“Twenty years after 9/11, a year and a half after the start of this pandemic and a month after the withdrawal [of US troops] from Afghanistan, we have to realise that the world is multipolar and has to be more multilateral: it is not a matter of choice, it is a matter of facts”, declared the Portuguese head of state.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stressed that “the EU has to play an even more important role, as much as itself, but also relatively to allies in NATO, partners and in general with the whole world”.

“And we are in a unique position to build bridges in climate, health, [fighting] terrorism, migration, energy, digital and, of course, human rights,” he said.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa thus defended union between the EU countries: “We have to be more united. We are all different, but there is something we have in common, which are the values ​​and principles of the European project”.

“We must be successful in the transition from pandemic to endemic, in the recovery from the social and economic crisis, in our political and social cohesion and we cannot waste time and we must learn the lessons of the past”, added the Head of State.