Speech minister Berendsen at European Studies programma of Maastricht University

Good evening, everyone. 
It’s an honour to be here today. Thank you, Rector, for inviting me.
Mr Mayor, 
Regional Minister,
Students, 
It’s wonderful to see you all.

The future of Europe.
That is what brings us together tonight.
The future we share.
Your future.
And let me be frank from the outset:
We live in challenging times.
And the European Union stands at a historic crossroads. 
There is a great deal of work to be done to prepare the Union for the future.
To put the problems into focus:
Our security is under serious threat, because of Russia’s war of aggression on our continent.
Our economic performance is not where it needs to be. We are too dependent on others for energy and critical raw materials. We are lagging behind on innovation, weighed down by the regulatory burden.
What’s more, we face serious challenges when it comes to our freedoms and our values. Democratic principles can no longer be taken for granted, even within the European Union.
And the international rules-based order is being openly challenged.
This may not be the most cheerful way to start the evening.
But this is where we stand.
This is the reality we face.

And this is the context in which quite a number of you start your European Studies programme. 
To be honest, I admire your courage…
After all, the aim of your course is, in the elegant phrasing on your university’s website, ‘to contribute to solving the political and societal challenges of today’s Europe’.
But in all seriousness, it is more important than ever that we have students who are preparing themselves for that task. Who want to engage with these issues. 
The European Union is worth investing in. It has brought us a great deal, and we continue to benefit from it every day.
And I’m sure you will also find it hugely rewarding.  
As a former member of the European Parliament, I may be slightly biased, but the EU is a fascinating topic.
So I wish you every success in your studies. 

The European Union will look different by the time you complete your studies. 
It has to. 
Fundamental reforms are necessary to ensure that the European Union can meet the challenges of the future. 
If the Union stands still, it will be left behind. 
We will lose out in a world where major powers outside Europe call the shots.
So the European Union must focus on the major challenges we face, with real determination. 
The first steps have been taken, but we must go further. 
In concrete terms, we need to invest heavily in at least four key areas:
•    safeguarding our security;
•    boosting EU competitiveness;
•    defending our values;
•    and reforming the Union.
I’ll come back to each of these points later. 
But first I want to stress that all these changes are not only necessary, but perfectly possible. 
At its core, the entire European project carries the promise of transformation. 
To understand this, it may be useful to zoom out and take a quick look at the long history of Europe. 

This city, Maastricht, bears witness to that history in many places.
For centuries, countless wars raged across our continent. 
Against that historical backdrop, the peace we have known in Europe over the past few decades has been exceptional.
And it’s all because of a decision we took after the devastating world wars of the 20th century. 
We said: enough is enough.
Things must change. And they can change.
That conviction is what inspired the European project.

Since then, building the European Union has always been a work-in-progress.
European cooperation has evolved over time – sometimes in fits and starts. And it has become broader and deeper.
In 1992, the 12 member states of what was then the European Communities laid the foundations for a stronger European Union.

In fact, they did it near here, just over the John F. Kennedy Bridge, at the Gouvernement aan de Maas.

Since the Treaty of Maastricht was signed, the European Union has continued to grow, and its architecture has evolved too.
In 2007 for example, the Treaty of Lisbon implemented a set of major reforms.
The aim was to ensure that the EU could continue to function effectively, even with a large increase in the number of member states.  

