Speech by President von der Leyen at the opening plenary session of the European Political Community Summit

European Commission -Speech Speech by President von der Leyen at the opening plenary session of the European Political Community Summit Tirana, 16 May 2025 My dear friend Edi, Thank you very much for convening us here. The changes we are living through are historic, without any question. When the Wall fell in 1989, the end of history was proclaimed, and we assumed that economic and political freedom would eventually converge and that this would unite people. Now, as we are here today, history is back, and so are geopolitics. What we had perceived as a world order, is becoming a world disorder, triggered not least by Putin's imperialist ambitions and other geopolitical struggles. In recent years, the need for a wakeup call for Europe has often been articulated. Today, Europe is awake – wide awake. And we know that we must leap forward: We have to close the innovation gap, boost our competitiveness, build our own resilience, and widen and deepen the network of partnerships around the world. We all have learnt that when there are big crises, Europe certainly provides some of the big answers. In the last years – the pandemic, the climate crisis, the energy crisis, Russia's war against Ukraine – all these are serious crises that have really challenged us, but Europe has emerged bigger and stronger from every crisis. Europe has moved closer together in the face of these turning points in history and Europe has stood united in its unwavering support to Ukraine. Because we...