Excellencies, Ministers,
Representatives of social partners and civil society,
Colleagues, friends,
Europe has cities that carry special meaning for our Union.
Think of Rome, where the dream of integration was set in motion. Or Maastricht, where we built the single currency. Copenhagen, where we set the rules for enlargement. And Porto.
Porto has become the city of Europes social commitment and ambition.
Four years ago, as the shadow of the pandemic still hung over Europe, EU leaders and social partners gathered here to lay down an ambitious social agenda.
The Porto targets took the promise of the European Pillar of Social Rights and turned them into concrete, actionable goals.
Two years ago, at the Porto Social Forum, we reaffirmed that commitment.
Today, we return to take stock, to measure progress, and above all – to renew our ambition and chart the direction for a strong social Europe as the best answer to Europes challenges.
