Secretary-General, Excellencies, Ambassadors.

It is truly a pleasure to be able to see you in person this year, instead of just on a screen – although I regularly had the chance to meet with some of you over the past two years, whether at meetings in Brussels or when travelling abroad. I see a few faces that bring to mind memories of missions a few months ago, or in some cases a little longer ago.

First of all I would like to tell you what an immense pleasure it is for me in my role, and for my entire team, to work with you on a daily basis. Through you, I know, we are also working together with your teams. Because you are, in a way, the eyes, the ears and also the voice of the European Union throughout the world.

And now more than ever, with the world’s foundations shaking beneath our feet, the EU must try to act with strength, with cohesion, and with conviction too.

It may have seemed a little theoretical at the time, but for the past two years, I have spoken to you about a conviction – which, fortunately, I am not alone in holding – that relates to the sovereignty and strategic autonomy of the European Union. And the fact is that over the past two years, what may have seemed like a theoretical, abstract concept has become a very real concept indeed. We saw it with the COVID crisis: it hit us hard, it highlighted some strengths – and we should be proud of them – but it also revealed some weaknesses in the EU and in the multilateral system in general.

And of course, we see it all too clearly with this war, with the blood that is being shed once again on the European continent, and that is upending some of the points of reference we may have had. This war being waged by a country that is a member of the UN Security Council, a country that should therefore be a guarantor of the rules-based order. This war launched by a country that holds nuclear weapons and has no qualms about making threats, if not explicitly, then at least implicitly.

As I stand before you now, as we meet here in Brussels to try to align on how to realise an ambition for the EU, the people of Ukraine – women, children and men – are being hit by missiles. Before joining you, I was in contact with the Ukrainian prime minister, who told me about the latest developments in Kyiv, with many missiles being fired at this very moment, with many dead and injured.

And at the same time as this war is taking place on Ukrainian soil, an energy missile has also been fired at the European Union. An attempt to strike at the heart of the European Union’s economic system, and perhaps also an attempt to undermine our social cohesion, our unity, to attack the morale of the European Union and its faith in its own future.

And this war is also, in a way, a bomb that has been placed beneath the multilateral system. As well we know – more or less intuitively, more or less rationally – without a doubt, we are at this very moment being thrown into a sort of geopolitical transition towards a new chapter, a different chapter in the history of international relations.

That is why, when I had the privilege and honour of addressing the UN General Assembly on behalf of the European Union a few weeks ago, I tried humbly – but, believe me, with conviction – to emphasise two messages.

The first was about trying to scientifically dismantle the Kremlin’s propaganda and lie machine. As you are well aware, there is a hostile narrative that has been developed by the Kremlin, a narrative that is gaining some traction in a number of countries around the world. There is no room for resignation. We need to engage, point by point, to try to restore the truth, to restore our narrative and explain why we have chosen not only to firmly support Ukraine, but also to condemn Russia just as firmly in the context of this war.

The second message I tried to emphasise is a conviction which I want to share with you – the conviction that this moment in the history of international relations, this moment in the history of the European Union cannot be a moment for the European Union to disengage from the rest of the world. On the contrary. The European Union is a political project oriented towards the outside world, towards our partners. We are a force – and this is the meaning of ‘leadership’ – for the climate. We are a force for peace, security and development. We are a force for economic cooperation. And I think that exercising leadership should be the European Union’s ambition.

Exercising leadership, to me, means trying to keep the international and multilateral systems running smoothly. It means being a force that builds bridges, that pulls together, that unites. It also means being committed to delivering when we make promises and when we make commitments. We are active on climate, on peace and on development. We have also been active on health, putting forward the treaty on pandemics currently being negotiated. And we are an actor for peace and security, with the high representative and the External Action Service teams working to bring the world back to the Iran nuclear deal, when we endeavour, with our Member States, to engage in the Sahel and as a positive force in Libya, and when we lead the mediation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as we did just a few days ago on the sidelines of the recent meetings in Prague.

To my mind, being a force for peace, being a committed, benevolent force, does not mean being obsessed with imposing certain points of view from the top down. It means being able to talk to everyone, including those who do not exactly share our views in international relations. It means being able to talk to everyone frankly and, when necessary, firmly, but always – and this is not easy – with respect and without arrogance.

Sometimes, rightly or wrongly, we, the European Union, are perceived as lecturing to people, especially on the values that lie at the very heart of who we are, and on human rights. When this happens, I always explain to my foreign interlocutors that it is probably because in the last century the European continent was the scene of the most abominable horrors ever perpetrated by human beings against their fellow human beings that we are convinced we have a particular responsibility to promote these fundamental rights which underpin human dignity.

Engaging with all parties is what we have done, for example, with our African partners earlier this year. We wanted to change the paradigm of relations between the European Union and Africa by basing our future on this genuine and respectful partnership between equals, also ensuring that we can channel more financial resources to development in Africa.

But I think the war in Ukraine has made us realise that, as a matter of urgency, we must also deepen our ties and cooperation with our neighbourhood more quickly and more strongly.

And it is with this in mind that, a few months ago, the European Council probably caused some surprise by deciding to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova and recognising Georgia’s European perspective. I like to think that this was a significant political moment for the European Union in the current context. In the same vein, as you know, much work was accomplished under the French Presidency of the European Union to achieve the opening of negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. We have tried and will continue to engage intensively in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the context of the internal political process of reform, which is indispensable for its candidacy.

