ago or 30 minutes ago, find it in c-span's video library at c-span.org. c-span, where history unfolds daily. >> the european commission president delivered the annual state of the european union address to lawmakers in france. he outlined several new proposals including the creation of a european defrs you knense cyber security agency. this is just under an hour. >> mr. president, honorable members of the european parliament, when i stood before you this time last year, i had the somewhat easier speech to give. it was plain for all to see that our union was not in a good state. europe was better and worst by

the very foundation. we only had two choices -- either come together around a positive european agenda, or each retreat into our own corners. faced with this choice, i argued for unity. i proposed a positive agenda to help create, as i said last year, a europe that protects, a europe that empowers, a europe that defends. over the past 12 months, european parliament has helped bring this agenda to life. we continue to make progress with each passing day. just last night you worked to find an agreement on instrument and doubling our european investment capacity and you succeeded. thank you for that. i also want to thank the 27

leaders of our member states. this after my speech last year, they welcome my agenda at their summit. in doing so, they chose unity, they chose to rally around our common good. together, we showed that you can deliver for citizens when and where it matters. ever since we've been slowly but truly gathering momentum. it helped that the economic outlook swung in our favor. we are now in the fifth year of an economic recovery that really reaches really in every single member state. growth in european union has outswept that of the united states over the last two years. it now stands above 2% for the union as a whole and at 2.2% for the monetary area. unemployment is at a nine-year low. almost 8 million jobs have been created during this mandate so

far. with 235 million people at work, more people are in employment in the european union than ever before. the european commission cannot take the credit for this alone. though i am sure that had 8 million jobs been lost, we would have taken the blame. but europe's institutions played a part in helping to win change. we can take credit for our european investment plan, which has triggered $225 billion worth of investments. it has wound its loans to over 450,000 small firms and more than 270 infrastructure projects. we can take credit for the fact that thanks to determined action, european banks once again have the capital firepower to lend to companies so that they can grow and create jobs. and we can take credit for having brought public deficits

down from 6.6% to 1.6%. this is thanks to an intelligent application of the stability and growth. we ask for fiscal discipline but are careful not to kill growth. this is in fact working very well across the union, despite some criticism. ten years since crisis struck, europe economy's finally bouncing back and with it our confidence. our 27 leaders, the parliament, and commission are putting the eu back in our union and together we are putting the union back into our union. in the last year, we saw all 27 leaders work up to the capitol hill one by one to renew their votes to each other and to our union. all of this leads me to believe the wind is back in europe's sights. we have now a window of opportunity, but it will not

stay open forever. let us make the most of the moment and catch the wind in our sails. for this we must do two things. first, we should stay the course of last year. we have 16 months in which progress can be made by parliament, council, and commission. we must use this time to finish what we started and what is left and deliver on our own positive agenda. secondly, we should have direction for the future. as mark twain wrote, i'm quoting, "years from now, we'll be more disappointed by the things we did not do than by those we did." now is the time to build a more united, a stronger, and more democratic europe for 2025. mr. president, madam -- >> translator: president, ladies and gentlemen, members of the parliament, while we look toward

the future, we cannot lose our direction. together we have set ourselves the objective of achieving an energy union, a security union, a capital markets union, a banking union, and a digital single market. today we've already traveled far on this road. as the parliament has said, the commission has already presented 80% of the proposals that were set out at the beginning of the mandate. we now have to work together in order to ensure that these proposals become legislative acts and that these acts are made concrete in practice. as is ever the case, some concessions will have to be made. the proposal put forth by the commission to reform our common of islands system or to set up a new solid rules on the posting of workers are, of course, and i

know this, controversial issues. we will get good results if everyone builds their part of the bridge so that we can meet. and i would like to say that the commission is open to compromise, starting from the moment that the fine result is good for the union and fair for all of its member states. we are now ready to submit the remaining 20% of initiatives by may 2018. now, this morning, i spoke to the president of the european parliament and the prime minister of estonia, and i sent a letter of intention, which sets out the priorities for the upcoming year. i don't want, and indeed, i cannot hear in all of these proposals, but do allow me perhaps to mention five which are particularly important. first, i would like us to reinforce, to strengthen our

