David SASSOLI, EP President, makes a statement at the inaugural event of the Conference on the Future of Europe, in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. This transcription speech is the result of an automatic process. Check against delivery.

Conference on the Future of Europe - Inaugural Event: statement by David SASSOLI, EP President

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SOUNDBITE (Original), Caroline de CAMARET, presenter, And now in his very own hemicycle in the capital of the Alsace, I think this is a capital which is close to your heart. I think you appreciate local cuisine, that's one reason. But other reasons, well, David Sassoli, you are the president of the European Parliament. You are a fervent defender of the the role of this conference. You're a former journalist in Italy.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Caroline de CAMARET, presenter, You've always tried to listen to the people. And we need to have this discussion with this house, which is elected by direct democracy. We need to invest in the future. You are calling on European citizens to mobilise. What message would you like to give to them?

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, Thank you. And good afternoon to everyone. President Macron, President von der Leyen, Prime Minister Costa, ministers of foreign affairs, colleagues, citizens. Ladies and gentlemen, let me welcome all of you here to the European Parliament for the opening ceremony of the conference on the future of Europe, which is being held on Europe Day.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, It was important for this major democratic exercise to be launched here in the hemicycle of the home of European citizens here in Strasbourg, the seat of our institution from which we've been absent for so many months as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. We trust and hope that the parliament will very soon be able to return its plenary sessions here, in Strasbourg.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, I'd like to thank President Macron for his presence and for his involvement in this important issue, and I'd also like to thank the joint presidents of the conference, president von der Leyen and Prime Minister Costa, this hybrid opening ceremony. And I'd like to welcome all European citizens who are connected here today from our member states. I'd like to thank the ministers of European affairs, the leaders of political groups and the high representative for foreign security affairs.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, There are many, many people connected with us today. And unfortunately, we can't all be physically in this room as a result of the pandemic. And over the last months, we've seen a lot of pain amongst our citizens, our families, our workers as a result of covid. At the start of this parliamentary term, as you're aware, the conference on the future of Europe was a priority for the European Parliament. We requested it and it's being launched today.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, Yes, there has been a delay, but an awful lot has happened during recent months. Even before the pandemic, the parliament firmly believed in the importance of having an event such as this. Today, after 15 months of crisis, it's very clear to us what has worked and what hasn't worked. It's much clearer to us where the European Union is strong and what we can be proud of, but we're also aware of where we're weak and what we could improve.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, The lessons we've learnt from covid are important ones for all of us, and they're also important for the functioning of the European Union. During the last 15 months. We've had the same institutions and the same individuals in place, and yet some things haven't worked, and some have. When Europe is aware of its responsibilities, it responds effectively, rapidly, coherently. But when the European Union finds itself in a difficult situation. Then sometimes it finds itself in difficulties.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, We want to improve the way in which we function and we want to base ourselves on our values and principles to do that, because we firmly believe that democracy is stronger than authoritarianism and provides more effective responses. It respects individuals, communities and member states. And that's why we need to get down to work as of today to ensure that we function in a more consistent manner.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, Europe needs to have a clear remit, clear competences in many areas, areas in which member states alone would be marginalised and would simply struggle. We need to think of ourselves. We need to think of democracy. We need to make it capable of taking rapid decisions because our citizens want democracy to respond to their needs. But if democracy has to decide unanimously, if there can be vetoes, how can the European Union respond effectively? We need to work on ourselves.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, Because we want to leave our younger generations, not only the weight of the crisis, but pride in a European Union, which can be a reference point in a world where the challenge of authoritarianism is a major one. And we see that on the international stage at this time. This year has been a year of lessons learnt. And we shouldn't simply stash them away in a drawer somewhere. We need to look at them and understand how and where we can improve. This ceremony is launching this process.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, We have a need to move forward with this unprecedented exercise in democracy. Institutions and citizens, institutions and civil society, European institutions and national institutions all need to work together because another lesson in the crisis is that we are all part of the same whole, the European Union isn't only Brussels, it's national parliaments, it's national governments, regions as well, which are so important in the lives of our countries. Everyone needs to feel involved in this process and we want to work with them.