Speech by President von der Leyen at the opening plenary session of the European Political Community

Speech by the President: Opening plenary session of the EPC

Dear friends and colleagues,

First of all, I would like to thank our host, Prime Minister Sánchez, dear Pedro, for convening us here, at this EPC Summit. Behind the European Political Community is an idea. The idea that the European community can and must shape its own future. We are bound by a common geography and by common history. And this fact has shaped our shared values and rules. For decades, we Europeans have built a security architecture based on the UN Charter and international law. Now, this security architecture is under threat. A permanent member of the UN Security Council has launched an attack on its peaceful neighbour. This attack goes on since 588 days. It is our obligation that Ukraine prevails and not the right of might, it is our obligation that the European security architecture is re-established so that on this continent all Europeans can live in peace and freedom. This must guide us here in the EPC.

These principles are also shaping this agenda. Take energy. This is my second point. We have worked hard to ensure our energy security and to make energy affordable for our European households. And we can be proud of how we mastered the severe energy crisis of last winter. For instance, we are now buying energy together, not only with 27 EU Member States but with our broader Energy Community together with Ukraine, Moldova, Norway, and Serbia – and the UK is anyhow integrated in the energy exchange. This has brought energy prices down. Today, our storages are filled. We got rid of the dependency of Russian fossil fuels – as you said it, Volodymyr, rightly so. And thanks to this, we have turned Putin's energy blackmail into an empty threat. So, I encourage all of us to look at how we can best replicate this success in other fields, from clean energy to raw materials. And as we protect people, we also have to strive to protect our planet. For the first time ever, the European Union is now producing more electricity from renewables – like wind and sun – than from gas. This is not only good for our planet, but it is also creating good jobs here in Europe, while securing energy independence.

My third and final point. Europe has always been a continent of pioneers and innovators. And we should continue to explore the frontiers of innovation also on artificial intelligence. The potential of artificial intelligence is immense, in fields ranging from healthcare to farming, and many others. But we also need to protect Europeans from the risks of unregulated AI. The European Union has put forward the world's first comprehensive and pro-innovation AI Act. It is a human-centric approach. It will take some time to implement it. So now we need a globally coordinated response and dialogue with companies so that they voluntarily commit to a values-based and ethical use of AI. Let us join forces here too in pushing for a global governance of artificial intelligence.

All the challenges we face – from collective security to AI – call for a common European answer. And this is the spirit of the European Political Community. Let us continue to make the most of it. Let us continue to believe that we are more than a continent. We are a community of destiny.

Thank you very much.