RMIT Unversity
Melbourne, 17 April 2007

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This spring of 2007 is a season of celebration across Europe and around the
world as well—at least, judging by the events planned in your country.

We celebrate the first half century of a united Europe. This is a good time
for some serious reflection on what the countries and the peoples of the
continent have done together.

More importantly, it is a good opportunity to reflect on what we want to be and
do in the decades to come.
The anniversary forces us to lift our eyes from the pressing issues at hand and
look farther into the horizon. The demands of our day–to–day work carry with
them the risk that we can no longer see the wood for the trees.

So, today I would like to have a look at the wood with you. Starting with a
consideration that is as obvious as it is rarely spelled out. What kind of union is
Europe celebrating?
Many powerful rulers have tried to unify Europe in the past, starting perhaps
with Charlemagne, who lived in a time where a distinct idea of the continent as a
cultural and religious entity first appeared.

Since the year 800 AD, attempts to build a European empire have swept the
continent like tidal waves.
It is a supreme irony of history, then, that the most successful and enduring
union has not resulted from violent conquest, but from peaceful and deliberate
integration.

This is the consideration I want to spell out for you: the European Union is the
first functioning alternative to the logic of confrontation and armed conflict
that had driven international relations.

As I said, the consideration is obvious, but it makes clear the sense in which the
EU is making history. Building a political and institutional body based on co
operation and equality of membership is the political breakthrough of our time.
For the first time in modern history, European countries have pooled some of
their powers by transferring them under the authority of an independent
body. It is a win-win situation which is good for small or big Member States,
old or new ones.

We have been doing it with great patience and determination, following the
principles laid out by the founding fathers of Europe – Robert Schuman, Konrad
Adenauer, Jean Monnet – to name some of them. Few statements of principle,
many small practical steps, and above all a clear vision of the final goal.

And the goal—let there be no doubt about it—was and still is ensuring lasting
stability and peace in the region. The countries that founded the Union fifty
years ago, and those that have since joined, have enjoyed the longest period of
peace our continent remembers.

The leaders who signed the original Treaty in Rome had witnessed Europe’s
darkest hour. They had seen two world wars, millions of casualties, many of
them also Australians, the concentration camps. I would like to add here that I
know that next week Australia and New Zealand will commemorate the allied
landing at Gallipoli – 92 years ago. Over 8000 Australian soldiers were killed on
this battlefield alone and I would like to add my voice now to those next week in
honouring the names of those lost during those two world wars.

In contrast, the next generations of Europeans have grown in a time when war
among the countries of the Community and then the Union had become
impossible and unthinkable.

In the past few decades, the Union has had an immense power of attraction
across the region. The original six members have now become 27 over five
waves of enlargement.

For most of those years, an ideological rift and the cold war were keeping
Europe’s East and West artificially apart. There were two different stories on
the European continent in the second half of the century. On the one hand, quest
for ever closer union based on the principles equality a shared values; on the
other – forced uniformity of the co-called “Soviet bloc” without freedom and
without respect for human dignity.

However, following the “annus mirabilis” of 1989, with the collapse of
communism in Europe, the continent could revive the century–old dream of
reunification.

This is the part of the story I can tell you first hand, because Slovakia—my
home country, once part of the Eastern bloc—joined the Union on May 1, 2004
along with nine others.

I have visited Australia for a first time in 2000 as a Slovak Chief negotiator to
discuss in your country the enlargement of the Union. Australia closely followed
the enlargement process, also due to the fact that the European Union is
Australia’s biggest trading partner and number one investor.

I believe the decisive reason why we all embraced the Union was our craving
for peace, democracy, and freedom. And we knew the Union was the best
guarantee that the change would be irreversible.

In this respect, the original plan of Schuman and of the other founding fathers of
a united Europe is not a mere historical fact but a continuing reality. The Union
continues to be a community of values. Geography, internal market is not
enough and sufficient base for unity.

Over the past 50 years the Union has grown both larger and deeper. What
started as an economic community is now an organization with significant
political features.

We have common legislation, across hugely diverse range of areas from
agriculture to zoonoses a single market, a currency, a flag, and a Parliament
directly elected by the people. We are working on a common foreign policy and
on military capabilities. So, the next question is: “What does the Union want
to be?”

The European Union will not become a “superstate”, we do not aim to be United
States of Europe. The future of the EU hinges on our ability to understand and
manage diversity — cultural, economic, and political. Even our motto reads
‘united in diversity’.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

2007 is not so much the anniversary of a new idea; rather, it is the anniversary of
an event that, for the first time, put this idea into practice.
Before the 1950s, the peaceful and voluntary integration of Europe had been but
a dream in the minds of few politicians and intellectuals, who were generally
regarded as harmless utopians.

The names that come to mind are those of the Marquis de Lafayette and Tadeusz
Kościuszko1, who fought in the American revolution of 1776 and imagined that
the United States could be formed across the Atlantic too.
Between the two world wars appeared the outstanding figure of Coudenhove
Kalergi; a man who devoted his life to the project of a Pan–European
movement.