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, We want this conference to discuss the way we are without taboos. We want clear, pragmatic suggestions as to how we can improve. The parliament obviously intends to play its role in this conference as the representatives of our citizens. Our 705 members of the European Parliament feel a major responsibility in ensuring that this exercise will be a success. They will be reaching out to citizens and to voters who place their faith in this institution.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, A year and a half ago, the temptation was to undermine the European Union in the elections, but citizens were aware that joint policy, European policy and a spirit of solidarity would enable us to overcome major difficulties. For the European Parliament, we need clear proposals at the end of this procedure based on recommendations made by citizens and debates in the plenary assembly. But the most important thing is that these suggestions be followed by action.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, These proposals will have to be a compass to guide our work during the coming decade. And by signing the joint declaration, our institutions committed themselves along those lines. Without wishing to prejudice the results of these debates, The conference will be a space for discussion in which will inevitably have to tackle the issue of European health. As President Macron said, and as the Parliament has already said, we need a European policy on human health as a result of the pandemic.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, If we don't achieve that, it would be a defeat and it would mean exposing ourselves to new crises and new difficulties. We just held the Porto summit and I believe that the social dimension will also be at the heart of the discussions during this conference. At the end of this pandemic, European solidarity will be more necessary than ever so that we can together tackle the social and economic consequences of the crisis. Dear friends, make no mistake, without increased social cohesion, the identity of our societies and the essence of our democracies would be under threat.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, I also believe that the time has come to reflect on the functioning and identity of the European Parliament. As I said earlier, our democratic systems constantly need to adapt to the context in which we live because democracy is built on a daily basis. We also know that democracy is fragile. And let me remind you all of the moment at the start of this year, when all of us were looking to Washington, where there was an effort to attack the American Congress. The parliament is the guarantor of democratic values in the European decision making process. And that's something that we particularly need to reflect on.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, Our institution has 705 members and we represent the pluralism that exists in our democracies and our democratic lives in Europe. And I think, therefore, that we have to reflect on how we can boost the central role of the European Parliament, particularly with regard to its powers of initiative. As is the case for every national parliament, the right of initiative should be given to the European Parliament so that our institution can make proposals to the commission and to the council and not just receive their proposals.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, This would help to give the parliament increased capacities and would improve democracy. We also need to increase the transparency of elections and enable citizens to indicate their preference for president of the commission. I hope that the conference will also deal with the lead candidate issue because I firmly believe that this will contribute to citizens' need to be more involved. In the same way it's crucial to look at the issue of unanimity in the council. As I said earlier.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, We see that in the world there are geopolitical players who attack us and take advantage of our divisions to weaken us. This contributes to citizens' distrust, and that's something that we have to fight because a democracy that can't respond rapidly is a democracy that can easily be attacked. There are many proposals, many things to think about, every institution puts forward its own priorities and citizens need to help us to understand the spirit of the times, which requires more Europe.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, All these reflections and those that emerge from our citizens may well need an update of our treaties. And I would ask everyone, if that's the case, to be brave, to be generous. There should be no taboos and we shouldn't be afraid. And it's in that spirit that we will hold these discussions so that we can find the responses that our societies require of us. Personally, I firmly believe that the awareness of our unity and a common destiny is shared by the majority of our citizens now more than ever, because many people have become aware that without Europe's initiatives, without a European policy, all our countries, all our communities and our citizens would be weaker.

SOUNDBITE (Original), David SASSOLI, EP President, Together, let's build a stronger, more resilient, more democratic and more united Europe. That's the message that we need to send out from here in Strasbourg today, the capital of the European Union. And I think this is the message that can push our citizens to give us the responses we need. Thank you.

Conference on the Future of Europe - Inaugural Event: statement by David SASSOLI, EP President

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