Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

Royal Highnesses
Honourable Chancellor,
Honourable Professors,
Honourable Authorities,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to begin by thanking Their Royal Highnesses the Princes of Asturias, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia, who wanted to honour this ceremony with their presence, in a gesture which greatly overwhelms me.

I also wish to salute, with respect and affection, the Chancellor, Professor Doctor Ángel Penas Merino, and my Sponsor, Professor Doctor José Luis Placer Galán, as well as all the academic body of the University of León.

I equally want to express my sincere thanks to the authorities present here today, and to all who wished to associate themselves with this act or who contributed to its fulfilment.

Royal Highnesses, Honourable Chancellor, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The importance of the promotion of knowledge and innovation as an answer to the challenges of our time is unanimously recognized. The University assumes, as such, a growing relevance in its functions of spreading erudition and scientific research as well as a creator of knowledge, closely linked to the community in which it is immersed.

León University exactly fits this brief, simultaneously youthful and heir to the prolific History of the learning institutions which preceded it in this Region. The credibility and prestige it has gained make it a desired and central partner for cooperation with other academic institutions, such as with the Universities in the Northern Region of Portugal.

As a politician, but also as a Professor, it is very gratifying for me to ascertain that Portuguese and Spanish universities jointly search for answers to the challenges with which we are faced by the world of our times.

Royal Highnesses, Honourable Chancellor, Ladies and Gentlemen,

In this time and in this place, it seems opportune for me to bring to mind the topic of European integration. It is a current topic and is, recognizably, central to the strategic interests of Portugal and Spain. The recent history of our countries is intimately linked to the process of European construction and I am convinced that it is within this framework that the challenges of the future can better be faced.

I start by underlining that European integration, progressively deepened throughout the last fifty years, is the most important asset that Europe has available to face the global world of the 21st century. At a time of so many uncertainties and of new risks and threats, European integration is more than ever necessary. Even this most recent crisis in the financial markets calls our attention to the advantage of the availability of an Economic and Monetary Union of European size, which allows us to act more coherently and effectively.

Let us ponder, for a moment, how Europe and, particularly, Portugal and Spain, would have fared if the project of European integration had failed. What confidence could we have in the future should Europe had continued divided, imprisoned by enmities and ancestral conflicts, and incapable to converge around its common interests?

I believe, as such, that the endeavour in the success of European construction is imperative for all the responsible people in Europe, at all levels, be they community, national, regional or local leaders. It is a cause of such a great strategic reach, for us as well as for the coming generations, that it is our duty to dedicate it the best of our efforts.

In its inception, European integration was essentially forged as a factor of peace and development, as an answer to the two horrific wars in the first half of the 20th century. Today, it also needs to provide answers to the challenges of a world which has become global.

It is in this context that the Treaty of Lisbon, signed last December during my Country’s presidency, must be saluted.

I see the Treaty of Lisbon not as an ideal agreement or as a last stage of European integration, but as a decisive political commitment capable, at this moment in time and in these circumstances, to overcome the erosion of the European Union following the failed project of the Constitutional Treaty. And I see it, above all, as an opportunity for Europe to raise its sights towards the horizon of the 21st century which it is now facing.

The Treaty of Lisbon results from the 2001 Laeken mandate. A two-fold challenge was then placed before the European leaders. Firstly, to reform the institutional model of the European Union and make it more democratic, more transparent and more effective. Secondly, to provide the European Union with the required conditions to become an influent and credible performer in the international stage. A performer equal to the economic might, the history, and the universal vocation of Europe.

It is my belief that the reforms designed in the Treaty of Lisbon answer that double challenge. The democracy, transparency and effectiveness of the institutions are strengthened. The new European policies are furthered. Greater capability to act externally is conferred upon the European Union.

Deserving of immediate highlight is the fact that the Treaty solemnly consecrates the matrix of founding values: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, Rule of Law, human rights. Although universal, these values are also the deepest and most expressive symbol of European identity.

The equality of the States before the European Union is emphatically reaffirmed.

The final objective of the European Union is the promotion of peace, of its values and of the welfare of its peoples. This objective must be pursued with respect for the European identity which is simultaneously single and diverse. The Treaty explicitly upholds cultural diversity and, particularly, linguistic diversity. It is the wise balancing of the dual expression singularity/diversity which provides the strength of the project for European construction.