And we need the same spirit now. The same courage to change.
First, as I said, because of our security.
War has returned to our continent.
In 2014, Russia invaded the Ukrainian region of Crimea, which was followed by hostilities in Donbas.
Four years ago, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
And since then, many thousands of Ukrainians have lost their lives.
It’s a war that also affects us. 
Our country suffered a brutal blow in July 2014, with the downing of flight MH17.
Russia was responsible for the deaths of the 298 people on board, including 196 Dutch nationals.
And the conflict has also reached our country in the form of hybrid warfare. 
Cyberattacks.
Disinformation.
Sabotage.
Russia is trying to weaken European countries internally, and undermine support for Ukraine. 
And we must not be under any illusion: the Russian threat will not simply end once the war in Ukraine is over.
At the same time, the United States has made clear that Europe must take more responsibility for its own security.
Maybe the tone of that message is now different, but it’s a message that Washington, with its pivot to Asia, has been emphasising for a long time. 
So, we’ve got to bolster our defences.
Not simply to meet America’s demands. But because it’s a task that we’ve neglected for far too long.
We have to take responsibility for our own security. 
And we must do so urgently.
Within the next four years, we need to establish a robust European security architecture based on a strong NATO, a strong EU and effective partnerships.
Within NATO, the EU must take responsibility for the lion’s share of its own conventional defence.
And this will require great perseverance.
It will come at a cost for all of us.
Freedom never comes free. 

The second major task facing Europe is to strengthen our competitiveness.
Our economies are facing enormous challenges. 
Consider the significant job losses across Germany, particularly in the automotive industry.
In this sector alone, employment has fallen by more than 40,000 jobs compared with a year earlier: a decline of almost six per cent. 
Across the German manufacturing sector as a whole, almost 150,000 jobs were lost over the same period.
This is partly due to the enormous lead that China is building in this sector.
We see this all over Europe. 
In the Netherlands, we are seeing chemical plants closing down. 
And we don’t know yet where these developments will lead.
But it seems like a storm is brewing.
So we cannot just stand idly by.
We need a laser focus on boosting innovation and reducing the regulatory burden.
We need to use our resources and materials more sustainably and sparingly. 
And we need to accelerate the production of clean energy.
It’s also essential to steadily reduce our high-risk dependencies when it comes to critical raw materials and technologies.
The war in Ukraine has shown us all how important this is.
After Russia’s invasion, we saw energy bills rise. And we were confronted with our vulnerability as a result of our dependence on Russian gas. 
And the leverage that this gave Russia.

We’re already hard at work to become more independent.
But this needs to remain a top priority in the years ahead.
In concrete terms, this will mean more collaboration within the EU and forging new partnerships – for example with countries in Asia and Africa. 

Our ability to operate in the world depends on the strength of our own position.
Without a strong economy, we cannot build strong defences.
And without technological leadership, Europe will remain highly dependent on other major powers.
These priorities should be visible in the EU’s spending.
They must be reflected in the EU’s new Multiannual Financial Framework.

Our third key task is to protect the very core of what it means to be European: our values.
Europe stands for democracy, the rule of law, the protection of minorities, media freedom, and equal rights for all.
This is what defines us.
That is why it’s deeply concerning to see democracy coming under growing pressure, even within the European Union itself.
To safeguard our shared values, we must ensure that every member state meets our clear and common minimum standards. 
We’ve had experience of member states flouting democratic norms.
We’ve learned our lesson.
So, if member states fall below the agreed minimum threshold, we must take firm action against them.
For example: we can work to prevent rule-of-law backsliding by more firmly establishing the available options, such as suspending the allocation of EU funds.
For new member states, we are proposing extra safeguards and transitional arrangements in the accession treaties.
In addition to measures like this, preparations are well under way for setting up the European Democracy Shield.
An initiative intended to strengthen our democratic values. 
This will enable member states and candidate countries to work together to tackle issues like foreign interference and disinformation.

With steps like these, we have in fact already entered the terrain of the reforms that are needed within the European Union. 
That’s the fourth key area I mentioned.
Over the years, the European Union has grown from six member states to today’s 27.
And that number will likely continue to grow, with several candidate countries now working their way through the accession process.
Bigger families need a different level of organisation. And so the Union will have to be reorganised in order to remain strong and effective.
First of all, it’s important to acknowledge that a bigger Union can move at different speeds. 
We have to pick up the pace when it comes to crucial areas. 
Because the world won’t wait till all the EU member states are ready.

