"“Peace is not mere absence of war, it is a virtue”, wrote Spinoza:“Pax enim non belli privatio, sed virtus est”. And he added it is “a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice”. Indeed, there can only be true peace if people are confident. At peace with their political system. Reassured that their basic rights are respected. The European Union is not only about peace among nations. It incarnates, as a political project, that particular state of mind that Spinoza was referring to. It embodies, as a community of values, this vision of freedom and justice. I remember vividly in 1974 being in the mass of people, descending the streets in my native Lisbon, in Portugal, celebrating the democratic revolution and freedom. This same feeling of joy was experienced by the same generation in Spain and Greece. It was felt later in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Baltic States when they regained their independence. Several generations of Europeans have shown again and again that their choice for Europe was also a choice for freedom."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
, Nobel Peace Prize Lecture of the European Union, 10 December 2012
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/European_Union
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
European Union
53 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by European Union →
Related Quotes
"We do not fear that the operations of time may never bring a united Europe, with a reunited Germany at its centre. We…"
"The future treaty which you are discussing has no chance of being agreed; if it was agreed, it would have no chance o…"
"There are only two kinds of states in Europe: small states, and small states that have not yet realised they are small."
"A referendum on this matter consists of consulting people who don’t know the problems instead of consulting people wh…"
"You know what they say about the average Common Market official? He has the organizing ability of the Italians, the f…"
"Here in Western Europe you have created a multinational democratic community in which there is a free flow of people,…"
"The President of the Commission, M. Delors, said at a press conference the other day that he wanted the European Parl…"
"The European Union implies the notion of the ‘Minimal State’, the abandonment of mixed economy and of economic planni…"
"Europe began as an elitist project in which it was believed that all was required was to convince the decision-makers…"
"Robert Schuman, who was in a hurry to catch his train for London, so skilfully evaded the newspapermen’s detailed que…"