european trade program. europe is open to trade, yes, but there has to be reciprocity. we have to get as much as what we give. trade is not an abstract concept. trade, it's jobs. trade is new opportunities for european businesses, whether they're large-scale or small. every million in export that we have equals 14,000 extra jobs in europe. trade is also exporting our social and environmental norms and rules in terms of protection of data and food safety. europe has always been an attractive economic space, but since last year, i see that our partners all over the world are knocking at our door in order to sign trade agreements with us. thanks to the help of this parliament, we've just completed a trade agreement with canada,

with the provision applicable starting next week. we found a political agreement with japan on a new future economic partnership, and by the end of this year, we have a very good chance to achieve the same with mexico and the countries of south america. today we're suggesting that we open trade negotiations with australia and with new zealand. i would like all of these agreements to be finalized by the end of our mandate, and i am absolutely committed to them being negotiated in the greatest transparency. this opening to exchanges has to go hand in hand with increased transparency for our decision-making processes. the european parliament will have the last word. on all of these trade agreements. therefore, its members, just like national and regional

parliaments, have to be kept absolutely up to speed and informed starting from the very first day of negotiation, and the commission will oversee this. from now on, the commission will publish all of the draft negotiation mandates, which it will present to the council. the citizen has a right to know what the commission is putting forward. we are finished with the lack of transparency, we're going to finish with rumors and ideas of intention at the complaints of the commission very often is being the subject of.

this opening to exchanges has to go hand in hand with increased transparency for our decision-making processes. the european parliament will have the last word. on all of these trade agreements. therefore, its members, just like national and regional parliaments, have to be kept absolutely up to speed and informed starting from the very first day of negotiation, and the commission will oversee this. from now on, the commission will publish all of the draft negotiation mandates, which it will present to the council. the citizen has a right to know what the commission is putting forward. we are finished with the lack of transparency, we're going to finish with rumors and ideas of intention at the complaints of the commission very often is being the subject of. [ applause ]

i'd like to say once and for all that we are not naive supporters of free exchange. europe has always got to defend its strategic interests. this is why we suggest today a new framework for the eu on how we examine investments. in english, it's called investment screening. if a public business, a foreign public business, wants to buy a strategic european port, part of our energy infrastructure, or one of our businesses in -- for example, defense technology, that can only happen in for transparency via a deep examination and debate. this is our political responsibility to know what is happening here, in order to be able, if we need, to protect our collective security.

[ applause ] secondly, the commission wants to make our industry stronger and more competitive. this is particularly true for our industrial base and the 32 million workers who make up its backbone. they make the first-class products, our cars, for example, which explains why we are ahead of others. i am proud of our car industry, but i am shocked when clients and consumers are intentionally tricked. [ applause ] and i'd invite the auto industry to make a proper amends for that and to correct what they're doing, rather than trying to trick and to lead people into error. the car constructors are to invest in clean cars, which are those of the future. and gentlemen, we are going to

present today a new industrial strategy for europe, which will allow our industry to remain and become the very first in the area of innovation, digitalization and decarbonization. thirdly, i want europe to be a vanguard of the fight against climate change. last year we set a global climate. a proper amends for that and to correct what they are doing rather than trying to trick and to leap people into error, they are to invest in clean cars, which those are the future. gentleman, we are going to present today a new industrial strategy for europe, which will allow our industry to remain and become the very first in the area of digitalization, decarbonization. thirdly, i want to be vanguard against climate change. last year we set the ratification of the paris

agreement, indeed in this very assembly. confronted by the reduction of the ambitions which the united states has shown, europe is going to work to ensure the planet remains great and remains indivisible homeland of all humanity. the commission will shortly present a proposal to reduce carbon in the transport sector. fourthly i want us to protect better in the digital area. during the last years we've made progress in the securitization of the internet. the commission which will protect our property, our cultural diversity, and our private personal data. we have strengthened the struggle against terrorist propaganda. but europe remains equipped, confronted by cyber attacks. cyber attacks are sometimes more dangerous for the stability of democracy and economies than guns and tanks. only last year we noted more

than 4,000 attacks by cyber ware and 80% of european enterprises this known of at least one instance related to cyber safety. these cyber attacks do not know border and they spare nobody. this is why the commission is proposing today particularly a european cyber security agency to better defend us against these attacks. and fifth, migration remains on our radar. even if the questions around migration have often created debate, we have managed to make real progress on numerous front. today we protect the external frontiers in a more efficient manner. more than 1,700 officers of the new border guards and the coast guard work with national guards in all streets, italy, bulgaria, spain, we have common borders, not on the frontline of the geographic location, they must

not be left alone for their protection. we must have common frontiers and common protection. we have managed to slow down the flows of the regular migrants, which is a great worry in many countries. we have reduced the number of irregular arrivals by 97% and eastern mediterranean thanks to the agreement with turkey. this summer we managed to better control the center mediterranean routes. the arrival cut down by 8 1% in august compared to the same month last year. in this way we have considerably reduced the number of human lives lost in the mediterranean. i can't talk about migration without heartfelt to italy for it's perseverance and generosity. the summer months, the commission worked in harmony with the prime minister, my friend and his government. we did it. we continue to do it.

because in the mediterranean, italy is saving the honor of europe. we've also and urgently improved the living conditions of refugees in libya. upset by the inhuman conditions which we see, here europe has a collective responsibility. and the commission will work hand in hand with the united nations to bring to an end this scandalous situation which cannot continue. it saddens me that not all of our member stays show the same degree of solidarity. europe as a whole has continued to show solidarity. only last year, member states gave asylum to 740,000 refugees, all have foreseen replaced. three times more than australia, canada and the united states together. europe is not a fortress and must never become one.

europe is and will remain a continent of solidarity where people have to be able to find upset by the inhuman conditions which we see, here europe has a collective responsibility. and the commission will work hand in hand with the united nations to bring to an end this scandalous situation which cannot continue. it saddens me that not all of our member stays show the same degree of solidarity. europe as a whole has continued to show solidarity.

only last year, member states gave asylum to 740,000 refugees, all have foreseen replaced. three times more than australia, canada and the united states together. europe is not a fortress and must never become one. europe is and will remain a continent of solidarity where people have to be able to find asylum if people are being pursued for unacceptable reasons. and i'm particular proud of those young europeans who are volunteering to give language courses to refugees, all those young people who by the showers have joined our new european solidarity corps. these young people provide color to european solidarity. but today we've got to double our efforts. before the end of the month the commission will present a new series of proposals focused on returns. africa and opening up paths of

legal migration. in particular when it comes to the issue of returns, i want to peak this, those who don't want to stay in europe have to go back to their country of origin. only 30% of my grants are sent back. it is obvious we have to considerably strengthen our activities in this area. this is the only way that europe will be able to show proof of solidarity with regard to the refugees who really need protection. solidarity cannot be an exclusively european issue. it's also a greater solidarity with africa. africa, cradle of humanity, a young continent, trust fund for africa which has been 2.7 billion euros opening possibilities for jobs all over the european continent. while the budget. eu is carrying the weight, the contribution of all of our member states is only at 150

million euros. so the trust is now getting to its limits. we knew -- we have to know the risks of there being a lack of financing. in 2015, many migrants wanted to get to europe and when because the the tunnel from the u.n. ran out i want to invite united states to action into words and ensure the trust fund for africa does not suffer the main fate because the risk is great. we are also going to work towards the opening of legal migration routes. regular migration will only stop when migrants have got another option undertaking a paris journey. >> the point setting up refugees coming from turkey, jordan, and lebanon, and i am actually supporting high commissioner for the reinstallation of 40,000 other refugees from libya and neighboring countries. for the rest, europe is a continent, which is getting

older. this is another reason for having a legal migration system, which is an absolute necessity. this is why the commission has put forward proposals to facilitate access for migrants. i want to thank the support of the parliament for this proposal. >> mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, honorable members, i have just listed a small number of initiatives that we want to complete by the end of next year. we have to do that. even that is not enough if we're to win the hearts and minds of the people of europe. the time has come to set the course for the future. in march the commission posted its white paper on the future of europe with five different scenarios, setting out how europe might look in 2025. these scenarios were debated, sometimes superficially, sometimes in-depth.

