Brussels – “The speed at which the world has changed leaves us with only two paths: the countries of the European Union can either lead this change together or face their own decline alone.”
The reason? “The comforting refuge of a third way — ambiguous and in‑between — no longer exists.” These were the remarks of the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, in Rimini today (26 August) to take part in the “Europe, Preserving our roots, accelerating the future” meeting. The event took place as part of Meeting for Friendship between Peoples, the festival founded in 1980 by members of the Catholic movement Communion and Liberation. The president gave a speech following the official welcome addresses by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, and the president of the Meeting for Friendship amongst Peoples Foundation ETS, Bernhard Scholz.
Metsola reiterated that the war in Ukraine, artificial intelligence, floods, wildfires, competitiveness, reindustrialisation, energy, immigration, security and the cost of living are all challenges that “no Member State can manage better on its own.” It is not a question of “political affiliations or ideology,” but “of understanding whether we are ready to find the courage to respond to what this historic moment demands of us.” Europe must therefore recognise that “the time to act is now,” in a world “where there are still too many tyrants.”
While acknowledging that there are issues “where we can improve,” the President outlined some of the European Parliament’s most “contentious” issues. Concerning businesses, she stressed the need to adopt “ambitious measures to cut red tape, support, and revitalise our manufacturing sector, and help European businesses to grow.” The aim is to “bridge the gap between an idea and its entry onto the market, bring industrial production back to Europe and build the industrial champions of tomorrow.” The President noted that “the current fragmentation is causing us to lose our productive strength to the benefit of China and other competitors, in exchange for short-term gains.” She also implicitly criticised “recent European packaging regulations, which impose rigid and counterproductive burdens on European small and medium-sized enterprises,” describing them as “proposals that end up hindering rather than helping.” For this reason, she announced that the European Parliament will take steps in the coming weeks to “rectify this situation.”
Regarding artificial intelligence, the Maltese minister stated that “a more competitive and better-connected continent is the only way to enable Europe to remain at the forefront of the technological revolution that has transformed every aspect of our lives.” However, Europe must not remain “a mere spectator in the global race for artificial intelligence,” but must “play its part” with a perspective that is “neither American nor Chinese.”
This approach must also be applied to immigration: “In the European Parliament, we are building a system that really works: one that is fair and humane, but also firm and efficient,” she explained, clarifying that the system currently in place aims to “protect borders and combat the criminal networks of traffickers who exploit the most vulnerable” while allowing “resources to be channelled to those who really need them.”
Metsola concluded her speech reaffirming that only “a Europe that knows how to put people before any institution, any market, and any border” will be able to “continue to respond to citizens’ concerns, businesses’ ambitions, the hopes of young people,” promising that the European Parliament would earn the trust of its citizens through “hard work and delivering results.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
