MBR_Issue_27 -January 2017 low res

Malta Business Review
EU PRESIDENCY
Visit by President of the European
Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and the
College of Commissioners
“I urge you to make the European Union a
place where the dignity, the peace, and the
wellbeing of all is effectively and truly central”
This was the message which President of
Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca relayed to
the President of the European Commission
Jean-Claude Juncker who is on an official visit
to Malta with the College of Commissioners.
President Coleiro Preca shared her vision of the
need for a more united Europe, stating that for
meaningful unity to be achieved and nurtured
“we need a stronger European Union”.
We need a European Union for the people
Reiterating what she had stated during
the visit of the President of the European
Parliament Martin Schulz in December 2016,
the President said that we need a European
Union which is socially conscious, strongly
democratic, embedded in solidarity, and which
prioritises the wellbeing of every member of
our diverse communities and societies.
Denoting the challenges which are currently
being experienced across the Union, “in
terms of its economic, social, and political
life”, President Coleiro Preca said that
these challenges offer an unprecedented
opportunity for deep-rooted review and,
where necessary, reform.
“I urge you to take this chance to adapt the
structures and instruments of our Union, so
that they can fully embrace the real concerns
of all those who call Europe their home”, the
President said.
Our traditions embody our core values,
which we make tangible when we safeguard
universal human dignity, when we protect
universal human rights, and when we
celebrate universal human freedoms.
Speaking about our traditions, the President
said that these embody our core values,
values which are made tangible when
universal human dignity is safeguarded;
when universal human rights are protected;
and when universal human freedoms are
celebrated. The President said that securing
a meaningful reform of the Union must not
mean a break with our traditions.
At a time when different interpretations of
the European project and its future are being
proposed, with voices calling for walls to be
built, for borders to be reinforced and for
divisions to be reasserted, President Coleiro
Preca appealed to all those present and said
that “we cannot be silent or complicit when
so much is at stake”, whilst adding that “we
must remind one another of the important
gains we have made”. Such gains have been
made, the President said, in terms of the
bridges which have been built “to unite
us”; the friendships which have been made
“across our borders; and our solidarity, which
we have nurtured in the service of peace”.
There is precious little talk of the
‘Founding Mothers’ of Europe
Referring to the point which some people
make when saying that a return to the values
of our Founding Fathers is what is needed,
the President reminded those present of
the fact that there is precious little talk of
the ‘Founding Mothers’ of Europe, stating
that “there is much we should learn from
the example of Europe’s women, such as the
Founder of the European Union of Women,
Dr Lola Solar”, who had, in 1953, already
recognised the fundamental importance
of a cultural synergy between the different
political and economic ambitions of the
respective countries.
The most essential message of our founders is
their great awareness of the need for friendship,
for solidarity, and for peaceful collaboration
amongst us all. President Coleiro Preca echoed
once more her belief that the spirit of solidarity
must be present throughout our lives. She said
that solidarity “must begin with our individual
choices, percolating up from our families and our
communities, into our societies, our institutions,
and across our nations”.
The power of the individual, as a catalyst for
transformation, cannot be underestimated.
The President said that we are the ones who
must begin to make a difference, by rejecting the
structural oppressions which have resulted in one
in four people within the European Union to live
at risk of poverty or exclusion, according to the
latest data from Eurostat.
The President also said that without a Union which
prioritises the emotional, psychological, physical
and cultural wellbeing of its citizens, “there can
be no positive change towards greater equity,
peace and prosperity”. “We cannot allow certain
individuals and communities to go on being
systematically excluded, even if they are not the
majority, from full and equitable participation in the
life of our Union. This will only create environments
of hostility, which will result in potential extremism
and violence’, the President stated.
President Coleiro Preca stressed that exclusion
cannot be tolerated, irrespective of whether it was
brought about by economic precarity, by social
marginalistion and stigma, by displacement, or by
the inequality experienced by certain individuals
because of their faith traditions, their gender
identity, or their sexual orientation.
The Founders of the Union worked to build
peace and solidarity through our economic
collaborations, in order to lessen social tensions
and reduce poverty.
The President reminded the members of
the College of Commissioners that it is their
responsibility “to ensure that such collaborations
continue, while also ensuring that the social
values of Europe are reflected in the social and
cultural lives of our communities and nations”;
she also said that they must revitalise the
European Project by ensuring that the institutions
are connected to the aspirations of the European
peoples, whilst adding that Europe’s institutions
must reflect the principles of social inclusion.
“We must work together to make our European
family of nations a better place, where dialogue
replaces division; where friendship triumphs over
suspicion; where peace speaks more strongly
than hostility”, President Coleiro Preca said.
Finally, the President urged the College of
Commissioners to make the European Union a
place where solidarity is the defining characteristic
of our European identity, “and an inheritance
of lasting benefit for both present and future
generations”. MBR
Photos: DOI/OPR -- Creditline: OPR
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