00:00However, colleagues, I do agree with many things that Eddie said in his speech, but building a new Europe in
00:09a new world, as advocated by this session, means, in my opinion, before talking about what we have to do,
00:18starting from our very foundations and reflecting mainly on who we are.
00:27None of us is interested in strengthening any form of union amongst European states, if not for protecting what we
00:36are and what we want to continue to be in the coming decades and centuries in such a fast-changing
00:41world.
00:43Because if Europe sometimes proves unable to face the great challenges, it is no one else's fault. It is our
00:52responsibility.
00:54And it is up to us to choose whether to go along a decline or instead fight it.
01:01And if we decide to fight it, first of all, we need to regain awareness, which is mainly awareness of
01:08who we are, what the European civilization is,
01:10is a synthesis of the great achievements it has accomplished across the history of humankind, a synthesis of values resulting
01:20from the encounter between Greek philosophy, Roman law, Christian humanism,
01:25a synthesis of values that allows European civilization to conceive a world in which the person is central, life is
01:32sacred, and human beings are free and equal.
01:35A civilization that respects the identities of the others without denying its own and that builds peace where instead others
01:44lead destruction.
01:46We are this, we are this, we are this before everything, and I think we have, first of all, to
01:53remember it every day if we want to build a Europe up to the role received from history.
01:57Thank you.
02:00Thank you.
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