The Treaty strengthens, as is widely known, the objectives of sustainable development, social progress and the defence of environmental quality. It equally strengthens the principle of solidarity and, especially, economic, social and territorial cohesion. A principle deriving from the Single European Act which owes much to Portugal and Spain. There is no future for European integration without a strong “real solidarity”, already referred to in the 1950 Schumann Declaration, which was: «an effective solidarity and not a rhetorical “a la carte” solidarity».

As to the European institutional model, the triangle of forces Council/Commission/ European Parliament, responsible for past successes, continues to influence the aligning of power in the Union. The reforms now introduced enlarge this model, aiming particularly to improve efficiency, strengthen democratic legitimacy and promote increased transparency.

In its turn, democratic legitimacy is strengthened by the generalization of the co-decision procedure, which provides the Council and the European Parliament with equal footing in the legislative function for almost all of the Union’s competences. As it also benefits from the new definition of a qualified majority, which implies a double legitimacy for the Council’s decision taking: that which results from the States and that which results from the people.

National parliaments are also called to take a more active part in the European integration process, specifically through the means of a preventive audit of the principle of subsidiarity.

Wisely, the Treaty essentially maintains the powers of the European Commission and confirms its exclusive rights of initiative which, in my view, has been one of the most important factors of success of European integration during the last five decades.

A European Council which now has the charter of a community institution, with a President elected by its members, is joined by the creation of a High Representative for External Policy who is, inherently, Vice-President of the European Commission. With this new office, it is intended to guarantee coherence to the external functions of the Union and, because of this, ensure greater effectiveness to its international political and economic representation.

The Treaty of Lisbon is not limited, however, to institutional reform. It goes deeper, specifically when it deals with five crucial areas: justice and security, defence, external policy, environment and energy. These areas will be in the centre of gravity of the European agenda during the following decades. These are the new generations of the motors of European integration for the 21st century.

For all these reasons and for the stability it brings, I assess very positively the Treaty of Lisbon, which I hope will be ratified by the 27 Member States, in order that it comes into force already in the next year.

It should however be recalled that the fruits of the Treaty of Lisbon, as is anyway the result of any treaty, do not depend exclusively on its contents. In reality they will depend, mainly and above all, from the capability and quality of European leadership, that is, from the leaders of the Member States and of the community institutions. It is up to them to provide proof of a true “will of common policy” to bring into practice, with talent and vigour, the Treaty subscribed by the 27 in Lisbon, last December.

It is now required to ascertain how the best value can be obtained from this Treaty and to provide the correct remedies for the problems being faced by the Europeans. This is the main issue which challenges the European leaders! It is their responsibility to make the Treaty of Lisbon an effective tool for the success of European integration. The people of Europe have the legitimacy to so demand!

It is in this context that I bring to mind a brief thought regarding the post-Treaty of Lisbon period.

Immediately, because it is imperative to clearly understand the picture now faced by European integration and which has greatly changed in the last decade.

Internally, the Union went from 12 to 27 members, taking its borders well into the East. Its sphere of activity is now much vaster and complex. The economic and social European model is exposed to an unprecedented competitive pressure.

Internationally, globalization brings into action new economic and political performers and the global economic interdependence has increased vulnerabilities. Geopolitically, the world is more fragmented and the centres of regional pressures are multiplied in many geographical locations. New threats, as is the case with terrorism, dominate the agenda of international security.

It is in this framework that the Treaty of Lisbon should help the European Union to answer the challenges it is facing. But the European Union cannot limit itself to “visual navigation”, with just the aim to obtain positive effects in the short term. It must build a long term vision and a strategic course.

Under the permanent political pressures that are a sign of our times, political leaders frequently mortgage strategies for the sake of immediate effects and results, which are often volatile and reversible. What we must however demand from the European Union, is that it pursues a course with a long range strategy and that it rallies Europeans around causes that stimulate them and bring them together.

It is within this framework that I place the question: what are the great challenges for the Union in the next 20 years?

I can name three challenges: firstly, the building of a new paradigm of European citizenship, away from political rhetoric and merely formal rights. Secondly, structure the pan-European vocation of the Union, answering the issues of enlargement and neighbourhood relations to the East and to the South. Thirdly, provide Europe with the necessary conditions to become an influent and credible global performer.

