Juncker: Big countries will discover they are really small

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, laying out his vision for the future of the European Union (EU), was clear on one thing: For the future of Europe, a united EU is not a wish but a necessity.

"Europe is the smallest continent in the world," Juncker said during a speech at the University of Luxembourg in Belval, before adding that European integration was the only way forward.

Citing the EU's shrinking percentage of economic output compared with the rest of the world and its shrinking population in comparison to other regions, the president said that "even the biggest countries will quickly realise they are very small".

When considering Europe's future place in the world, one has to consider how the rest of the world is developing, he said, adding that, to compete with the likes of China, the US and Russia, Europe must stick together. 

The EU's overall territory, Juncker pointed out, is only 5.5 million square kilometres in size. "That's very small," he said, before adding that Russia alone was 17.5 million square kilometres. 

"Russia is our first big neighbour, with which, in one way – and without forgetting the conflicts that exist – we must absolutely reconnect," he said. 

Don't get discouraged

Although some of the speech sounded almost like a warning, Juncker also encouraged people to keep faith in the European project and said determination and patience were key. 

"You cannot let yourself get discouraged – it will happen eventually," Juncker said. 

The president addressed Europe's social dimension, arguing that the European project, to remain true to its values, must be based on a common social base. Touching on Catalonia's independence vote, he said he did not want the Spanish region to become independent, as it could encourage other regions to follow suit and make governing the EU overly complicated.  

"If we allow Catalonia – and it's none of our business – to separate, others will do the same thing, and I do not want that," the former Luxembourgish Prime Minister said, adding that he was very worried about separatist movements in Europe. 

"Now they have to pay"

On Brexit, Juncker was – now his habit when addressing the subject – very brief. 

He started by saying that, at that point of his speech, he had to address the past and not the future of Europe and described the UK's exit from the EU "unexpected but not completely unexpected".

Juncker said the process would take longer than initially assumed and that, above all, the UK "had to pay". 

Referring to the so-called Brexit bill – the amount of money the UK is expected to pay to finance EU projects the UK agreed on while still a member – the president compared it with a friend ordering 28 beers at the bar but then leaving before paying.

He continued by saying that Europeans were grateful for a lot of great things the UK had done, but "now they have to pay" if the UK wanted to move to the second phase of the negotiations.

He also described ongoing wrangling over citizens' rights as "nonsense". 

Small countries do it better

Former European commissioner and MEP Viviane Reding, taking part in a panel with students and pupils after Juncker's speech, told the Luxemburger Wort the president was a good speaker because he not only formulated good sentences but also had "a vision".

"[It's] a vision of Europe in which it advances, and where, of course, the small countries play a role, just the way we've always done," Reding said.

She added that, "even though we need the French-German engine to accomplish anything in Europe, it can only be done when the small countries participate, and those are the better Europeans most of the time".

"The others speak more and more loudly, but the small countries act," she said.

(Barbara Tasch, barbara.tasch@wort.lu, +352 4993 732)