King Philip of the Belgians in the European Parliament: ‘The European Union must go beyond crisis management’

Brussels – Belgian King Philip today (April 10) delivered the keynote address before the European Parliament for the April 10-11 Plenary session. It was the first time Philip spoke before members of the European Parliament. The future of Europe was the main focus of the Monarch’s speech.

After 37 years since Baldwin, a Belgian king returns to give a speech to the European Parliament, and he does so half in Flemish and half in French, the country’s two main official languages (there is also German). “We have shown that we are united in difficult times: on Ukraine, after Brexit, and in the fight against the pandemic. But the Union must go beyond crisis management. We need a long-term vision,” King Philip said in front of a hemicycle that was only half full. According to the monarch, Europe must be stronger and must be able to respond to the challenges of autocracies with greater democratization of its institutions.

King Philip argues that hope drives the development process of the Union: “It is not a dream. Hope is the belief that we can achieve something better, something higher, and that our contribution is important.” Hope, according to King, is also matched in the expectations of the 450 million Europeans who look to Brussels as the place that can and has to build a better tomorrow. Hopes and expectations are at the same time also those of the peoples and nations who would like to join the 27 Member States. Before that, however, the selfishness of individual countries must be overcome: “I envision a great European revolution, which aims to replace national rivalries with a union in freedom and diversity, as Jean Monnet proposed in his time.”

In King Philip’s words, the economy and the fight against climate change resonate as two main issues. According to the monarch, there are still too many economic distortions in the single market in terms of both governance and capital and investment. Closing his speech, King Philip called on Member States to work together for a new re-industrialization centered on the green and digital revolutions, “Let it be much more than the sum of 27 industrial policies.”