The King has called on Europe to "reaffirm and unite even more forcefully and decisively", in the face of challenges such as "the war in Ukraine, provoked by the unacceptable Russian invasion". Felipe VI made this appeal on Tuesday, during his speech at the delivery of the Carlos V European Prize to the UN Secretary General, António Guterres. The event coincided with Europe Day, which is celebrated every 9 May.
Felipe VI has claimed the EU – "the best place for democracy, rights, equality and solidarity" – and has called on his countries to "assert their voice in this new context of transformation of the international order based on the values and principles that are their hallmark". Faced with challenges such as the war in Ukraine, but also the energy transition and the refugee and migrant crisis, the King called for "a collective response, because the EU cannot be understood without the solidarity of all its member states and all European citizens".
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António Guterres: "Peace in Ukraine is not possible at this time. Both sides believe they can win."
The King congratulated Guterres on an award received in previous editions by Jacques Delors, Felipe González and Angela Merkel and thanked him for having built, throughout his long political career ― in which he has been Prime Minister of Portugal, President of the Socialist International and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Among other charges― "an alternative way to optimism, which is nothing but reasoned confidence in our ability to cooperate to build a better world."
In his speech thanking the prize, Guterres warned that "never, since the creation of the UN and the European Union", the values represented by both organizations "have been so threatened". "Peace remains our North Star and our most cherished goal," Guterres said, adding that "peace should never be underestimated or taken for granted." "We must work for and for her, every day, without rest," he added. Instead of bullets, we need diplomatic arsenals," he continued. "Negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration... We must try everything to peacefully resolve our disagreements."
The head of the United Nations has not only called for "peace among men", but also "with nature, because the war we are waging with our planet is endangering the very survival of humanity". In addition, he has warned that "hate speech, polarization, racism and xenophobia spread at the speed of a click" and has called to defend "common humanity" against those who exploit differences and undermine social cohesion.
Finally, Guterres has denounced that 1% of the population has hoarded two-thirds of the new wealth created since 2020 and that 26 people own as much as half of the world's population. "The accumulation of wealth borders on the obscene," he proclaimed. The international financial system is "deeply unjust" and "this injustice is a threat to peace," he said. Finally, he announced that he will donate the economic endowment of the prize (30,000 euros) to scholarships for students and to the association Spain with UNHCR, which serves refugees.
The King, as honorary president of the Yuste Foundation, presides over the award ceremony of the #PremioEuropeoCarlosV, which in its XVI edition falls to the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres.
➡️https://t.co/iTwVl2H7H0 pic.twitter.com/7kmmrt7zGO
— House of HM the King (@CasaReal) May 9, 2023
The war in Ukraine has been present in the act in the mouth of Lana Tryhub, a 34-year-old woman, mother of two daughters, deputy director of the cultural center of Poltava, 140 kilometers west of Kharkiv, who had to flee her country and has found a new home in Extremadura. The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has referred to her as representing all refugees "from an illegal, immoral, unjust and intolerable war".
The monastery of Yuste (Cáceres), the last retreat of Emperor Charles V, was also attended by the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, the President of the Regional Government of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, the High Commissioner for Foreign and Security Policy of the EU, Josep Borrell, and the Ibero-American Secretary General. Andres Allamand.