Finally, talking of enlargement – a delicate and sensitive subject – brings me to share some thoughts and impressions with you. It seems to me that we should speed up reforms to the enlargement system. These reforms should allow us to deliver initial benefits more quickly as part of the accession process, and to dispel the impression that it is a question of all or nothing: nothing during the accession process then everything once accession has been granted. I think that this is a legitimate expectation on the part of the countries concerned. It is also a legitimate expectation to try to mobilise their populations in support of ties with the European Union.

Lastly, ladies and gentlemen, as you know, it is only a few days since the European Political Community met for the first time. An idea which was floated just a few months ago, before the summer, managed to bring together 44 countries from across the European continent in Prague. We share the same continent and the same challenges in terms of stability, security, prosperity and development.

Energy issues, for example, do not just concern countries of the European Union, but every single country on the European continent. The idea is to set up a political platform for regular dialogue at the level of Heads of State or Government and to foster mutual understanding and common ground on how to act on issues that affect us all.

Trying to assume leadership means humbly endeavouring to show our truth and how we hope to light the way ahead to meet the challenges facing the world as a whole. Assuming leadership also means taking great care to deliver on our promises and honour our commitments.

We often have the opportunity to make commitments and promises. We did so at the summit with the African Union. We did so in the Eastern Partnership. We did so with the Western Balkans. I think we have a great responsibility, be it in Brussels or in the posts in which you represent the European Union, to deliver on and keep our promises. I emphasise this because otherwise, if we make promises, and if we promise a lot without following through, we sow disillusionment, frustration and disappointment. We have no right to have such an attitude. On the contrary: we want to be credible. We must constantly strive not to let promises get entangled in red tape, for whatever reason, good or bad, or bogged down in the difficulties inherent in the decision-making process.

I wanted to keep this introduction short because I really want to listen to you, talk with you and hear your questions and comments as well as learn from your experiences. I am aware that you as Heads of Delegation and your teams play a vital role in this extraordinary moment in our shared history. You are responsible for translating and delivering on the Union's commitments on the ground. You are responsible for rolling out the projects, contributing to the economic transformations associated with the European Union in our partner countries. You are responsible for ensuring the visibility of the European Union's action as well as its credibility. I am sure that you are ready to do even more and even better, especially in terms of economic diplomacy, with a win-win mentality, wherever the European Union can make a difference.

Of course that affects our trade agreements. And there too we have work to do. Some introspection may be necessary. It’s good to initiate, negotiate and reach agreements, but it’s even better to be able to ratify and implement agreements, some of which have been negotiated over many years before being concluded. So we need some frank reflection to enable us to draw lessons for the future.

Lastly, I am conscious of the extent of people’s expectations of the European Union on the ground, in our partner countries and that we frequently underestimate, in Brussels or within the Union, the attractiveness of the Union for many world regions. I felt this very strongly in my contacts with Latin American countries. I felt it very strongly, too, in my contacts with ASEAN member countries. And in Africa too. I think we should mobilise the instruments available to us in a more horizontal approach. There is room for better channelling of the diverse resources the Union can offer. Viewed as a whole, the programmes, resources, levers and instruments at our disposal in the European Union - let alone the Team Europe dimension with our Member States - form a vast array with huge capabilities, but they still need to be mobilised in as horizontal a manner as possible. Our temptation, at times, to adopt more vertical, compartmentalised approaches can be problematic for our external action. I'm sharing the experience I sometimes have when meeting heads of state or government from third countries who expect a more general and comprehensive approach, rather than a merely vertical one.

I'll conclude with a few observations. We face a world that is being turned upside down. Hybrid warfare is a fact of life. It combines conventional weapons with other destabilising techniques. These include cyberattacks and disinformation attacks, like the recent spectacular attack in Mali, which was foiled this time. As I see it, what matters here is that hybrid warfare focuses on the narrative, not as an additional or secondary element, but a central one. And that’s where your experience and responsibility come into play as EU representatives engaged in fighting and exposing these narratives. I am counting on each of you to sound the alarm when you come across narratives that require action or a reaction. But we also need your advice, since through your roles and responsibilities you have acquired a knowledge of how actions and initiatives by the European Union or other international players are perceived or interpreted.

We have been engaged in a twin transition in recent years. It is climate, it is digital. A few years ago we believed that these ecological and digital ambitions should form the growth plan of the European Union. We now see that we are facing a geopolitical transition which is more brutal than anything we could have imagined. A few months ago we met with the heads of state or government in Versailles to take action and make progress on the EU’s strategic autonomy. Three matters were at the heart of our debates.

Firstly, the energy issue. This is clearly a major topic that will require us to move faster and probably more boldly.

Secondly, security and defence. There too, an extremely important role can and must be played, initially in the external action area, if progress is to be made.

Thirdly, technological innovation. It is important for the European Union to project itself into the future by trying to harness ways of encouraging our companies to develop the technology that will enable us to become world leaders tomorrow whilst adhering to the values we believe in.

As you know, it’s a complex and turbulent time. But the history of the European Union has always shown - since the birth of this unusual and unique project - that when faced with adversity we have the strength to deploy resources to overcome the obstacles and emerge in a better integrated, stronger, more robust and more optimistic position. Even if we are well aware of the difficult challenges we face.

To be committed, strong and united: that is the promise and the goal that we should all endeavour to achieve. Thank you.