It is a great honour to be here, at the European University Institute on this historic day. This day of peace. Eighty years after the end of the worst conflict the world has ever seen.
It is particularly symbolic that we are here in Florence, a city that embodies the European peace project as part of its identity. An identity that visionary Mayor Giorgio La Pira well understood, when in the ‘50s, he convened the groundbreaking Conference of the Mayors of Capital Cities in Florence, bringing together leaders from both East and West during the Cold War era. As Mayor Funaro so well described, Giorgio La Pira believed that cities, as microcosms of humanity, held the potential to bridge divides and foster peace. He famously stated, “We must unite the cities to unite the nations,” emphasizing the role of local governments in promoting global harmony.
He was right: peace begins at the grassroots level. La Pira also understood how local communities – cities and regions – are as important as the national states to strengthen the European integration project. A project for peace since day one. Peace by bold and courageous decisions, not only based on philosophical tenets.
Of course, we all agree with Spinoza when he said that “Peace is not the absence of war; it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.” We all agree with John Rawls when he said that “Peace among peoples must be founded on justice, and not simply on the balance of power.” And we all agree with Kant when he said that “No treaty of peace shall be held valid in which there is tacitly reserved matter for a future war.”
But the founding fathers of the European Union and those who came after them proved that without strong political will, without concrete actions, touching people, building peace from the ground up and at highest levels, philosophy can merely be a comfortable way of speaking about peace. We need to put ideas into practice.
The European Union was born not just as a project of economic integration but as a project of peace by design. A peace not just concluded between states. A peace built, designed, invigorated in unique European ways. Just five years after the end of World War II, the Schuman Declaration proposed a revolutionary idea: that former enemies could bind together their industrial production — of coal and steel, the very materials of war — to make future conflict “not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible.”
From the European Coal and Steel Community to the Treaties of Rome, and from the Treaty of Rome to the Treaty of Lisbon, each institutional evolution of the European Union has been a response to one core question: how can we make peace last? The answer has been political reconciliation, deeper cooperation, close economic interdependence, and a shared identity built not on uniformity, but on unity in diversity. The European Union became a peace project not because it avoided politics, but because it transformed it. At the local level, at the regional level, at the national level, and between European countries. For decades, the European project delivered what political theorists call the peace dividend: economic growth, open borders, the rule of law, and above all, stability.
From the Iberian Peninsula to the Baltics, from the Western Balkans to Central Europe, nations sought or are seeking membership not just for trade, but for the promise of peace and democratic consolidation. And we all succeed together. Building peace with creativity and cooperation. Reconciliation, a strategic vision, and the mobilization of our societies.
That is why the Nobel Peace Prize was attributed to the European Union in 2012, a historical moment when President Herman Van Rompuy declared: “peace might have come to Europe without the Union. Maybe. […] But it would never have been of the same quality. A lasting peace, not a frosty cease-fire”. Peace and European integration go hand in hand. Not a cold peace. Not a ceasefire. Not a Diktatfrieden that laid the basis for future revenge.
Today, that vision faces its greatest test in a generation. Unfortunately, today we cannot celebrate peace in peace, because war has returned to our continent in the form of Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine. Peace, we now see, is never a permanent condition. It must be continually defended, not only with diplomacy, but also with clarity, resilience, and if necessary, force. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine shattered many assumptions. That only economic interdependence could prevent aggression. That post-Cold War borders were inviolable. That peace in Europe had become self-sustaining.
We now see more clearly: peace must be actively maintained, especially when challenged by regimes that reject its foundations. Regimes that do not share the vision of peace we have built in the European Union. Based on shared values, integration, common security and the institutionalisation of disputes.
In Ukraine, a frosty ceasefire can lay the basis for future wars. To combine the words of Herman van Rompuy and Immanuel Kant. We cannot repeat Afghanistan, we cannot accept a fake peace, be it in Gaza or in Ukraine. Europe must continue to support Ukraine towards a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace. As we are supporting a two-state solution in the Middle East, and we are engaged in the Arab League project to rebuild Gaza. A peace at large. A true institutionalization of peace for all, also here in Europe.
