Ukraine will win" said the president of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola speaking at the European conference
The State of the Union
in Florence. "We must free ourselves from our dependencies on the Kremlin,
we will put an end to oil imports
and we must complete our policy of zero gas from Russia
,” he continued. “We will continue with the sanctions on Russia and aid to Ukraine.
Because we want and must rebuild Ukraine.
Because we will care and welcome all those fleeing Putin's bombs, missiles and atrocities.
That
's why Ukraine will win
.
This is why Europe will be ready for the next generation."
Regarding
Russia's position and the relationship with the EU,
Metsola observes: "Putin's grave mistake was to think that our differences and the defense of fundamental rights were a sign of weakness. He was wrong. In democracies like ours, these are our strengths. This is why we accelerated towards building a new security and defense union."
Russia "takes advantage of the potential divisions, which are not there so far - he notes - to continue the brutal attack on Ukraine. We have no choice: I am optimistic that we can find words for which all European leaders, everyone, may they also be united on this package of sanctions".
The
president recalled “the legacy that David Sassoli left us” and the need to continue that path
.
"David was a fighter for the European Parliament, for us, for Europe. He believed in the power of Europe to forge a new path in this world. This is the essence of the question we have before us today".
The European project must recover "that spirit, that sense of purpose, of enthusiasm, of a clear direction", that it once had.
"People in Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, and again in the Western Balkans, now look to Europe with the same sense of belonging and hope," Metsola said.
"I want people to believe like us. And to do that we have to understand that
we are not just an economic union, we are not just concerned with free movement or the abolition of roaming charges
.
For my generation, Europe is a shared dream.
About shared values.
About a shared future and about meeting.
For us, Europe is the future
.
It has always been the future", he added. A vision that implies political will. Reforming the treaties of the European Union is "the opportunity that we have, more than ever we must look at the tools that we have and that we have not used" but "
there is not only the change of the treaties, we must have the political will
, because even when we had the tools in our treaties, for example in the area of migration, we did not find solidarity between the Member States - he continued - Then
we can change the treaties, but ultimately we need the political will to change and to moving forward with more Europe
, not less".
Then a reference to the
role of Italy which "must continue to be, as a pro-European country, a leader in all these discussions
. When I spoke with the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and with my colleagues in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate, and even with President Draghi, the message was one: we want to have Italy in the center of Europe, with this people who have opened their homes, their hearts, to thousands of Ukrainians".
"The truth is that
the European Union today is stronger than ever
. The European Union has never had such a determined sense of direction as it actually does today," he reiterated.
“Never have we had such determination to collectively address war on our continent, a climate emergency, our digital transition and energy concerns. We have never felt such a need to stand up to threats to peace and prosperity. We are not never been so determined to defend the European fundamental rights of democracy, freedom, solidarity and equality. We know the threats we face and we know that we must face them", he concluded