I noticed in 2002 on the eve of enlargement that there was a kind of enthusiasm about us becoming one again and, afterwards, we were talking worldwide about Iraq and difficult issues, but let us ensure that the European fire lives in people, that Europe is not something abstract, something belonging to bureaucrats in Brussels and Strasbourg or even to ourselves, but that it is something that lives in the hearts and minds of people. In my view that will also be the attitude if you talk about values in Europe.
En 2002, à l’aube de l’élargissement, j’ai perçu une sorte d’enthousiasme pour la réunification de l’Europe et puis, le monde entier a débattu de l’Irak et de questions difficiles. Faisons toutefois en sorte que la flamme européenne anime les citoyens, que l’Europe ne soit pas une abstraction, quelque chose qui appartiendrait aux bureaucrates de Bruxelles, de Strasbourg, voire à nous-mêmes.