>> the point setting up refugees coming from turkey, jordan, and lebanon, and i am actually supporting high commissioner for the reinstallation of 40,000 other refugees from libya and neighboring countries. for the rest, europe is a continent, which is getting older. this is another reason for having a legal migration system, which is an absolute necessity. this is why the commission has put forward proposals to facilitate access for migrants. i want to thank the support of the parliament for this proposal. >> mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, honorable members, i

have just listed a small number of initiatives that we want to complete by the end of next year. we have to do that. even that is not enough if we're to win the hearts and minds of the people of europe. the time has come to set the course for the future. in march the commission posted its white paper on the future of europe with five different scenarios, setting out how europe might look in 2025. these scenarios were debated, sometimes superficially, sometimes in-depth. they were analyzed. sometimes they were torn apart. that is the way things should be because that's what they were for. we have to set in train a process that will allow the people of europe themselves to determine their future. the future of europe is not something that can be dictated from above. any such decision must be based

on a broad consensus in the wake of democratic debate. this house has made an active contribution to this debate, and i'd like to thank all concerned. i'd also like to thank members who have taken part in the more than 2,000 public stakeholder consultations which the commission that organized around europe since march. the time has come, ladies and gentlemen, to draw the first conclusions from this debate. the time has come to take the next step from reflection to action, from debate to decision. let me now set out the way i see things. you're about to hear my own, my very personal scenario number six. this is born out of decades of personal experience. i have lived the european project through my entire life. i have fought for it. i have worked for it.

i have been through good times, and i've been through bad times. i've sat on various sides of the negotiating table as minister, as prime minister, as president of the euro group, and now as president of the european commission. i was there at amsterdam, nice, lisbon where our union developed and expanded. i have always fought for europe. i have sometimes suffered with europe and agonized over europe. i have been through thick and thin with the european union and never have i lost my love for the european union. as we all know, there is no love without disappointment, or very rarely. love for europe, i mean what i say, because the european union has achieved so much in this divided world. inward and outward peace, prosperity. not for all but still for many. in 2018 we should consider what

it means to have the european year of cultural heritage and celebrate our cultural diversity. these three principles, freedom, equality of opportunity and rule of law have to remain the foundation of our ever stronger and ever more united and more democratic union. for the people of europe, what they are looking for is not new treaties, new institutions. there are means to an end. new institutions, new treaties are perhaps of interest to us in brussels. elsewhere people don't care to whom. i'm only interested in institutional reform if it gives us a more efficient union. one day there will be treaty change. but to busy ourselves with that now, it means first and foremost that we have to understand that democracy is based on compromise, not winners and losers. if we have the right

compromises, everyone is a winner in the european union. compromises are neither bad nor ugly. compromises are an art, a way of bridging differences and finding our way to one another. people who struggle with compromises struggle with democracy and struggle with europe. if we are to have a stronger european union, it needs to be more inclusive, too. if we want to bolster our external borders, and rightly so, then it is high time to bring romania and bulgaria into the era. incidentally, croatia, too, deserves full membership of the area as soon as all of the criteria are met. if we want the euro to unite our continent rather than dividing it then it needs to be more of a currency of a select country. the euro is destined to be the entire currency of the european union.

