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J.M. Barroso: Address to Rally of Hope VI
Written by José Manuel Barroso, Prime Minister (2002-2004), Portugal; President of the European Commission (2004-2014)
Sunday, May 9, 2021
Address to Rally of Hope VI
May 9, 2021
When I had the honor of receiving the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the European Union in 2012 in Oslo, Norway, I started my acceptance speech quoting Spinoza.
Spinoza said on peace: “Peace is not just absence of war; peace is a state of mind, a state of benevolence, confidence, justice.” I believe this sentence places its emphasis where it should be, on the idea of state of mind.
At the basis of peace, there is a human being. And this is very important when you think about it because, with all respect, for all ideas, all institutions, all regimes, it was man that created them, it was not them that created man. They are human creations, but the base of legitimacy is the human being.
The more important value is the value of human dignity, the fact that we are all members of the same human family. I would say that this is more important than ever now because we are living in a very complex world, more unpredictable, in some cases more dangerous. I believe this pandemic has accelerated some trends that we had identified already before the pandemic.
Some of them are also promising: we see a development of technology in science, we see digitization. But we are also witnessing a resurgence of nationalism, of nativism, protectionism and isolationism. All this goes against the values of cooperation that I believe are more important than ever now.
Let me give you an example: the pandemic and the fight against that terrible enemy of ours, of all mankind, this coronavirus that has already killed more than 3 million of our brothers and sisters all over the world. The reality is that this virus has shown us once more the need for global and cooperative action.
The virus does not stop at national doors, the virus does not respect borders. It is affecting everybody, and we have been saying that nobody is safe until everyone is safe. This is not a slogan, because if, for instance, the wealthiest nations get enough protection through vaccines, they are wrong if they think that the problem is solved. Because while the virus keeps circulating in other parts of the world, new variants may appear, and we may have new surges in the pandemic.
That is why we created COVAX, an initiative launched by GAVI, the Global Alliance for Vaccines, together with the World Health Organization, with CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) and with UNICEF. We are now struggling to get the vaccines we need all over the world.
We need not just financing—of course we welcome all the generosity of donors—but also we need the spirit of those sharing, as soon as possible, in that spirit precisely of solidarity. This is a concrete example of the fact that to solve a global problem, we need a global solution. We are seeing that every day.
But together we can beat that virus. I believe that while we are seeing negative trends, like the ones I just mentioned, we are also seeing positive trends, we are seeing solidarity, we are seeing great acts of generosity, we are also seeing the heroism of so many front-line health workers. We are seeing great examples of the best of mankind, so there are reasons for hope.
This virus reminds us that public health is a public good. For global public good we need this global action. I believe there is no more important global public good than peace. Peace is the basis of all these values. Also, peace now is under threat. That is why it is important to make progress, searching for a solution to long-lasting problems.
One very important example is of course Korea. It is important that there is progress towards a peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula, not only for the sake of Korea, but for Northeast Asia, and for the entire world indeed.
I know there are now good efforts in that direction, for instance Think Tank 2022, which unites experts from all over the world, from so many disciplines, thinking about new ideas, new processes to achieve precisely that peaceful reconciliation.
That effort was initiated by UPF. I would like to congratulate and to commend UPF for all their efforts in favor of peace, in favor of solidarity, and mutual understanding between opposing views, and I underline, opposing views. Because if they have the same views, they don’t need to be reconciled. What is really difficult is to accept the other, to speak with those who have contradicting views, opposing views to our own views. This is more important than ever now, and it is precisely because of that, because of that spirit, that UPF is inspiring so many men and women all over the world, precisely because they understand that at the basis of peace, there are the fundamental ideas of justice, confidence and benevolence.
I thank you for your kind attention.
H.E. Jose Manuel Barroso was president of the European Commission from 2004 until 2014, and prime minister of Portugal from 2002 to 2004.
To go to the Dialogue and Alliance: Toward a Unified World of Peace, Part Two, click here.