Lecture by EU Ambassador Anne Koistinen at the French School of Kuwait
Europe Month
Lecture at the French School of Kuwait
Thursday, 15 May 2025 at 12h
It is a pleasure and honor for me to talk with you today. I would also like to extend my appreciation to the Belgian Ambassador H.E. Mr. Cristhian Dooms, for taking the initiative of coming here today and discussing Europe with all of you. I would also like to thank the School, in particular Ms. Pascale CHELALA, and Mr. Said Maamar from the French Institute in Kuwait, for being here today.
Allow me to speak with you in English. To give you a bit of flavor of the European Union, both English and French are the main working languages at the European Institutions. My colleague, the Belgian Ambassador will address you in French.
I feel honored to be here in this great school for the second time, and I would like to thank the Belgian Ambassador and his team at the Embassy for arranging this visit as part of Europe Month activities. Europe month evolves around Europe Day, which takes place every year on the 9 May. Why 9 May?
In the 50’s, the wounds of World War II were still fresh in Europe. 75 million people had died on European soil. More than half, around 40 million, were civilians. Imagine, that is almost 10 times the current population of Kuwait!
On 9th May 1950, which is exactly 75 years ago, the French Foreign Minister at the time Robert Schuman proposed to create a Union of former war enemies, in which war would be unthinkable. The founding countries began by pooling two materials that drove war: coal and steel, which led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the very first predecessor of the EU.
Since then, this beautiful project of political, economic and social integration in Europe has gone through multiple transformations and enlargements, evolving into the European Union we know today, with 27 Member States and over 440 million citizens.
The European Union has managed to preserve peace and promote prosperity for more than 70 years in Europe, which makes it one of the most successful peace and stability projects in the world.
In 2012, the European Union received the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe. The European Union is the first international organization to win the award.
Please allow me to share some key figures about the EU: 27 member states that are located in Europe with a population of over 440 million and 24 official languages. The EU accounts for almost 6 % of the total number of inhabitants in the world.
Operating as a single market with 27 countries, EU’s trade with the rest of the world accounts for 16 % of global trade. The European Union’s Gross Domestic Product represents around 1/6 of the global economy.
70 years ago, the European Union started small with just six member states. Today, the EU has 27 countries and has its own institutional structure, in which the European Council brings together the heads of the 27 Member States to set out the guiding political principles.
Another important institution is the Council of the European Union, which represents the main decision-making body, composed of the relevant ministers from the EU Member States.
The European Commission turns these decisions into action, by proposing laws, running programs and funding projects.
The European Central Bank decides the European fiscal policy and 20 countries share one common currency: the Euro.
We have our own Parliament, the European Parliament, which is one of the largest parliaments in the world with 720 members, and there is also a European Court of Justice, that makes sure EU law it is applied in the same way in all EU Member States, as well as the European Court of Auditors, which is the supreme audit institution of the European Union.
The European Union and its institutions are however not static. The EU has faced many challenges and crises throughout its history. With each challenge we overcome, we mature and learn. In this regard, Robert Schuman, a founding father of the European integration project, stated: “Europe will not be made at once. We will build it step by step, responding to crises and providing answers.”
The values on which the European Union was built have however neither changed nor wavered. They define who we are and what we would like to do.
The EU’s founding principles are 1) human dignity, 2) equality, 3) freedom, 4) democracy, 5) the rule of law and 6) human rights.
The European Union is in a way similar to the Gulf Cooperation Council, where different countries share similar values and interests, while every member state is unique, bringing rich but very different histories and cultures into the Union. In fact, our motto as European Union is “united in diversity.”
The European project brings many benefits for its citizens. I personally appreciate a lot freedom of movement, which gives me possibility to move, reside and work freely within the territory of all the Member States. The European Union has also become a Global Player and in order to become more influential, strong international relationships are extremely important to us.
Please allow me to turn now to the EU-Kuwait relations: I am honored to be the second EU Ambassador to Kuwait. The EU opened its Delegation in Kuwait six years ago in 2019, in recognition of an increasing importance of Kuwait as a partner of the European Union and generally of Kuwait’s distinguished role in the region.
Kuwait is a natural partner for the European Union as we both strive for more peace and stability in the region through diplomatic means, mediation and dialogue. In addition, we both have strong humanitarian and development focus in our external relations.
The presence of the EU Delegation on the spot enables a direct contact with interlocutors and more opportunities to strengthen our relations with various state institutions and the civil society, including with youth and academia.
Now, I would like to talk briefly about Europe, as a top study destination, which I suspect, may be closer to your interests. The European Union is home to premier educational institutions dating back to the University of Bologna, Salamanca or Paris, founded in the 11th and 12th centuries. Higher education institutions in Europe offer world-class education and research in basically every field, with many universities across Europe offering high quality programs in English and in French, as well as in many other languages.
There is not one European education system. Every EU Member State has the freedom to develop its schools and universities based on its own history, cultures and learning approaches. This diversity is the richness of European education.
Youth empowerment is at the heart of the EU: In 1987, European leaders established Erasmus program to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Over the last 30 years, it offered a life changing experience to more than 10 million participants. Initially, this program was opened only for students from the EU member states. Now, however, students from third partner countries such as Kuwait can also benefit from Erasmus + student mobility scheme.
Beyond academics, studies in Europe offer the wealth of its cities and countries. You can again travel from Finland to Southern Italy in less than 12 hours by train. Or, hop on a train in Brussels and arrive in Paris, Amsterdam or Cologne in less than 2 hours.
You can visit Europe’s many museums, fashion houses and music festivals. You can meet students not just from one country, but also from across Europe.
I strongly encourage you to explore the study opportunities that the European Union offers. The “Study in Europe” pages of the European Commission website provide full details to plan and complete studies on the European continent.
I would also like to encourage you to follow our accounts on Instagram and “X” at @EUinKuwait to follow our many activities and engagements.
To close my intervention I would like to quote President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen: “For me Europe is home. For my parents, Europe was peace. For my generation, Europe is Freedom and Rule of Law. For my children, Europe is the future and open-mindedness.”
Now, as Kuwait this year has become the Arab Capital for Culture and Media, I would like to show you one short video about the many cultural connections between Europe and Kuwait. After the video, my colleague the Belgian Ambassador H.E. Mr. Christian Dooms, will provide you with the perspective of a European Union Member State. Thank you very much and I am looking forward to exchanging with all of you.