if we have the right compromises, everyone is a winner in the european union. compromises are neither bad nor ugly. compromises are an art, a way of bridging differences and finding our way to one another. people who struggle with compromises struggle with democracy and struggle with europe. if we are to have a stronger european union, it needs to be more inclusive, too. if we want to bolster our external borders, and rightly so, then it is high time to bring romania and bulgaria into the era. incidentally, croatia, too, deserves full membership of the area as soon as all of the criteria are met. if we want the euro to unite our continent rather than dividing it then it needs to be more of a currency of a select country.

the euro is destined to be the entire currency of the european union. all but two member states are duty bound for join the euro area as soon as they met the conditions. for that to be possible, these member states need the support of a euro accession instrument, which i propose here today, which will offer preaccession assistance.

if we want continent's banks to operate under the same rules then we should encourage all member states to exceed to the banking union. that means we must reduce the remaining risks in the banking system of certain membership states. the banking union will only work with risk reduction and risk mitigation goes hand in hand. for us to be able to ensure that that is the case, a certain number of preconditions have to be in place as proposed by the commission in november 2015. we can only have a common deposit guarantee scheme when all of the member states have done their homework. if we want to see an end to social fragmentation and social

dumping in europe, the member states, as soon as possible, and the latest by the gothenburg summit in november should agree on european pillar of social rights. national social security systems are going to continue to have their differences and will continue to be separate, but we should still at least agree on a european union of social standards to ensure that we have a consensus about what is socially fair and what isn't socially fair on our single market. a successful europe must not give workers the cold shoulder. ladies and gentlemen, if we want to have greater stability in our neighborhood, they be we need to offer a credible enlargement prospect to the countries of the western balkans. during the term of office of

this commission and parliament, there will be no new accessions, because the conditions will not have been met. however in the future the european union will have more than 27 member states. in the case of all accession countries. the rule of law have top priority in the negotiations. that rules out eu membership for turkey in the foreseeable future. for some considerable time turkey has been moving away from the european union in leaps and bounds. journalists belong in editorial offices amidst a heated debate and not in prison. i appeal today to the powers that be in turkey. let our journalists go. not just our journalists. stop calling our member states and heads of state and government fascists and nazis. europe is a continent of mature

democracy. those who knowingly offend pull up the drawbridge. sometimes i have the impression there are those in turkey who want to pull up the drawbridge and later blame the european union for the failure of accession negotiations. from our side there will always be an outstretched hand. outstretched to the great people of turkey and all of those who are willing to work with us on the basis of our shared values. ladies and gentlemen, honorable members, i would like to see our union stronger. that means it needs a stronger single market. in matters of the single market, we need more frequent and simpler decision making on the basis of a qualified majority with european parliament

co-decision. that doesn't necessitate treaty change. the existing treaty has clauses to make it possible to decide in council on the basis of qualified majority as long as this is decided in advance by unanimity in the european council. i'm thinking in terms of decisions about value added tax, fair taxation of the digital economy, and the financial transaction tax. these can all be decided by qualified majority. europe needs to be table to take decisions more rapidly and more efficiently. we need to see a more agile economic and mob taker union. the euro area is more resistant to shocks than it was a few years ago. we have a european stability mechanism, which i believe should gradually be turned into a european monetary fund that

needs to be anchored if the european union. there will be specific proposals coming from the commission in december of this year to that effect. we need a european minister of economy and finance, a minister to promote structural reform in our member states. a minister who can build on the work done in the commission but the special unit for structural reform support. the minister of european finance should coordinate all eu financing and step in whenever a member state is facing the threat of recession or fundamental crisis.

we need to see a more agile economic and mob taker union. the euro area is more resistant to shocks than it was a few years ago. we have a european stability mechanism, which i believe should gradually be turned into a european monetary fund that needs to be anchored if the european union. there will be specific proposals coming from the commission in december of this year to that effect. we need a european minister of economy and finance, a minister to promote structural reform in our member states. a minister who can build on the work done in the commission but the special unit for structural reform support. the minister of european finance should coordinate all eu financing and step in whenever a member state is facing the

threat of recession or fundamental crisis. here i'm not calling for a new position. for efficiency reasons i believe that the future commissioner responsible for the economy and finance, vice president of european commission, carry out this role as well as chairing euro global. the european minister of economy and finance must, of course, be accountable to the european parliament. we do not need parallel structures. we do not need a separate euro budget. we need a strong eurozone budget line within the existing eu budget. nor do i see great merit in the idea of a separate euro parliament. the parliament of the euro area is this one, the european parliament. the european union also needs to be stronger in how it fights terrorism. in the last three years a great deal has already been done.

