(Strasbourg) “Every year, on this day, we celebrate Europe. An unprecedented project of reconciliation fundamentally based on solidarity. A project that brings people together without trying to make us all the same. A project that lit a light that permeated through iron curtains and concrete walls”. The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, said this at the beginning of her speech in Strasbourg today to mark Europe Day, a Day that reminds us of the Schuman Declaration which kick-started the process of European integration. “Europe Day reminds us of what is possible when we come together, of the responsibility that we have to keep moving forward. The Schuman Declaration, our European Union, took bravery. Change takes courage. The European Union is not perfect, I know many share our frustrations… But the fundamental pillars of hope, of possibility, of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, make this political project unique. We cannot take what we stand for, and we have achieved – and what we must achieve still – for granted. We must keep evolving”. President Metsola went on to say that “European progress was made possible thanks to daring solutions. And more daring solutions will be needed” to move forward. “We must reform. Anticipate change, not suffer it. We must find that courage that underpinned the Schuman Declaration again. We must help that light keep shining brighter. We know that we are so much stronger, when we are together. The European Union matters. It is worth it”.