The subtitle of our Blueprint is 'launching a European debate'. This is important to note because we do not have either the intention or the insolence to suggest we have all the answers. No - we want to start and fuel a democratic debate with the European Parliament, members of national parliaments, governments, academics, people of culture and thinkers, citizens, on where the future of Europe should lie. We want to put all the elements on the table, in a clear and consistent way, even if some of them may sound like political science fiction today. They will be reality in a few years' time, sooner than we might think. Not only we want to be prepared for when that happens but also we have the ambition for ensuring the democratic legitimacy of the decisions taken.
That is also the role of the European Commission, to advance ideas, to prepare the ground and provide a coherent vision. I am happy to note here that the Blueprint is followed up by open debates in the Council, in the European Parliament and in a number of Member States, some of which might even organise a national conference on the Blueprint, similar to this event. The fact that, for instance, last month one of Europe's most important and respected philosophers, Jürgen Habermas, referred to the Blueprint as "the first more detailed document in which the European Union develops a perspective for reforms in the medium and long term that go beyond the present" and the fact that Habermas used it as the basis for his ideas on the broader vision for Europe, strengthens my conviction that this debate will progress beyond the confines of the European institutions or beyond the confines of Brussels and Strasbourg.
A truly European public debate is necessary to underpin the intensified political union that is a key complement to fiscal and economic integration. Europe's democratic legitimacy and accountability must keep pace with its increased role and power, and I hope that the last panel later today will show the multiple ways to do this.
Further economic integration would transcend the limits of the intergovernmental method of running the European Union and the eurozone in particular, so ensuring democratic legitimacy is increasingly a priority. In this context, the role of the European Parliament and of the national parliaments will be critical.
Above all, public support for Europe requires a change in political leaders' attitude to create a truly European political sphere. A full-grown European Union cannot do without a mature democratic debate. However difficult it may be to convince citizens in times of crisis, however hard it is to explain often technical and sometimes very unpopular decisions, there is no other option in a democracy.
Europe will be open and democratic, or it will fail. This is why I believe the mainstream forces in European politics must seize the initiative, should leave their comfort zone to welcome and embrace this debate, rather than relinquish the momentum to eurosceptic or europhobic forces. If you believe in the democratic resilience of Europe, if you take Europe's citizens seriously, you have to fight with rational arguments and unwavering convictions - and be convinced, as I am personally, that these will win the debate for us in the end.
The world has moved on since we set up the Economic and Monetary Union. What 20 years ago was a big step forward, has now been surpassed by rapid evolutions in technology, in the economy and in our societies. Europe's economic interdependence - so strikingly highlighted by the financial crisis - calls for increased political integration.
We will not get away with half-hearted solutions any more, and half-integrated institutions will no longer do. We will not regain the trust of investors if we allow the momentum for reform to slip once again. We will not serve our citizens unless we do what we have to do - all of it – and do it well.
That is the challenge we are now facing. And though it is a serious challenge, in a troublesome context and with a heated democratic debate about the decisions we need to take, I am absolutely convinced that we will succeed in transforming the European Union so that it is fit to face the demands of this 21st century.
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