Find below the speech delivered by MR President Georges-Louis Bouchez at the ALDE congress on 24 October
Dear liberals, dear democrats, dear Europeans, I am very happy to welcome all of you here, in my country, to our common capital of our beloved Europe.
Beloved Europe! … I mean it. But imagine for a moment that we were “a global superpower.”
We would be intelligent to face the multiplication of provocations: drones, shadow fleets, sabotage, cyber-attacks, fake news campaigns, nuclear threats, tariffs, I could go on.
We would be efficient to retort to those openly declaring that they want to destroy our model of society, and then on some days destroy us completely.
We would be brave to secure our borders and to fight hate mongers: far right, far left, Islamic extremism which feed antisemitism and calls to warfare and online radicalisation…
But… are we smart enough? Normally yes… just take a look round this room ☺ Are we efficient enough? Not quite sure about that. Are we brave enough? Definitely not.
Dear democrats, Our enemies are testing our limits. We talk, They find our weakness. We debate, They test and provoke. We hesitate.
We keep on debating values, definitions, sensitivities, endlessly we keep passing resolution after resolution without concrete application.
And while we're busy writing all these important texts, knowing that the European legislative process takes… 19 months, 19 MONTHS, the world just moves on without us, sometimes even against us.
You all know the expression: when you are not at the table, you are on the menu. Nobody is listening to us anymore. We are not even in the conversation. But, still, we are lecturing the rest of the world.
No tyranny has trembled. No war has come close to an end. To the North and the East, our friends on the front line warn us. Ukrainian soldiers are fighting and young people are falling for our freedom.
Dear liberals, Danger doesn't systematically come from elsewhere.
The danger in our countries is a populist danger. Not so long ago, our populations hesitated between moderates on both left and right. Today, manipulated by algorithms, they succumb to trumpism against wokism, to the far right against the Muslim Brotherhood, to communism against the return of fascism.
The danger in our countries is a violent and radical activist danger.
Our democratic system is and remains, I truly believe, the best and the only reasonable system that works.
But our democratic system backtracks too often in front of the excess of violent and radical activists, owners of the truth, eternally unsatisfied and frustrated.
For these, the smallest grievance becomes a crusade. The smallest injustice, a tragedy. Drama queens are everywhere.
Dear Europeans, By abandoning ambition, we embraced regulation. In 1970, the EU was Airbus. In 1980, the EU was Ariane. In 1987, the EU was Erasmus. In 2020, the EU is a bottle cap…
ETS2, for example, a new tax that confuses ecology with punishment.
More expensive, more complex, but less competitive, less united and certainly less free.
Some call this a transition. Today, in the international context, I call it a suicide: an energy, industrial and even European suicide for the middle class.
And never forget: the middle class is the blood of our democracies. And the middle class is under pressure: too many taxes, too many regulations, too many fears…
For example, thanks to official European Commission documents, we already know that Europe will lose almost two million workers every year by 2040.
And another example: We have given, no, sorry, gifted, the keys to our car industry to China, by signing the end of combustion engines too early. The car industry represents thirteen million jobs, seven percent of European GDP. And yet, 88,000 jobs lost in 2024 alone.
At the same time, Chinese electric cars represent 70% of the global market. That is not a statistic: it is not even a warning.
We may have lost this battle, but the war is not over.
Because of our lack of competitiveness, according to the World Bank, the share of industry in total EU GDP fell from 29% in 1991 to just 23% in 2022. These figures are not hidden: they are written in all EU reports. But somehow, nobody talks about it.
At the moment, only four of the fifty biggest technology companies in the world are European.
Europe has stagnated. And when Europe stagnates, Europe becomes weaker.
Thirty years ago, EU and US GDP were equal. Today, US GDP is almost double European GDP.
By the end of the century, we might remain dignified, but empty-handed. We would then become the new Louvre, sorry Valérie, long live France!
With the liberals, with all of us in this room, this cannot, this will not happen.
Dear friends, Let us no longer be afraid. Let us favour risk and boldness. Strength and strategy.
