EP President Roberta METSOLA addresses to the Members of Slovenian National Assembly in Ljubljana, on the occasion of her official visit to Slovenia. The address focuses on enlargement, climate change, the developing situation in the Middle East situation, and the upcoming European elections, and highlighted the EU's commitment to unity, climate action, peace, and democratic participation. This transcription is the result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

speech

official visit

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - Slovenia (T)

Slovenia

Ljubljana

president's agenda

Address by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to the Slovenian National Assembly

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, President Urška Klakočar ZUPANČIČ, distinguished members of the National Assembly, dear Europeans, it is a pleasure to return to beautiful Ljubljana. Thank you for giving me the honour today to address this distinguished house of democracy. The first thing I learned about the European Union is that the size of a member state matters far less than the depth of your arguments. Ideas beat geography every time. And what better place to emphasise that than here in Slovenia, a country where, even in the most difficult of times, has shown remarkable leadership in defence of our shared values, in addressing our climate challenges and in bringing the Western Balkan region closer to the European Union. Just last week, the European Council took the decision to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was no easy feat and we managed, in no small part thanks to Slovenia's commitment over the last decade.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Ladies and gentlemen, the story of Europe is as yet unwritten. But in the past two decades of EU membership, Slovenia has played a key role in the chapters that have seen us going from strength to strength, that have the power of Europe to make people more prosperous, safer and more secure. In our Europe, we see no old and no new states, no big and small countries that every nation, every region, every person has an important role to play. In January 2022, when I took office, I spoke of how people across Europe would look to the European Parliament for leadership and for direction. I could not imagine how brutal that test would be when, on the 24th of February 2022, Russian tanks rolled into sovereign, independent Ukraine. I am proud that members of the European Parliament, EU institutions and member states rallied with unprecedented unity.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, And I am especially grateful to Slovenia, to you and your people for your strong and unwavering support with Ukraine. Just a couple of weeks after the invasion, Slovenian leaders were in Kiev. You gave inspiration to the rest of Europe to stand firm. We know what is at stake in Ukraine. That is why we will continue to condemn Russia's aggression. We will continue to impose sanctions on its war machine. We will continue to assist Ukraine in becoming a member of the European Union, and we will continue to provide political, economic, humanitarian, financial and military assistance to Ukraine. And we will continue to do that for as long as it takes, because Europe will always, always stand for peace. But we know only too painfully that peace without dignity, without justice, is no real peace at all.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, It is the same philosophy, the same humanity, that drives our reaction to the situation in the Middle East. To how we are working to address the horrific humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. That is why the European Parliament was the first European Union institution to call for a cease fire. Why? We have always stood on the side of humanity, why we will keep reminding and demanding the return of all hostages, and why we underline that Hamas can no longer operate with impunity, and that they do not represent the legitimate aspirations of Palestinian people. Why we will impose sanctions on extremist settlers. This is how we get more aid into Gaza, how we save innocent lives, and how we push forward the urgent need for a two state solution that gives real perspective, a status to Palestinians and security to Israel, a peace that empowers peaceful, legitimate Palestinian leadership and that ensures lasting stability in the region.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, That is why we welcome the U.N. Security Council resolution passed yesterday and why Slovenian leadership was so critical. And I am glad your efforts were supported by my own country. Ladies and gentlemen, indeed, the last two years have not been easy. But as the saying goes, the best iron is forged in the strongest fire. That is why I argue that Europe is stronger than it has been in the last decades, that we are today more resilient, more spirited, and more united because of, and not in spite of the challenges that we have faced. We need to keep up the pace even when this is hard. That is also why enlargement remains a priority for Ukraine, for Moldova, for Georgia, for Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the Western Balkans, for us all. Because in the new geostrategic environment that we are living in an enlarged European Union that is based on clear objectives, criteria and merit will always serve as our best investment in peac...

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, In this legislature, we have put words into action. We have delivered on health, on migration, on artificial intelligence, on the twin transition, on security, on media freedom. On meeting our obligations around the world, on standing up for the European way, and on giving real possibilities for Europeans to travel, to study, to work, to create businesses in a great space of freedom. We are giving people, especially young people, the opportunity to build their talents and their future because in our shared European space, everyone should have every opportunity to live up to their full potential. Europe is not about making everybody the same. I get asked this in every country I go. We honour our different customs, our cultures, our history and our languages. This is our strength. And we should say that more. Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud of how we have delivered. Of the political will and solidarity that we have shown together, of the work of my Slovenian colleagues in...

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, 'However, that is not to say that the European Union is perfect. It is not, and we should be honest about that, honest about where we have gone too far. Where we did not match the needs and expectations of our businesses, our farmers, our young people. Honest also about where we have not gone far enough. About where red tape and bureaucracy has pushed people away. So, no, the European Union is not perfect. But it remains the best guarantee for all of our people. Perhaps along the years, we allowed ourselves to grow a little bit too comfortable. Maybe we sometimes took the benefits of Europe as so self-evident that we forgot to teach our children who do not remember the battles of the past, to fight for it. So in many places we have seen a new generation that is more sceptical than before. That is more cynical of politics. Who are more lonely. Who take the rights you protects for granted. We need to speak and we need to listen more. In the last European election...

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, And while the signs are a little bit more encouraging now, it still worries me to see that too many people are yet to feel, perhaps even to believe why their voice matters for the future they want to see. That is the challenge that we are facing in the next months. Before the European Parliament elections on the 9th of June, where the Slovenian people will be called upon to choose the nine representatives of the European Parliament, one more than in the current legislature. And that is why I'm here today as president of the European Parliament, together with members of the European Parliament. We have made it our mission to burst through the Brussels bubble and bring Europe closer to the citizens it represents.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, We are here to work with national parliaments and boost that relationship, to speak with people, especially young people, to explain Europe, to listen more to what needs fixing and to deliver faster. That is how we help people recapture their enthusiasm for Europe. We should not make the mistake of assuming that everything that we have built, and everything that we have done to get this far, where all things that came about by accident. It came about by people who sacrificed. By people who believed. By people who fought for their beliefs. It came about by people, by Slovenian people who went out to vote. And we need your help. Each and every one of you to remind people about that. Thank you.