This means that we will increasingly need to work through ‘lead groups’ of member states that are ready to move ahead together. Sometimes joined by non-EU members like the United Kingdom and Norway.
We can already see this approach taking shape in areas such as capital markets, defence spending and return hubs for migrants. 

The Netherlands is also participating in various lead groups that are exploring the feasibility of all kinds of reforms. 
Not just to prevent enlargement from weakening the Union, which tends to be the main focus. But also to make the EU more attractive to strong new partners, like Norway and Iceland. 
Let me mention a few of the reforms we’re proposing. 
We can make the Union more effective by moving from unanimity to qualified-majority decision-making in some parts of the EU’s common foreign policy. 
We need to revise our veto system.
So that it cannot be used as a tool for blackmail, as we’ve seen in recent years.
As a first step, we could temporarily limit the right of veto for acceding countries.

The bottom line is clear: enlargement has to strengthen the Union as a whole. 
That’s why we must be strict, fair and engaged. 
The Copenhagen Criteria are not only about the requirements that acceding countries must meet; they also address the EU’s absorption capacity. 
In other words: we need to make sure that the candidate countries are ready to join the Union, but also that the Union is ready to welcome them.
That’s why we’re proposing a phased accession process for new member states. With extra safeguards and transitional arrangements in the accession treaties.
We are now actively discussing these different options with the Commission and other member states.

I’d like to make some specific remarks on Ukraine in particular.
An intensive accession process still lies ahead, in which Ukraine will have to implement an extensive reform agenda. Not in the least when it comes to the rule of law and the fight against corruption.
But I want to stress also that Ukraine’s accession is of great importance to European security.
As far as the Dutch government is concerned, Ukraine’s future is irrefutably in the European Union.
For more than 12 years, the Ukrainians have demonstrated that they will stand up to Russia’s expansionist aims. 
I have great admiration for their resilience and their courage. 
During my visits to Ukraine, I’ve witnessed these qualities firsthand. 
The Ukrainians continue to stand firm in the face of daily air strikes by missiles and drones all over the country.
Millions of Ukrainians now live under oppression in Russian-occupied territory.
And it’s important to bear in mind that Putin won’t stop. The Ukrainians are fighting for us too.
They are fighting for all of Europe.
For our security and democracy. And for our values and way of life.
I’m also convinced that we will truly need Ukraine in the future. 
With its army and defence industry, Ukraine now has an ultra-modern combat force, which all of Europe can learn from and benefit from too.
That is why Ukraine can also be a valuable addition to NATO. 

Students, 
Ladies and gentlemen,
Only a few steps from this place, you will find a statue of someone you may know from the Three Musketeers films.
His name was Count d’Artagnan, Musketeer of the Guard of Louis the Fourteenth of France, the Sun King. 
D’Artagnan was killed in Maastricht during the Franco-Dutch War in the 17th century: a long conflict between France and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
His statue displays the Musketeers’ motto:
Tous pour un, un pour tous: all for one, and one for all. 
I think those are fine words with which to conclude my speech today.
The EU member states don’t always have the same interests, but in crucial areas we bolster one another. 
Together we are strong, and capable of achieving great things.
So I’m optimistic about the EU’s future.
At the same time, I realise that a secure, strong and effective European Union won’t simply fall into our lap.
The EU faces a historic challenge.
Will we stay strong under increasing pressure? Will our values hold? Will we be able to defend and sustain ourselves?
Fortunately, the future is not something that simply happens to us. 
It is something we can actively shape. 
That’s why the Netherlands is pursuing this aim so energetically – a fitting role for one of the founder fathers of the European Union and its predecessors.
We helped lay the EU’s foundations, and today we are helping to drive it forward, with ideas on how to do things differently. 
And you too can help to shape the EU’s future.
Not least by contributing the knowledge, skills and insights you will gain here in the years ahead.
I invite you to think in new directions, to challenge the status quo.
Because this is about your future. The future we share.

Thank you.