On Friday May 27, Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Bert Koenders, representing the Dutch EU Presidency, delivered a lively and provocative speech at the Federal Assembly of the European Movement International (EMI) in The Hague. ‘These times may be perhaps the most challenging since the foundation of the EU,’ the Minister stated. ‘Today, Europe is once again in need of the kind of bold and innovative thinking pioneered by your movement.’ ‘European cooperation is no longer self-evident. It has to prove itself, every day.’ During Q&A, the Minister urged the full-house of EMI delegates ‘not to stay in the rooms where we usually talk to each other,’ but engage in novel ways with a series of fundamental transformations.
The full speech of Minister Koenders can be found here: