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My Vision for Europe, speech by Tajana Tomasic, Winner of the INSEAD MBA Scholarship Programme sponsored by the Edmond Israel Foundation, on 11 November 1999

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to express my gratitude to the Edmond Israel Foundation for giving me the opportunity to speak before this distinguished audience.

I also wish to sincerely thank the Foundation for awarding me the scholarship that helps me participate in the MBA Programme of one of the most prestigious business schools, INSEAD, in Fontainebleau, France.

Before I start my brief speech, I would like to congratulate Mr Duisenberg on the award received today, for pursuing the implementation of his Vision of Europe. (For us students, receiving such an award looks like an unattainable achievement…..)

My vision is a representation of hopes for the future of Europe - from the viewpoint of a student who feels Europe to be her home.

"My vision is a representation of hopes for the future of Europe..."

What Is Europe?

It is a community of peoples sharing a common home.

I said home, although Europe has been sometimes referred to as a common house. It is not a house. A house is an object we can move out of, sell or tear down. Europe is the home, the place we live in and we always come back to because there are deep emotional ties. It is the place we sense we belong to, we care for, and feel strongly about. It is simply more than a (common) house.

Europe is also much more than the geographical map.
It is community of peoples, people sharing a small continent as their home.
I am speaking about all Europeans, whoever they are, in all their different realities.
It is our Europe.
It is much more than Western Europe.
It is much more than the original six members of the Union.
It is much more than the present European Union.

It is a Europe of South and North, East and West. No nation should be left out, ignored or unappreciated.

How Should We Europeans Relate To Each Other?

My vision of Europe is the community where everyone would have equal opportunities: races, nationalities, ethnic and religious groups, genders, classes.

"My vision of Europe is the community where everyone would have equal opportunities..."

In this Europe Europeans would genuinely respect each other.
Individuals would be guaranteed their freedom and personal rights.
It is a Europe where everyone would also accept their share of social responsibility on a broader scale for the sake of prosperity and lasting peace for all.

I am speaking about Europe where individuals and nations would be interested in their neighbours´ worlds.
It is only by genuine interest in others that we can build a community and achieve harmony.

So it would be Europe without any walls, towards anybody. Let the Berlin wall be the last one.
Let the walls of stereotypes and bad names, arrogance and short sighted self-sufficiency also disappear.

How Should We Europeans Relate To Others - Noneuropeans?

Along these lines, it would also be a Europe interested in the world around itself, contributing to the development of global peace, prosperity and stability. We should help underdeveloped and deprived neighbours to achieve their prosperity. By doing so we all should profit, morally and economically (this is also what economics teach us). Recently, so many times the success of the Marshall plan was brought to our attention without any serious considerations. Yes, we all need many Marshall Plans to make the world a better and safer place for all of us. We also need a set of values to live by.

Caring about the individual, without discrimination. Respecting others. Helping each other. Only this way can we achieve lasting peace and prosperity.

This vision is certainly idealistic. Cynics might say, unrealistic. That might be what our past tell us. However, do we really wish for continuity? Or should our efforts be directed in the opposite direction - to avoid the past and build a new future?

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, it was an honour for me to be allowed to expose to you my dream on our common home.

Thank you.

 
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