The college of commissioners held their weekly assembly in Luxembourg’s city hall, in the same room where the first meeting of the ECSC took place in 1952. The EU representatives discussed the rule of law ahead of the release of the EU’s 2022 report on the matter which was later presented by justice commissioner Didier Reynders and Commissioner for values and transparency Věra Jourová.
“Today we hold our weekly meeting in Luxembourg. To mark the first meeting of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community, which took place here, 70 years ago. It is no coincidence that it happened in Luxembourg, a country at the heart of Europe, which has Europe at heart,” said von der Leyen in a .
Ahead of the meeting, the college of commissioners met with with Grand Duke Henri and afterwards they attended a lunch hosted by prime minister Xavier Bettel.
“After the destruction, violence, war time and murderous madness, which reached its ignominious and tragic climax with the Holocaust, had ravaged our continent, the takeaway was: ne plus jamais - nie wieder - never again. Or to quote Robert Schuman in his declaration of 9 May: ‘World peace cannot be safeguarded without creative efforts commensurate with the dangers that threaten it’. Today, more than 72 years later, and in a context that is different but not completely detached from its origins, these words resonate strongly,” said Xavier Bettel.
Updated on 13 July at 17.57pm to include comment from Xavier Bettel.