All Member States are faced with three significant challenges: peace, freedom, and prosperity, which can only be met through the European dimension.

Does this sound familiar? This quote is over 40 years old.

Simone Veil said this in 1979, during her first speech as President of the European Parliament.

In that same speech, she described Europe as an island of freedom surrounded by regimes where force prevails.

She argued that to safeguard peace, freedom, and prosperity in Europe, we should incorporate and stabilize Greece, Spain, and Portugal, which had just freed themselves from dictatorships. We did that, and it worked.

After the Cold War, we followed a similar model.

When I was your age, Europe underwent its greatest geopolitical transformation since World War II. I was a journalist in Germany and witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the return of democracy from Estonia to Poland, Slovenia, and Bulgaria. Old communist regimes also ended in Albania, starting its path to democracy.

We saw Germanys reunification and dreamed of unifying the entire continent. We again followed Simone Veils advice to stabilize our continent, bringing newly free countries from Central and Eastern Europe into the EU. My country, Slovenia, was one of them.

The enlargements of the early 2000s are among the greatest geopolitical successes of our Union. They anchored young democracies and helped them thrive.

Unfortunately, the country of my youth took a different path. Except for Slovenia and Croatia, we did not use a credible EU membership prospect to achieve reconciliation, remove borders, and complete our Union by including all of Southeast Europe.

In recent years, the EU faced crises like debt, migration challenges, a member leaving, and pandemic consequences, focusing mainly internally.

But windows of opportunity open and close. Today, a geopolitical re-alignment is shaking our continents foundations. We face more than just Russia; our differences with our oldest ally are growing.

The European Union remains the only way to address these challenges. As in Simone Veils time, they are peace, freedom, and prosperity. And today, I would add, security.

This means Ukraine. The wars outcome will shape Europes future for decades. Europe must shape the peace and post-war landscape of the continent. Last weeks European Council showed Europes readiness to enhance its military and defense dimension, but real work is yet to come.

Just like in the 1990s, we need bold decisions because the box within which we used to think no longer exists.

Last month, I visited Kyiv with President von der Leyen and the College of Commissioners, bringing an ambitious energy support security package for Ukraine. Over the next two years, we will fully integrate Ukraine into our electricity market and increase energy security for both the EU and Ukraine. Its a win-win.

In defense, Ukraine has a lot to offer. They build some of the best drones globally. Ukraines industry can be a massive asset for a European Union taking more responsibility for its security.

All these measures can be taken before membership, and we should. In Ukraine, we want to see peace through strength, which goes beyond military strength to include economic strength and secure energy supplies.

The geopolitical situation demands bold decisions on Ukraine, but our goal is not just a faster pathway for Ukraine alone — it could be a new blueprint for accelerated European integration for all candidate countries.

There has always been tension between the enlargement process demands, requiring constant reforms, and candidate countries electoral cycles. Governments need to demonstrate quicker benefits to voters, with EU membership seeming too far away.

In the Western Balkans, we are addressing this with our Growth Plan, offering financial incentives for reforms and gradual integration into the EU single market. This should go hand in hand with building a regional market in the Western Balkans.

Just last week, North Macedonia and Moldova joined the Single Euro Payment area, making money transfers faster and cheaper. Albania and Montenegro did this last year. EU integration is already happening, bringing real benefits to citizens and businesses of both the EU and candidate countries.

There wont be a geopolitical discount on reforms, especially on the fundamentals, which are central.

The rule of law and fundamental freedoms ensure that if I criticize my government, it cant fabricate charges against me. They guarantee EU funding is used for infrastructure, not personal gain. They ensure fair court decisions in business disputes.

These are necessary for democracy and a thriving economy offering a prosperous future for the young generation. When European business associations meet me, thats often what they discuss.

You young people play a decisive role here. You have the most at stake in your countries future. You have the power to change the system by refusing past practices.

Corruption must not be tolerated. Demand accountability and integrity. The system must work for you, not against you.

Fundamental reforms are difficult, challenging power structures and demanding societal transformation.

Make the accession process inclusive and a national project for the whole of society.

In Slovenia, when negotiating membership, we had political party agreement not to argue over EU reforms, instrumental in speeding up the EU membership path.

Governments should work with all societal sectors to ensure everyone understands and owns this journey.

Wherever I travel, I meet civil society organizations and women leaders. Strong civil society means strong democracy, an inclusive society, and accountable government.

Im working on increasing EU financial support for civil society in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe. You can count on me to be part of your team on the EU membership path.

Albania has come a long way. When Prime Minister Rama visited me in Brussels, he brought a gift: an artistically decorated Coca-Cola can, reminding us of the pasts mysterious allure.

Albania has a real opportunity to become one of the next EU member states. It is possible to open and close all negotiation chapters within this Commissions mandate, provided Albania stays the course on fundamentals and accelerates reforms.

This depends not just on Albania but also on Member State voters attitudes. Unfortunately, many know little about this part of Europe, often seeing the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe as complex or diverse.

We need to speak more about this regions contributions to Europes security through cooperation with Europol or Frontex, or as part of supply chains or energy networks.

We need to highlight people from this region shaping our continent, like Dua Lipa, Marina Abramović, and others.

Having a College of Europe in Tirana is crucial. Bring more young people here to challenge these narratives.

All of Europe is complex, diverse, and has seen conflicts. But communities have come back together.

Your generations task is to lead the way in removing remaining borders and completing our Union.

Im optimistic about Europes future. Several enlargement waves have transformed us, with 450 million people, an economy ten times the size of Russias, and a Union far more innovative and technologically advanced.

Europe has the power to adapt and reform, and greater European cooperation is essential to confront adversaries.

Completing our continents unification must be part of Europes response.

Lets think boldly. Our Union has always been built by those who dared to think beyond their times constraints. As in Simone Veils era, we must rise to the challenge.

Lets ensure that one day, young people from Tirana, Kyiv, Podgorica, Chișinău, or Belgrade will be part of the final chapter of European unification.