but we're still not reacting quickly enough in the case of cross-border terror threats. i therefore plead for the setting up of a european investigating body that would make sure that data on terrorists and foreign fighters are automatically examine changed between our intelligence and police services. i also believe that there is reason enough for the newly set up european public prosecutor to be responsible for the prosecution of cross-border terrorist crimes. the european union -- the

european union should also have more influence on the world stage, but it needs to be able to take its foreign policy decisions more swiftly. i think the time has come to take foreign policy decisions in certain cases by qualified majority. that is allowed under the existing treaties as long as there's a united decision by european council. there's reason to do that would make our work more efficient. in the field of defense, more evers are required. the setting up of a european defense fund is on our agenda. permanent structured corporation in the defense field is well on the way. by 2025 we will need a functioning european defense union. we feed it. nato would like us to have it. the union should continue to do what the commission has sought

to do, concentrate on the important things. we shouldn't annoy the people of europe nitpicking and nitty-gritty. we need to act on the big things and keep away from the small things which can be dealt with by member states. this commission has tried to play a great role in the big things and to take a back seat on the small things. each year it's put forward fewer than 25 new initiatives. remember the previous commission was putting out more than 100. this month we're going to be

setting up a subsidiary and proportionality task force. the first vice president has already done a job of better law making and he's going to lead the new task force. the task force will have among its members of this parliament and members of national parliament. it will report in one year. >> translator: president, ladies and gentlemen, our union now needs to affect a democratic leap. i hope european political parties will kick off their campaigns for the next elections earlier than they did in the past. because all too often european election campaigns have been reduced to electoral proposals and european democracy deserves a lot more than that. today the commission is setting out new rules on the funding of

parties and political foundations. is not a question of boosting the treasuries of the extremists, it's a question of allowing european parties to better structure themselves. i'm well aware that the idea is contested by a number of people, but i have to say that i have quite a lot of sympathy for the idea of having trans national lists for european elections. i will try and convince the leader of my parliamentary group to try and follow this idea, because it will lead to more clarity and more democracy for our elections. i also think that over the next few months, we should involve

national parliaments and civil society at the national, regional, and local level. we should involve them in the work we're doing on the future of europe. over the last three years, members of the commission have visited national parliament more than 650 times. they participated in more than 300 meetings talking to citizens in more than 80 cities in 27 member states. that's why i support president macron's idea of organizing democratic conventions throughout europe in 2018. as the debate develops, i will be attaching a great deal of importance personally to estonia, latvia, lithuania and

romania in 2018, because 2018 is the year where these four countries will be celebrating their 100th birthday. those who have the ambition to shape our future and our continent need to know about and honor our history, our joint history. so the history of the four countries i mentioned also is part and parcel of that, of course. these are countries without which europe would not be complete. this need to reinforce democracy and transparency obviously also has implications for the european commission. today i am handing out to the european parliament a new code of conduct for commissioners. first and foremost, this code of conduct specifies that

commissioners can stand in european elections under perfectly normal conditions. obviously the new code will shore up the obligations of commissioners when it comes to integrity during and after the mandate. whoever wants to boost european democracy could never accept that the major democratic progress inherent in the heads of system, the candidate would never go along with that not being renewed because it was an innovation and led to more democracy. i'm convinced -- myself, by the way, will not be a candidate. but i'm convinced the future president will make the most of this experience. >> translator: you can stand if you like, but you won't be elected. more democracy, that's what we need. that means more efficiency, of course.