Because Ukraine’s security is Europe’s security. It means that we take into account that the Russian threat goes beyond Ukraine. Russia dominates Belarus. Russia has a military presence in Moldova and in Georgia. Russia casts a shadow over the Baltic States, the European Union’s eastern border, and our democratic systems and critical infrastructures. If Russia considers that Ukraine’s borders are just a line on a map, why should it respect any other country’s borders?
It means that any agreement cannot give Russia the opportunity to attack ever again. It cannot reward the aggressor. To guarantee a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and in Europe, we stand side by side with the efforts of the coalition of the willing that has been formed. Efforts in line with the initiative of the President of the United States that aims to provide Ukraine with sustainable security guarantees. Together, transatlantic allies must be, once more, a force for good in the world. Together we must guarantee that Russia will no longer be a threat to Ukraine, to Europe, to its neighbours. That Russia ceases to be a threat to international security.
The war in Ukraine is not just a war somewhere in the East. It is not just a war in Europe. The war in Ukraine can damage the global order for good. It can lead to escalation in other regions of the world. How can we build predictability in our international relations if a permanent member of the Security Council constantly violates the United Nations Charter which frames our common understanding of peaceful relations?
By supporting Ukraine we are supporting the United Nations Charter, the international rules-based order, in Europe, in Africa, in the Middle East, in every region of the world. By keeping up the pressure on Russia through sanctions, we restrict its ability to wage war, curtail Russia’s economy, and we preserve leverage for real Russian concessions. HelpingUkraineis a reaffirmation of the European peace project. A recognition that peace is the presence of justice, sovereignty, and mutual security.A conviction that, if we break with these principles here in Europe, we invite the old world of nationalism, conflicts and power politics back to our continent to threaten our peaceful Union.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has transformed our European mindset. From a geopolitical break to building the Europe of Defence. This war is not only a geopolitical crisis. It is a test of Europe’s identity. And so, we must ask ourselves: what kind of Europe do we want to be? One that passively enjoys the benefits of past peace, or one that assumes the responsibility of peacebuilding amid real threats? How do we pursue lasting peace, not as an aspiration, but as a consistent strategy? How do we do it more autonomously?
This question is linked to making sure of a durable outcome in Ukraine. But also for European security and the global order. Because what we see today is not just geopolitical disorder. It is also geoeconomic disorder. A world of war, fragmentation, and uncertainty. Where global rules are contested. Where power is used to coerce, not to cooperate. And where economic strength is again inseparable from security.
In this world, Europe’s strategic agenda to preserve and build peace must be different than in the world of previous decades. It is – as agreed by the European Council — focused on two main priorities: defence and competitiveness. They go hand in hand.
First, defence. Besides supporting Ukraine, we must build a genuine European defence. Not 27 nations’ defence, but a global European defence. Especially in today’s world, peace without defence is really an illusion. In today’s world, we must be capable to defend ourselves and properly deter future aggressions in Europe. In today’s world, strategic autonomy is not a rejection of alliances, it is the reinforcement of our responsibility.
Since 2022, European Union defence spending has increased by more than 30%. That is significant. But we must go further, and go together. The European Commission offered additional funds with the SAFE programme, and last week a step forward was made by twelve Member States expressing their interest of activating the national escape clause under the Stability and Growth Pact. In order to have more budgetary space to invest in defence, without having to cut other expenses, especially for health, education and social security. When we speak of defence, we are not only speaking about defending our territory and our sovereignty. But we are first of all speaking about defending our way of life, our welfare state. And more importantly: to spend more is to spend better, in a more efficient way. By demand aggregation, joint procurement, common European capabilities, and a focus on critical systems like air defence, electronic warfare and ammunitions. And yes, it also means investment in innovation, industry, and people. Defence policy is also economic policy. But the reverse is also true: economic strength is a condition for real security. For our peace.
Which brings me to the second priority: competitiveness. A clear priority now at the heart of the European Council’s agenda. We must turn savings into investment. Innovation into productivity. Policy into action. This is the essence of the Letta report on the Single Market. And of the Draghi report that will shape our future economic model.
A strong Economic and Monetary Union is not enough. We need to unlock private capital, remove fragmentation, and reduce administrative burdens. And we need to align this economic push with our geopolitical priorities, including energy, defence, and digital. And push for joint European projects in areas like green tech, semiconductors, and defence innovation.