The construction of a truly European citizenship, well assimilated by Europeans from North to South and from West to East, is a “sine qua non” condition to aspire to the consistent political dimension required by integration.

It is necessary to promote the identification of the Europeans with the Union, to make them react to its problems, to its challenges, to its politics. It is necessary to overcome a technocratic and merchandising image which still dominates the understanding that the citizens have of the European Union. It is necessary to build a strong feeling of being a part of it, generator of trust, of initiative, of rallying, which must be expressed in a Union which functions as a veritable community.

It is not just by the matrix of rights that citizenship can be consolidated. It is also by the action of the European Union in fighting against poverty and social exclusion, in defence of cultural diversity, in overcoming unacceptable development asymmetries which persist in so many regions, in support of economic growth and creation of employment.

To me it is clear, however, that European citizenship must always be solidly anchored in the national, regional and local dimensions that identify each citizen of the European Union. European citizenship is an added value which must never diminish the value of being a part of the nation or region to which we belong.

It is equally through the furthering of European citizenship that the European democratic paradigm will find a second wind. It is imperative that the European Union dwells more than ever with the citizens and not just with the States. Here again the Treaty of Lisbon is treading the right path, through consecrating the Charter of Fundamental Rights and by furthering the decision process in terms of democracy and transparency.

Another strategic challenge for the Union has to do with the enlargement of the European Union and its relations with its nearby neighbours.

The European Union has a genetic pan-European vocation. It is, recognizably, the great reference for peace, democracy and progress for all European States and regions. Deriving from this is an expected hope of enlargement for many States, some of which are already candidates with negotiations under way. The European Union must not be a restricted club, reserved and on the defence.

It is not however reasonable to visualize European integration from the Atlantic to the Urals. For the States which are not part of the Union, it is necessary to conceive a sufficiently strong and stable model of partnership which may guarantee a durable alliance within the sphere of the economy and the markets, and within the range of political cooperation. This is the case with Russia, with which the Union has to deepen a consistent strategic partnership that, on the one hand, cannot stand at the mercy of fluctuations in the economic environment and sectorial interests and, on the other, cannot prejudice values and principles which we must consider immutable.

Priority must also be given to deepening bonds with the Mediterranean. The States to the South of the Mediterranean are our neighbours and not just in a geographical sense. This proximity has a value that Europe must know how to nurture, for reasons of security, for economical and social reasons and also for reasons of solidarity.

The third big challenge relates to the external policy of the European Union. It is known that Europe has to provide itself with a reinforced capability to act coherently and effectively in the international environment. Europe must be at the centre of the global, multilateral and multi-polar world which is emerging.

The European Union must be the “generous power” that Jacques Delors speaks of. Firmly defending its values and its interests in the international stage, it must contribute towards a regulatory framework which is required by globalization for an improved balance in international relations. In many of the points of the global agenda which have priority, Europe has all the conditions to be considered as a reference. This is the case in environment and energy, two factors which will dominate the geopolitical framework in the 21st century.

In relation to global economy, the European Union must avoid the temptation of protectionism. Much to the contrary, it must act to take advantage of its economic and social standard in the multilateral framework.

The sustainability of the process of European construction demands that we tread the path of an effective common external policy and of a coherent common security and defence policy.

Even here, it should be recognized, the Treaty of Lisbon points in the right direction. Particularly with the creation of the High Representative for Foreign Policy and of a common diplomatic service.

Over twenty years of full European integration, Portugal and Spain attained recognized credibility. Both benefited much from adhesion. Both also contributed, as staid, earnest and solidary partners in that admirable course that makes Europe go ahead.

Portugal and Spain can contribute much more towards the future of European integration. Their History and culture places them in a privileged position to understand the challenges of globalization and to promote an open dialogue and cooperation between civilizations.

For these thoughts it is very stimulating to be in this magnificent city of León. A city which, in itself, is the expression of the crossways of cultures and the symbol of the centuries’ old European identity.

Saluting the University of León, which awarded me the so honourable degree of “Doctor Honoris Causa”, I wish the greatest of good fortunes and success to all those pertaining, at all levels, in this singular and emblematic institution.