european efficiency would be very much at an advantage if we were to merge together the presences of the european council. that would lead to massive efficiency. this proposal does not target in any way my friend donald tusk, who i've been working with very harmoniously over the last three years, right from the start of our mandate. this is not aimed at myself, and it's not aimed at donald. all it does is ensure european landscape would be clearer and more understandable if the european ship was steered by one in the same captain at the helm. so if we just had a single president, it would better reflect true nature of european

union, which is sauniian of states and a union of citizens. colleagues, the vision of a more unified europe, stronger europe, more democratic europe, this is what i'm presenting to you today. it involves all the different scenarios i set out last march. but our future cannot remain a mere scenario, some kind of draft, one idea among many others. it's today we have to start preparing our union of tomorrow. this morning i sent president tiana, president tusk, and also to the future presidencies of the council from now until march 2019, i sent them a road map, setting out the direction that we need to follow. one important element in this is the budget that the commission

will be presenting in may 2018. there, too, we have a choice to make here. either we ensure european ambitions -- european union's ambitions are given a budget commensurate to those ambitions and that is something i'm very much in favor of. we shouldn't be making any cuts. that would be the other option i would not be in favor of. march 29th, 2019, the date where the united kingdom will leave the european union. this will be a very sad and tragic moment in our history. we will always regret this, and i think you will regret it as well soon, if i might say.

nonetheless, we have to respect the will of the british people, but we are going to make progress. we will keep moving, move on, because brexit isn't everything. it's not the future of europe. not the be all, end all. the 30th of march 2019, on that day, we'll be a union of 27. i suggest we prepare very well for that date. european parliament elections will have taken place just a few weeks later in may 2019. that date will be a very important meeting with european democracy. we need to ensure that european citizens go to the ballot box having a very clear vision of the way in which the european union will develop in years to come. that's why i am calling on

president tusk and on romania, which will have the presidency during the first half of the year 2019. i want them to organize a special summit in romania on the 30th of march, 2019. i would like that summit to be held in a magnificent ancient city. that would be the right moment to take very important decisions -- essential decisions, in fact, to shape europe. a more united europe, a stronger and more democratic europe. my hope is that on the 13th of march, 2019, europeans will wake up in a union where they know we're defending their values.3t march, 2019, europeans will wake up in a union where they know we're defending their value0th march, 2019, europeans will wake up in a union where they know we're defending their values. where all member states vigorously respect the rule of law. where being a member, a full member of the eurozone, the banking union and the schengen

area have become a standard for every member state of the european union. we need to ensure we defend our single currency in all circumstances, good and bad, without having recourse to external aid. single market needs to be fairer for workers in the east and the west. i hope they will wake up in a world like that. we also need to agree on a bedrock of social standards where profits are taxed, where they are generated. where terrorists find no fault lines to exploit, and where we will have agreed on the creation of a true european defense union. where a single president will be at the helm of the work of the commission and the council. after having been elected in the

wake of a pan-european electoral campaign. so yes on the 30th of march, 2019, our citizens will wake up in that kind of union. and if that's the case, they will need to take part in the elections to vote. they need to realize that our union is working for them. ladies and gentlemen, i was thought that europe will only advance if it shows courage. the single market, the schengen area, the single currency. all of these things were projects when they were first initiated or when they were first thought of as mere flights of fancy. but all those projects that i

mentioned are a reality nowadays. so europe is faring better now and people are telling me we shouldn't overload our european ship. but at the same time this stage we have now reached dictates we shouldn't be overcautious. it's not enough just to make minor repairs. what we should do today and tomorrow is patiently, step by step, from one inspiration to the next, moving onwards, and complete not just the roof of our european house but proceed in building and completing all of the floors of that house. we need to finish the job as a whole. now that the sun is shining, this is where we need to do it. because when the next storm

brews, and it certainly will, it will be too late. let's raise anchor, let's get going, let's set sail and let's get going and catch the wind in our sails. thank you very much. [ applause ] the atlantic council hosts