By Elinor Blair - 18th October 2004
Outgoing commission chief Romano Prodi has told an audience in Poland that EU citizens share a ‘common destiny’.
Two weeks before the end of his term, Prodi said that his objective when taking office in 1999 was to unify the continent of Europe.
The EU’s biggest contribution, “to stability and development across Europe - politically, economically and culturally - was the continent's unification”.
“For decades people in central and eastern Europe had been deprived of the fundamental rights on which our democracies are based,” he said.
He urged people not to focus, “on technical details that could obscure the true meaning of what we were proposing.”
Calling the creation of the EU a “great peaceful revolution”, he said that European enlargement took place in a “climate of great uncertainty for Europe".
EU constitution
On the EU constitution, the commission chief said that “it has brought more democracy and more transparency to the EU.”
But two visions of Europe clashed: those wanting “a stronger, political Europe” versus those wanting, “a weak Europe, an area of prosperity, stability and regulation and no more - not a genuine political actor.”
Prodi stressed that his vision lay with the former view of Europe as a “strong, cohesive, political union”.
“The union is not just a club of rich countries; it is not just an economic project.”
The constitutional treaty which will be signed in Rome by EU leaders next week represents a, “great historic chance” but Prodi feels that it fell short of the commission’s vision.
“It is vital all member states ratify it,” he urged.
Neighbourhood policy
Prodi outlined his vision of the EU’s future relationship with the rest of the world.
Seeking a “ring of friends, with whom we will eventually share everything but institutions” he focussed on Poland as having a strong role in promoting EU values in the wider region.
Strengthening ties with Ukraine would bolster Poland’s economic growth and security he said.
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