Tip O’Neill: Peace Lecture Series: Pat Cox

EU Parliament President speaks about Europe, Peace and Enlargement – April 26 2004

The President of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox MEP, gave a Tip O’Neill Peace Lecture on the role of the EU as a force for reconciliation.

This lecture – the third in a recent trilogy involving all the Presidents of the three main political bodies of the EU – came just days before the historic expansion of the EU to encompass 10 new states – many of which were under Soviet domination prior to the collapse of Communism.

In a though-provoking and wide-ranging lecture, President Cox discussed the role of the EU as a groundbreaking form of institutionalized reconciliation in Europe and a practical force for peace in the wider world.

In discussing the future of the EU as it comes to terms with enlargement, President Cox said the European Union should move forward by agreeing a new constitution. He said

‘The time has come politically to give the green light to the Constitutional Treaty and to equip the new European Union for its new challenges and aspirations. It is time to draw a line under more than a decade of introspection’.

Mr Cox delivered his speech, entitled Europe as a Force for Creative Reconciliation, at the invitation of the Tip O'Neill Chair, Professor John Hume. He followed former US President Bill Clinton, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD and President of the European Commission Romano Prodi.