Celebrating the founding of the European Union at a time of challenge may seem out of step with the moment. The past months have put our political and economic foundations to the test.
Extraordinary efforts became necessary and were undertaken by Member States and European Institutions in order to address the instability in our financial markets and economic models.
In the Member States most directly affected austerity causes unemployment but at the same time a special effort to achieve growth is demanded. What we celebrate today is not as self-evident as it may have seemed until now but let me assure you that overcoming the challenges we have faced in the past months makes this, our founding fathers’ concept, clearer and our union stronger.
As we continue to seek the right balance to address the many challenges, there is a need to keep sight of, and reinforce, the fundamentals that will ultimately serve as our guide to stability: The single market remains a tremendous opportunity for growth; the Schengen area, an acquired right that our citizens could not imagine living without; the single currency, a project which these testing times will make stronger for future generations.
Commitment to restoring confidence and stability is unwavering. Building an empowerment strategy for the half a billion consumers of the EU is my critical engagement. Recent proposals on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Online Dispute Resolution provide concrete steps to ensure that consumers are able to fully take part in the single market. Innovation and growth will be the direct result of a multitude of individual decisions.
The upcoming Consumer Agenda will sustain confidence in the digital economy while ensuring that the market is better geared towards sustainable consumption and able to protect its most vulnerable. Economic sustainability is a prerequisite for confidence. The knowledge that what we do today will not compromise our tomorrow is in itself a key element towards recovery. The need to ensure sustainability is a main factor in the ongoing scrutiny of the budgets of the Member States.
As Commissioner responsible for Health, I have repeatedly underscored the need to create efficiencies and tools to address the spiralling costs of health care across the European Union. Health is wealth and we need to invest today to secure tomorrow.
The universality and quality of care must not be compromised. It is for this reason that the Commission is starting to invest in building tools to assist in public health reforms. Technology can be a vehicle to drive efficiency and to enhance patient safety.
An ageing society is a reality that we will bequeath our children. This is often seen as a challenge. I would argue that, if we prepare for it, we can turn it into an opportunity. It is in this spirit that the Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing was launched last year. The aim is to forge a real partnership between patients, carers and industry in order to identify and implement projects with key spin-offs in the field of healthy ageing. Keeping our populations healthy and active into old age makes available a resource of skills and experience in an abundance never seen before.
Prevention is another key area of relative cost with high return. The decisions that we take on what we eat, whether we smoke, and how much we drink have implications not only for our own personal wellbeing but also for society at large. Letting people know and understand the implication of their choices is key.
The recently adopted legislation on food information does exactly that. A reinforced Tobacco Product Directive will help to address the social burden of tobacco.
All of the above are means to contribute towards the growth agenda – growth that is smart, sustainable and inclusive. The EU 2020 strategy, adopted by the Commission in 2010, lays out a blueprint for reform and identifies five areas where, by combining our strengths, the Union can set itself on the road to recovery.
These include employment, research and development, climate change and energy, education, and poverty and exclusion.
Backed by a sound economic and budgetary framework, work in these areas will deliver a sustainable social market model for the Union which we would like to see our children to enjoy.
In a global economic upheaval there is no country that has not been made aware of its fragility, actual or potential. Malta too must keep an eye out for challenges ahead and maintain fiscal discipline while striving for growth.
Celebrating Europe Day together with 26 other Member States is a constant reminder that we are stronger if we act together and stand united for recovery and growth.
European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy.