Speech delivered by H.E. Mr. David Daly on the occasion of the celebration of Europe Day 2023

Your Excellencies, Professors, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends

I warmly welcome you all to this “Friends of Europe” reception. Thank you for coming. You are all part of the growing engagement between Thailand and the EU.

We celebrate both Europe Day and our over 60 years of EU-Thai relations.

9 May every year is celebrated as Europe Day, the birthday of the European Union.

The EU was born out of the ashes of WW2 in order to prevent another war in Europe. On 9 May 1950 the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman planted an idea, namely,  that if countries in Europe, especially historic enemies, could agree to manage jointly between themselves the key industries which are needed in order to wage war - coal, iron, steel - then this might help them to avoid falling into another cataclysmic “European civil war”, such as Europe had seen every 50 years or so going back hundreds of years.

The EU is fundamentally a peace project.

Over time this idea became the European Union of today; from 6 original members to 27 Member States today; from coal and steel  to Climate change, Trade, Sustainable Development, a common currency and much more.

Because of the success of the EU over the decades, where war between its members has become unthinkable,  we are all the more shocked by the unjustified and illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. This aggression,  with its global implications  and which is based on concepts such as “spheres of influence” and “ might is right”, is something which should be confined to the past, not acceptable in the 21st century.

As the EU grew in terms of membership and policies, so also did it grow in terms of its relationships with partner countries around the world.

Thailand is an important country in an important region.

We celebrate the over 60 years of EU-Thai relations. Ours is a relationship which has grown and blossomed over the decades, although on occasion there have been winds which have caused us setbacks too, caused the relationship to bend, but not break. Nonetheless, in line with Thailand’s own steps taken over recent years on its path back towards democracy, EU-Thailand relations are again blossoming, again going from strength to strength.

Last year we signed the politically important Partnership and Cooperation Agreement when Prime Minister Prayut-Chan-o-Cha was in Brussels.

Last December we held the first EU-ASEAN Commemorative Summit as Strategic Partners; this owes much to the support which Thailand has given over many years, including as the ASEAN coordinator for relations with the EU some years ago.

A few weeks ago Minister of Commerce Mr. Jurin and the European Trade Commissioner, Executive Vice-President Dombrovkis announced the resumption of negotiations for an ambitious Free Trade Agreement for later this year.

Last week there were Thai National Security Council officials attending the European Security and Defence College in Brussels  as part of our growing cooperation in the security field.

This week Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr.Vijavat Isarabhakdi will attend the EU Ministerial Forum on the Indo-Pacific being held in Stockholm organised by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy and the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Next month we will sign an agreement on diplomatic facilitation.

There is a new dynamism in our relations.

Thailand’s path towards democracy over recent years has enabled this strengthening of EU-Thailand relations and I hope that this week’s election will represent another milestone further along this path. In all of our democracies we face the challenges of ensuring a credible, inclusive and transparent electoral process underpinned by independent institutions.

The EU looks forward to working with whatever government emerges reflecting the will of the Thai people as expressed through the  ballot box.

Finally, I pay tribute to our EU Policy Outreach and Partnership Programme which has greatly helped strengthen our engagement with Thailand, often going beyond  the usual policy dialogues into more diverse areas such as tolerance and respect in society, the EU urban heritage in Bangkok, our seminar series with the Institute of International and Security Studies of Chulalongkorn University, and innovative sustainable environmental practices.

Under this programme two days ago I planted some trees in Lumphini Park, together with H.E.  Governor Chadchart Sittipunt and H.E Mrs. Busadee Santipitaks, Deputy Secretary of the MFA. The EU also donated some  600 trees to the city of Bangkok for its “Plant a Million Trees” campaign to green the city.

Our engagement with Thailand is like a jigsaw puzzle. This EU Policy Outreach and Partnership programme has helped fashion many of the colourful pieces - working with academics, youth, NGOs, communities and businesses, amongst others. Thank you EUPOP.

I wish to thank you all for being here; to thank the hotel Kempinski for its wonderful facilities; to thank the students of the Mahidol University School of Music and our Ukrainian guests, for their beautiful playing and singing.

Please enjoy the rest of the evening.

Thank you for your attention. Khop kun na krub. Saswadee Khap.