1Interesting remark – Mount Kosciuszko, located in the Australian Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko
National Park, is the highest mountain in mainland Australia at 2,228 m above sea level. It was named
by the Polish explorer Count Paul Strzelecki in 1840 in honour of the Polish national hero General
Tadeusz Kościuszko

But is was in the middle of the 19th century—the century of nationalism—that
the idea of a united Europe took its most definite and visionary shape.
Please allow me to read a passage to you.
A day will come when war will seem as absurd and impossible
between Paris and London, between Petersburg and Berlin,
between Vienna and Turin, as it would be impossible and would
seem absurd today between Rouen and Amiens, between Boston
and Philadelphia. A day will come when you France, you Russia,
you Italy, you England, you Germany, you all, nations of the
continent, without losing your distinct qualities and your glorious
individuality, will be merged closely within a superior unit and you
will form the European brotherhood, just as Normandy, Brittany,
Burgundy, Lorraine, Alsace, all our provinces are merged together
in France. A day will come when the only fields of battle will be
markets opening up to trade and minds opening up to ideas.

Some of you may have recognised these words. They come from Victor Hugo’s
opening address to the Peace Congress held in Paris in the August of 1849.
The congress took place a year after the uprisings of 1848 that spread like
wildfire from Sicily to Hungary.
There is no doubt that midway through the 19th century there was a good
environment for utopias and bold dreams.
I have chosen this famous passage for its unique mix of good literature and
political foresight. It is not often that we can make important political
statements as beautifully as Hugo did one and half century ago in his call for the
United States of Europe.

Poetic and artistic creativity are the best means we have to see the true nature of
things and imagine their future shape. And, as in this case, time sometimes
proves the vision of a writer true.

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Hugo imagined a future in which war would seem ‘absurd and impossible’.
Hugo also imagined a future in which the only battlefields would be ‘markets
opening up to trade’. Well, there is no dearth of examples proving that this
vision of his has become a reality.

Just look at a couple of news items from the end of March. The first is the
approval of the open skies agreement, which creates the conditions for more
competition and lower fares in trans–Atlantic flights. The second is the giant
step towards a single Euro payments area, which will make cross–border
payments within the EU as easy as domestic payments.
Hard work on the completion of the single market is paying off. Again, recently
we learned that 2006 has been a very good year for the Euro area, in terms of
growth but also in terms of employment, with the creation of almost two million
jobs.

Economic success is a good thing in itself, but it is also vital if the EU is to keep
its pledges with the citizens in other areas of public policy such as social policy,
welfare and the environment.

At the latest European summit, European leaders decided to create common
energy strategy, they pledged to cut greenhouse–gas emissions by at least 20%
by 2020. This involves, among other things, using more renewable sources and
bio–fuels and improving energy efficiency.

Vital as these measures are for the survival of our planet, they are also
expensive. Europe needs to be able to afford its moral and political ambitions.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

There is another aspect in the prophetic words of Victor Hugo that stands out.
He called for “markets opening up to trade and minds opening up to ideas”. And
he did so in the same sentence.

What does it mean? Have we lived up to his expectations in this respect too?
My answer is yes, but not enough. The process of integration has changed the
life and the minds of Europeans in many ways.

Today we can drive across much of Europe with no need for passports and
unfamiliar currencies. The Euro, which is a financial achievement, is also paying
a large symbolic dividend. Its coins and notes materialise the perception that we
belong to a community that is wider than our regions and countries.

This is the idea our minds are opening up to. We should encourage everyone
living in Europe to think of themselves as a community based on shared
cultural and political values.

In the first half–century, we have focussed on building our material Europe; in
the next 50 years we should seek a new balance between the tangible and
intangible sides of our venture. From the first agenda of steel and coal,
followed by the Common Agriculture Policy, introduction of euro, people now
talk more and more about the issues related to identity, cultural diversity,
borders of Europe.

To do so, we Europeans need to know each other better. This process of mutual
discovery will help us gain a better sense of European citizenship and open up to
the world outside our borders as well.
In effect, we have been doing this work for quite a while already, especially in
my areas of responsibility. Let me give you some examples.
One example from the domain of culture is the European network of opera
houses, which allows artists and other professionals in the field to exchange
productions, work together, and create new opportunities for artistic
collaboration.

In the youth policy area, we support a European Volunteer Service that has
recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Thanks to this scheme, young people
can acquire skills in another country while doing not–for–profit work.
Finally, as part of our education policy, we are creating a common European
Higher Education Area where teachers, students and scholars can move freely.
In fact, it is already quite common for students to spend a study period outside
their home country.

Apart from mobility, the EU is also supporting the modernisation education
and training in its countries. It is a crucial part of my portfolio, because much is
at stake on education and training, both in Europe and elsewhere.
This is the domain where the global knowledge–economy game is played. And
this is also where our shared values of the future are developed and nurtured.
Co–operation in education is mutually beneficial for the EU and for Australia as
it allows both systems to learn from each other. As you may know, to
complement our excellent political dialogue, education and training is the area
where the European Union and Australia should a will do more together.
Our co–operation in the past ten years has been a huge success. I am glad to see
that the participation of Australian institutions, scholars and students in the
European programme called Erasmus Mundus has steadily increased.

I am pleased to announce that Minister Bishop and I will sign a Joint
Declaration tomorrow that will give new impetus to our relations and help us
meet the challenges of an increasingly interdependent world.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

For the most part, I have been talking about the past, and this is perhaps
inevitable in an anniversary celebration. But if we want to keep alive the spirit
that moved the great men and women that have come before us, we should look
to the future.

I have also given you a few examples of policies that are designed to directly
involve our citizens in the European project and to help the EU open up to the
world. European integration is good for Europe, but also for the world around.
This is what we need to do in the next 50 years if we want Europeans and other
people in the world to follow the beautiful idea of a united Europe.

Thank you.