Barroso: Freedom and Solidarity Continue to Define the EU at 50

Marking the 50th Anniversary of the European Union, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso reflects in today's Christian Science Monitor on the profound impact the EU has had on his life and the lives of others in Europe.

"The case for Europe remains compelling. I could explain the rationale for common approaches on energy policy and climate protection. I could set out why we need the single market to match economic growth with social justice. Or I could defend the need to build a strong and efficient European Union, able to shape globalization according to European values and interests.

"But on this occasion, I want above all to focus on the values that, more than anything else, define the European Union and its history: freedom and solidarity...

"I was just 18 years old and, like most young people in Portugal, I wanted to get rid of the dictatorship that denied my compatriots what other Western Europeans already enjoyed. We could not read the books or write the articles we wanted. Political activity was controlled by the security forces. We lived in a backward and closed society. The revolution changed all that. And thanks to the solidarity of Western democracies, thanks to the perspective of becoming a member of the European family, freedom won the day, in my country, and at the same time in Spain and Greece, too."

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