Across the Union people are gathering today to mark the sixty-second anniversary of Robert Schuman’s declaration in Paris.
It is an important opportunity to step back from the detail of the day-to-day and to remind ourselves of the big picture. How much Europe has invested in its Union, and how much we have achieved and gained together as a result.
In setting out his plan for a supranational entity to oversee French and German steel and coal production, Schuman was working to make future war between those two ancient enemies not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible.
That was his immediate goal, but he knew that he was doing much more than that. He saw his plan as the foundation stone of an economic union, open to all countries that agreed to be bound by it.
Schuman like many lived through Europe’s darkest hour. But unlike most, he saw the light at the end of it.
He thought big, and he aimed high.
But he was a pragmatic and sensible man as well.
He knew that this new Europe would not be made “all at once, or according to a single plan”. It would proceed in its imperfect way, in fits and in starts.
How right he was.
He knew the value of enduring qualities such as perseverance, cooperation and hope. How much it was the working together, as much as the texts and the treaties, that would bind the people of Europe together in a spirit of peace and in mutual respect.
Joining the Union, or the Community as it was at the time, threw the windows open in Ireland, letting the winds of change blow through.
It transformed our economics and our social policy. It transformed the lives of our women and brought high standards to our work places. It modernised our industry and reversed the decline in our agriculture, keeping people on the land and enabling them to make a decent living.
It allowed us to escape the narrow confines of our history, normalising relations with our nearest neighbour, and bringing us to a point where Ireland is now among the most open trading economies in the world.
Pooling our sovereignty with partners has not been about what we have lost, but about everything we have gained and everything we have achieved together.
But the journey is far from over.
As we celebrate Europe Day, Schuman’s vision finds itself under more pressure than ever before. Europe again finds itself in a low and difficult place.
The crisis that has gripped us is back in sharp focus and stark choices continue to confront some of its Member States, none more so than beleaguered Greece.
But, in keeping with the spirit of Schuman it is a time for looking forward and for laying plans. It is a time not for despair and despondency, but for renewal and reform.
Yes, Europe has struggled in recent years, but even in the most challenging of circumstances it has prevailed.
We have moved from offering partners in difficulty ad hoc assistance, to putting a permanent mechanism of support in place. Our commitment to each other has been strengthened and underpinned.
We have made our rules more robust and their application more certain. We have stabilised our banks and have underpinned them so that they will not threaten Europe’s economy in the future.
There is shared acceptance that discipline is not enough, and that we must now all dedicate the same energy to policies that will deliver growth and jobs, particularly for our young people.
At our next meeting, the European Council on 23 May we will seek to turn that commitment to real and practical effect.
Ireland will be a full and active participant in this debate, especially when we take the Chair as Presidency at the start of next year.
Ireland is recovering. We are a resolute people, looking forward to standing on our own feet again. We are dedicated to doing what is necessary to restore confidence in us, and to return to strong and steady growth.
But despite our hard work, our energy, our determination and our hope, there will be no Irish recovery without a recovery in Europe. And there will be no recovery in Europe without growth.
And there will be no growth in Europe without conviction, leadership and courage.
So on this day when we pay tribute to the Union’s founding fathers, I send out a challenge to its current leaders.
Let us take heart from what they achieved.
Let us offer the same vision and leadership in our time.
Let us be inspired as they were. Let us see the serious challenges Europe faces today as the springboard to a new and brighter Union.
Let us have the courage to do what needs to be done, however seemingly difficult the task.
But, above all, let us never stop thinking big.