European Union: 50 years of freedom

The peace in freedom and solidarity enjoyed in Europe must be nurtured very carefully.

from the March 26, 2007 edition

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Through these experiences, I realized that Europe means freedom and solidarity. Not just for some, but for all Europeans. What started in the six founding member states in the 1950s has in the past 50 years spread to the north and the south, the west and the east of our continent.

I was proud to be the president of the European Commission (the EU's executive body) when we completed the great enlargement of 2004-07. It has shown once again that the prospect of European integration encourages and consolidates freedom through solidarity. Today, in this great and open Europe, citizens are free to believe and say what they think, to live and travel where they want.

One of the EU's great achievements is the emergence of a truly European spirit that lives side by side with national, regional, and local identities. European integration has not done away with this diversity; it has enhanced it. By building a common legal, political, and economic order around the cornerstone of the Treaties of Rome, we can live our differences as a source of mutual enrichment.

For centuries, European states made war against one another, but now we live in peace. Not in the peace of a precarious balance of powers and threats but at peace in freedom and solidarity.

This is an experiment unique in history and our generations have the privilege of living out the dreams of our forefathers. But we must not take this for granted; it has to be nurtured very carefully.

On Sunday, we met in Berlin to mark this anniversary. And we signed a declaration to commit ourselves to preserve and promote Europe as the best place in the world to live – an open society and an open economy with a common goal of economic and social cohesion. We want to achieve a Europe of results, with institutions that are democratic, efficient, and accountable, while promoting our values and accepting our responsibilities in the world. We will commit to put the EU where it belongs: at the service of its citizens.

• José Manuel Barroso is president of the European Commission.

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