A few months ago—on the 8th of May—I presided over the Madrid opening session of the WLC 2023. So, to be here with you on this special occasion, at this closing ceremony, is of course an honour, but also gives me great personal satisfaction.
An honour that is multiplied by the significance of this event, at which we have just presented the World Peace & Liberty Award to the European Commission, represented by its President, Ursula von der Leyen.
So allow me to start by offering her my most sincere congratulations on this award, which −without question− recognises the most significant project of multinational integration in our recent history. From the outset it was, above all, a political and legal project, aimed at consolidating peace and democracy in the countries of the continent after World War II.
I would also like to extend my congratulations to the recipients of the W.J.Association’s Medals of Honour, presented later in this ceremony. Among them are extraordinary jurists from all over the world, as well as companies that have demonstrated their extraordinary commitment to the rule of law, a commitment shared by all of us here today.
Today, as I was saying, is the closing ceremony of the 28th World Congress, which has taken more than two years of considerable effort to organize and has succeeded in bringing together more than a thousand jurists from 70 different countries. The results of the many discussions in different panels will be of the utmost interest and value to legislators, regulators, judges, jurists and leaders from all over the world.
It is no coincidence that for this ceremony we have gathered at the headquarters of the UN, which, in these times of profound transformation in almost all areas of our lives, is called-upon to perform an indispensable role in resolving conflicts and working for world peace and cooperation. Without question, it is a pivotal structure of an international architecture founded upon strong and effective multilateral institutions and a law based international order. This is an idea that the UN Secretary-General has always championed —as I mentioned some months ago when he received the Charles V European Award, in the late Emperor’s retirement site, the Monastery of Yuste—. We thank SG Guterres for his generous hospitality today.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is truly a pleasure to be here again at the UN headquarters, a place where –as I said at the UNGA of 2016− “we must ensure the future of our planet”. On this occasion, as I address the WLC, I would like to pay tribute to the two jurists from the US who, together with Sir Winston Churchill, set out to mobilize the international legal community in order to promote the rule of law over the rule of might. To this purpose they founded, the World Jurist Association. The legacy of these two men —Charles Rhyne and Earl Warren— must be preserved and handed down to future generations.
The Bar Association of the District of Columbia elected Charles Rhyne as its President in 1955, after he ran on a single pledge: to integrate the Bar Association. At this same moment in his life, he struck up a friendship with Earl Warren, recently named President of the US Supreme Court. They discussed the need to undertake a global campaign to promote the rule of law as the only alternative to authoritarianism. This has remained the purpose and mission of the WJA to this day.
That friendship between those two men led to the “Peace Through Law” programme, which has since been renamed the World Jurist Association, the oldest −indeed, the only− international association bringing together all branches of law, judges, lawyers, professors and other members of the legal profession at a global level, becoming a kind of international voice of the law.
The first WLC was held in Athens in 1963 (actually when Greece was still under the reign of my grandfather King Paul). And it was around this time too that this award was established to acknowledge and express gratitude to those international figures who, through their outstanding efforts, have come to symbolize the promotion and defence of the rule of law.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today we are here to pay tribute to the European Commission. Madam President, thank you for doing us the honour of being here to personally accept this prize on behalf of the institution you lead.
"...Today, as I was saying, is the closing ceremony of the 28th World Congress, which has taken more than two years of considerable effort to organize and has succeeded in bringing together more than a thousand jurists from 70 different countries. The results of the many discussions in different panels will be of the utmost interest and value to legislators, regulators, judges, jurists and leaders from all over the world.
It is no coincidence that for this ceremony we have gathered at the headquarters of the UN, which, in these times of profound transformation in almost all areas of our lives, is called-upon to perform an indispensable role in resolving conflicts and working for world peace and cooperation. Without question, it is a pivotal structure of an international architecture founded upon strong and effective multilateral institutions and a law based international order...."
The EC, and its immediate predecessor, the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community, is probably one of the most unique elements of the EU’s institutional make-up, and probably also one of the reasons that explains its remarkable success since the Treaty of Paris of 1951.
It acts as an institution that represents the EU’s general interests, making sure that all Member States and all parts of the EU benefit from our Union, and it plays a key role in the EU’s political process through its “right of initiative” in the legislative process. It also acts as a guardian of the treaties, making sure that all Member States and all economic actors respect EU law, including its fundamental democratic values, as well as the rules that make up our single market.
Today, these duties have become more important than ever before.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It has been roughly one year and a half since the Russian aggression against Ukraine started. Since then, we have witnessed the return of war to the continent, with the massive loss of human lives, millions of refugees pouring out into safety, and a level of destruction that brings to memory what most of us only knew from history books, documentaries or movies. We have seen how the pillars on which we have built our European model for decades have been seriously challenged.
Today we witness a clash between two visions of the World: one of force and repression, of intolerance and exclusion. And another, the European one, based on the values held in article 2 of the EU Treaty, such as democracy, human dignity, freedom, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
Values that are the foundation of European construction, that are part of the identity of the Union as a political community and that, on such an occasion as today's, remind us of Jean Monnet and Robert Schumann, the founding fathers of an ambitious and hopeful project, the current European Union, whose construction began three quarters of a century ago.
And now, more than ever, we still need to fight for the European Union as we know it. We need people to lead us and continuously revitalize our trust and hope in it. Now more than ever, we need the EU to be a force for good in the world, defending liberty, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states; also defending a rules-based order in line with the UN Charter.
Madam President, you are at the helm of an institution −the EC− that has been key to ensure Europe’s peace and prosperity for almost 70 years. Like your predecessors, you have faced the different crises and challenges by advocating European solutions. And, by doing so, you have contributed to strengthening Europe and pushing European integration to new levels.
In these polarized times in which we live, the EU needs a strong EC, one that acts as a dependable guardian of the treaties and that keeps up the legislative and political momentum of the EU’s reform agenda. At a time when our institutions and norms are being increasingly challenged and even questioned, the EC has shown the value of moderation, centrality and constraint as key traits of doing politics, bringing together all Member States in the Council (currently presided by Spain for a six month term) and all political groupings in the European Parliament.
And, in this regard, we must not forget that the advances made in building the European project have responded democratically to the will of our citizens, who have largely agreed to strengthen and enlarge the Union. This is a process in which our national parliaments have of course played a decisive role: Embracing plurality, respecting difference, seeking the middle ground in order to move forward, adopting debate and consensus as tools of progress.
These actions and attitudes are at the very heart of democracy and essential to preserve it—. Because, as Europeans −President von der Leyen−, I think we clearly share the belief that Democracy is today the soul of Europe.
Madam President, we thank you and once again congratulate you for this award that recognizes the important role played by the EC in safeguarding the European project as one of principles and values, rights and freedoms, prosperity and peace.
You know you can always count on Spain in working towards this objective. Because these times demand greater unity and that is how we have responded, and will continue to do so, within our EU framework. We will have to keep maintaining unity both within Europe and together with our key partners in supporting Ukraine and in upholding the international order. In this task, it is important to count on the EU’s key allies: of course, our host country, the United States, and all those like-minded partners, countries and regions (many represented here…), with whom we share values and principles.
And to conclude, at such times as these, and with Spain currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU, I would like to recall the words of one of our most eminent thinkers, José Ortega y Gasset, who reflecting upon Spain’s difficulties almost a century ago, he asserted that Europe, far from being a problem, was actually the solution. These words remain true today, not only for Spain but for all our member states. So let us continue to believe in the power of the great hope that Europe represents, in a project worthy of our trust and efforts, for the good of all, for the good of our countries and our societies.
Congratulations once again and many thanks.