Sommaire: Remarks by EU Commissioner Dimas on Europe Day (New York, 9 May 2006)
EU Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas, gave the following remarks at a Europe Day Reception organized by the Delegation of the European Commission to the United Nations at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York on the 9th of May 2006.
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to this Europe Day Celebration in New York, on behalf of the European Commission.
It's a happy coincidence that I am here in New York on May 9th in my capacity as EU Environment Commissioner, participating in the UN's Commission on Sustainable Development this week.
As you know, Europe Day, May 9th, is the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration. Speaking in Paris in 1950, Robert Schuman, then Foreign Minister of France, proposed a new form of political arrangement for Europe, whose aim was to make war between Europe's nations unthinkable. Over 50 years later we recognise that his vision paved the way to our current European Union, and brought Western Europe an unprecedented period of peace.
The creation and success of the European project has been described as "one of those events which happen in the world only every four or five hundred years". The last 20 years have seen remarkable progress, from the deepening of the world's largest single market, to the widening of the Union from 15 to 25 countries, not to mention the establishment of the euro.
We also continue with preparations for further enlargement. We hope Bulgaria and Romania will join the EU on 1 January 2007, and our partners in the Balkans and Turkey are working towards reform, with the prospect of membership in mind.
Indeed, the European Union is constantly evolving, as it seeks to keep pace with the changing demands of its citizens, and the changing nature of the world around us.
The last 12 months have brought new challenges. Last year's referenda on the EU's constitutional treaty in France and the Netherlands revealed a gap between our historic success and our citizens' perceptions of the EU.
To bridge this gap, and to overcome our citizens' fears about globalization, which cannot be wished away, we are focusing on concrete achievements to show that the EU is part of the solution, not part of the problem. We need to deliver results - proving that the EU is a way of managing the pressures of globalization, and turning it to our advantage.
That is exactly why I am in New York this week, focusing on sustainable development a critical topic for all countries and our common future on the planet.
Putting things in a global perspective, we are now a Union of 450 million citizens, with a 20% share of world trade and a quarter of the world's GNP. We also send 55,000 European peacekeepers around the world, and give 55% of the world's overseas development assistance.
We will continue to be the world's largest donor of development and humanitarian assistance; to further develop our rapid response capabilities for emergency assistance; and to promote economic development and our core values of democracy, human rights, good governance and the rule of law.
We will give priority to conflict prevention and crisis management; promoting human rights and human security; and strengthening effective multilateralism.
And working with an effective UN lies at the heart of the EU's external actions.
In closing, the EU is becoming an increasingly strong player in the international arena, which gives us a firm platform to develop closer ties with partners across the world. No matter what internal challenges we face we will remain outward-looking - for our interests, but also for our partners.
Here in New York, at the heart of the UN System, and through our network of delegations overseas, the European Commission is working to develop ever-deeper relationships with its partners. We need a world-wide network of friends to address the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
It has been my honor to address this network of friends here in the Big Apple.
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