Today marks the anniversary of the historic Schuman declaration, the proposal by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman, which laid the foundations for a united Europe. On this occasion, the European People’s Party (EPP) President Wilfried Martens referred to the ‘fusion of interest’ defended by Robert Schuman and underlined the relevance, at the European level, of tackling the challenges that are ahead:

"Today, I would like to remind us all of the words pronounced more than 60 years ago by Robert Schuman that are still applicable today. He described a ‘’fusion of interest’ that ‘may be the leaven from which may grow a wider and deeper community between countries long opposed to one another by sanguinary divisions’. We may have achieved a peaceful Europe but we need to keep on building a united and stronger Europe", Wilfried Martens underlined.

"Economic governance, climate change, security and many other challenges will need to be addressed at the European Union level not only because we share a ‘fusion of interest’ but also because the European level is the most relevant and efficient in a more and more globalised world.  Through its work, the EPP, as a European Party, has a key role to play and will be a driving force in this process",  Wilfried Martens stated.

Note to editors:
The EPP is the largest and most influential European-level political party of the centre right, which currently includes 75 member-parties from 39 countries, the Presidents of the Commission, Council, and Parliament, 15 EU and 6 non-EU heads of state and government, 13 members of the European Commission and the largest Group in the European Parliament.

For more information:
Kostas Sasmatzoglou, Spokesman, Tel: +32-2-2854147
Javier Jiménez, Senior Press and Communication Officer, Tel: +32-475480446