Yes, defence and competitiveness are two sides of the same coin. But Europe’s security must also be anchored on a revitalized enlargement and strong partnerships for peace, stability, and security. Enlargement is nowadays the best geopolitical investment the European Union can make for a stronger, safer, and more democratic Europe. The European Council has made this clear. We must be ready — politically, institutionally, and financially — to welcome new members like Ukraine, Moldova, the Western Balkan countries, and Georgia, if they will. It will require reforms. On both sides. But it is necessary. There is no way back and we need to prepare our Union for that strategic step forward.
But if we want a stable neighbourhood, we also need to deepen and expand our global partnerships. Economically and politically. We need, in this multipolar world, to build a global network of partnerships. In recent months we’ve seen progress on trade agreements with Mercosur, the most important of all of them, with Mexico and with Kenya. And we are pushing ahead with India, ASEAN countries, the Gulf region, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. And we must continue our close engagement with regions that also want to engage with us. Like Central Asia, with whom the European Union had a summit few weeks ago. And with Africa and Latin America with whom we will gather in the coming months. As we will do with the United Kingdom, next week, and with Japan, Brazil, and China.
At a time when trust is under strain and unpredictability is the norm, the European Union is a reliable, predictable and trusted partner. Committed to multilateralism and a win-win international cooperation. Committed to our international engagements, as the Paris Agreement, the UN Pact for the Future, and the Sustainable Development Goals. The world needs Europe stronger, and Europe needs its partners closer. This is the right response to the erosion of the post-war system of global economic integration — that lifted billions out of poverty and underpinned peace.
Trade is now used to divide, not connect. Tariffs are back, not just as tools of industrial policy, but as instruments of confrontation. Let us be clear: tariffs are taxes on citizens and businesses. They raise prices. They create uncertainty. And they punish allies. We must not answer protectionism with protectionism. But neither can we be naïve. The European Union must act with strength to protect its interests, its industries, and its workers. We must not deny our economic strength. We must trust in our ability to engage with others and find the best solutions to reduce unnecessary tensions.
We are in a region that knows quite well how important the defence sector is for competitiveness, job creation, and innovation. I will have the opportunity to visit Leonardo after this session, a fundamental player to our common security, bringing defence, technology, innovation and quality jobs together. Contributing to social and territorial cohesion in Italy and in Europe. Because innovation comes when brilliant minds work together. Like in this university, as a great example of multi-national, pan-European cooperation and inspiration. Innovation is successful when good ideas can make it to the market. Can succeed. Can make a difference and transform people’s lives. This is the moment to reaffirm the European Union as the most attractive place for brilliant minds around the world. Based on free universities and the respect of inclusivity. For our technological transition. Our economic growth. Our democratic resilience. Ultimately, for our ability to build a strong and durable peace.
The way we rebuild innovation, competitiveness and shared prosperity in regions and local communities is key to explaining to citizens why investing into sectors like defence is the best way to guarantee that our social model is preserved. Not a zero-sum game. But a collective effort to strengthen our democratic societies from external threats. Democracies cooperating deeper to sustain peace in our continent and beyond. A Union of democracies that combined are in fact a great economic power. The second economy in the world. With the second strongest global currency. A major source of foreign investments in the world.
Let us not doubt about our economic power. What we have to do is to link our economic capacity to our security ambition. That will project the European Union as a more influential geopolitical actor. Active in neighbourhood regions to build sustainable peace. As an active promoter of dialogue and cooperation. In the Middle East. In the Caucasus. In Africa.
Peace is not a passive condition. It is an active project. One that must be renewed in each generation. The European Union was built on the ruins of war, not merely to prevent another one, but to build something better. This is Europe’s moment to remember why it was created and to rise to the occasion once more.
We are 27 nations with an attractive power to many others who want to join us. We are a trade powerhouse, with a responsibility to take in the stability of international relations. The world needs Europe for peace and prosperity. A model of trust among those who are part of the project. A project for peace for the regions where we are engaged. And a project of shared prosperity with ramifications around the world.
This is what we need to defend. This is the way forward to pursue. Inspired by Gramsci, with an optimism of the will to defeat the pessimism of the reason. For the future of our Union. For a Europe of peace.
Grazie mille a tutti. Thank you very much.