Metsola urges EU: “We are leaders, not followers. Let’s change or we will be irrelevant”

Rimini – Leaders, not followers. From the stage of the Rimini Meeting, Roberta Metsola urges Europe to be a leader in a world that is constantly changing. The United States is “more complicated than it used to be,” she notes, and the war in Ukraine has highlighted the Old Continent’s dependence on Russia. The “terrible situation” in Gaza has shown a new generation “how much we need a stronger Europe that promotes peace.” 

The president of the European Parliament quotes Mario Draghi to remind that economic strength and soft power are no longer enough to ensure that Europe remains a global leader. “The status quo means giving up, it means leaving Europe on the sidelines,” she reiterates, calling for the courage to “take the decisions” in order not to fall into a “slow and painful spiral towards irrelevance.” 

We must therefore ask ourselves difficult questions: “Do we want to be able to defend ourselves? Do we really want to integrate our markets and unlock the great potential we know? Do we want to support our companies and entrepreneurs? Do we want to guarantee our model of free enterprise and social safety nets?” 

The first step to not being irrelevant is to create the conditions for stable and sustainable growth, “by simplifying rules, strengthening the single market and developing trade,” the president’s recipe. On simplification, Brussels is making progress, but she admits: “We know that passing 13,000 pieces of legislation in the last legislative term compared to only 3,000 in the United States would hold anyone back from leading the way into the future.” 

Less moralism and more action is the suggestion: “In Europe, industries support millions of jobs,” Metsola reminds us, pointing out that we must “support them, not hinder them.” Ultimately, the principle is simple: “Where we can simplify, we must do so; where we need to correct and adapt to new realities, we must do so. This is the direction we are taking in our work.” 

On the work done so far in Ukraine, she has no doubts: “Kyiv would not be free without European support.” She thanked Meloni and Tajani for Italy’s “decisive contribution in defending European values” and insisted: “We have always pushed for peace, a true peace that stems from Ukraine’s ability to remain strong; we must continue to explain why our support for Ukraine is so determined and this is because it is not just altruism, it is Europe’s aspiration to live free, a principle we will never forget.” 

Forward then on the “real” security guarantees: “We want a lasting peace, which keeps us all safe, which is based on the principle of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” And for this to happen, she urges, “nothing about Europe can be decided without Europe.”