one, and this is ours.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, We know what is at stake. We know that our freedoms, our values, our security are worth the short-term decisions that we must take. And what happens in Ukraine will shape global relations for years to come.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Now, I am not an absolutist, but for Europe, this is what we promised for generations. This is what we stand and why we stand for justice, for freedom, for the rule of law, even when it is hard to do so, especially when it is hard to do so. Because if we do not, then everything we have fought for, everything we have promised and everything we have inherited will risk starting to crumble.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, We must remain steadfast in our support. It will not be easy, but there is no question that this is necessary. It has meant a rethinking of our security and defence policy. It has pushed the debate on our strategic autonomy to the top of the agenda. It has framed our response to the digital and green transition and will continue to do so.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, And this transition can only be achieved if we are able to have the right framework for sustainable green economic growth. That is how we pay back our debts. How we address the intergenerational problems of poverty that affects our societies. How we can give young people hope and how we can do this while reaching our climate ambitions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Because these changes are not only about going green. It is about sustainable growth, about security, about ensuring people are better able to stretch their salaries. It is about future proofing our economies and how we return this project of ours, stronger than we found it. But we must be better able to cushion the social and economic impact of these decisions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, We have to explain better why and how we are doing this and why it matters. We need to listen more and listen harder to our farmers and our agricultural sector in particular. As someone put it to me recently, there is an invisible line that people cannot be pushed beyond. People must have confidence in the process and they must be able to afford it. Otherwise, it will not succeed.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, This is one example of the Europe of renewal that I spoke about. I want people to recapture the sense of purpose of enthusiasm for Europe, a Europe for all, where all of us feel able to live. Now, I know the excellent work an Austrian this Parliament has done in leading the fight against antisemitism, for example, pushing the issue on a European level and acting as an example to us all. So thank you, dear President, for your initiative and leadership on this.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, The European Union stands for something we must be proud of that and the European Parliament belongs to Austrians. Some of my colleagues are here today as much as anyone else. No decisions in Europe are taken without you. Many are taken because of you, and none of our policies work if people are not on board.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, That is true for migration, where the European Parliament has negotiated a difficult way forward, one that is holistic, that protects our borders but is fair with those who are in need of protection, firm with those who are not eligible and must therefore be returned safely and harsh with those trafficking and smuggling networks.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, We still have a lot of work to do, particularly on returns, and we can address this and we can safeguard and strengthen our Schengen area. A stronger Schengen means a safer Europe. A closer Europe means a better Europe.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Our Europe is not a far away entity. Europe does not seek to make everyone the same or homogeneous. We understand that we are different, that we have different cultures, national realities and our differences and our ability to come together is precisely what makes us strong.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Austria has 19 members of the European Parliament, including two Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament, know this very well. Now, that is not to say that our union is perfect. Far from it, it is not. I share many of the frustrations with some of our processes, but at the end of the day it is worth it. We can fix it. Europe is worth it. It is worth your time, your energy, your belief.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, It is worth the frustrations that it sometimes causes. It is worth the funds that it costs. And as president of the European Parliament, I have made my mandate about speaking to people in towns, villages and schools across our union, about listening and learning from Europeans how we make Europe work for them. About bringing the European Parliament closer to national parliaments.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, I know how important it is for this national Parliament, particularly. So my point is that we need to do a better job at explaining the value of Europe.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, And we must not fear change. The next European Parliament elections will take place between the sixth and the night of June 2024, and I know that with Austria's engaged, MPs and MEPs, we can keep doing this and we can keep listening, convincing and explaining. Particularly for young Austrians, many of whom I will meet today, who at 16 will be allowed to vote for the first time in European elections next year.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, I could not resist this as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once said, and I quote, "We live in this world in order always to learn industriously and to enlighten eachother by means of discussion". That is what the European Parliament is all about. That is what Europe is all about. Thank you.