How do we make Europe a global superpower? We have all the answers.
The Draghi report lists them one by one, in black and white: methodology, indicators, solutions. In the past year, only 10% of these recommendations have been implemented.
More than ever, Belgium might be right: Unity is strength. Strength in unity.
Let us be a Europe strong within NATO and strong by itself, able to deter aggression and never again be caught off guard by a crisis.
Let us eliminate the fragmentation of industry and defence.
Let us develop an industry capable of mass-producing drones and munitions.
Let us support strategic investments in semiconductors and the exploitation of rare earths.
Let us accelerate the development of artificial intelligence and its integration into all our strategic sectors: automotive, robotics, energy, telecommunications, agriculture, aerospace, defence, industry and education.
Let us reduce our dependency and break the taboo on nuclear energy. Let us accelerate.
Dear members, The time has come for a bold and confident liberal agenda for Europe.
If Europe wants to become a new superpower, it must stop being a super conference.
The world moves on. Fast. It is time to act. To take strong action.
Facing these challenges, Europe needs leadership: real leadership. And leadership does not come from bureaucracy; it comes from the ballot box.
A direct election for the EU presidency is not an illusion; it is an obligation.
An obligation for our growth, our development, our autonomy. It is the only way to have real influence and to share our values throughout the world.
Power is what sustains principles on the world stage. By becoming an economic power and a security provider, Europe can engage with the world on its own terms.
Europe must become independent of Russia and the Middle East for energy, of China for industry, and of the United States for defence.
Let us inject intelligence, strength and efficiency into this congress.
Join the Brussels DeclarationBecause Europe needs us. Europe needs the liberals, more than ever.
Let us be courageous. Let us be proud to be liberal. Welcome to your capital.
English version
DEAR LIBERALS, DEAR DEMOCRATS, DEAR EUROPEANS, I am very happy to welcome all of you here, in my country, to our common capital of our beloved Europe.
Beloved Europe! … I mean it. But imagine for a moment that we were “a global superpower.”
We would be intelligent to face the multiplication of provocations: drones, shadow fleets, sabotage, cyber-attacks, fake news campaigns, nuclear threats, tariffs, I could go on.
We would be efficient to retort to those openly declaring that they want to destroy our model of society, and then on some days destroy us completely.
We would be brave to secure our borders and to fight hate mongers, extreme right, extreme left, Islamic extremism which feed anti-semitism and calls to warfare and online radicalization…
But… Are we smart enough? Normally yes, … just take a look round this room ☺ Are we efficient enough? Not quite sure about that. Are we brave enough? Definitely not.
DEAR DEMOCRATS, Our enemies are testing our limits. We talk, They find our weakness. We debate, They test and provocate. We hesitate.
We keep on debating values, definitions, sensitivities, endlessly we keep passing resolution after resolution without concrete application.
And while we're busy writing all these important texts, knowing that the European legislative process takes… 19 months, 19 MONTHS, the world just moves on without us, sometimes even against us.
You all know the expression: when you are not at the table, you are on the menu. Nobody is listening to us anymore. We are not even in the conversation. But, still, we are lecturing the rest of the world.
No tyranny has trembled. No war has come close to an end. To the North and the East, our friends on the front line warn us. Ukrainian soldiers are fighting and young people are falling for our freedom.
DEAR LIBERALS, Danger doesn't systematically come from elsewhere. The danger in our countries is a populist danger. Not so long ago, our populations hesitated between moderates on both left and right. Today, manipulated by algorithms, they succumb to trumpism against wokism, to the far right against the Muslim Brotherhood, to communism against the return of fascism.
The danger in our countries is a violent and radical activist danger.
Our democratic system is and remains, I truly believe, the best and the only reasonable system that works.
But our democratic system backtracks too often in front of the excess of violent and radical activists, owners of the truth, eternally unsatisfied and frustrated.
For these, the smallest grievance becomes a crusade. The smallest injustice, a tragedy. Drama queens are everywhere.
DEAR EUROPEANS, Abandoning ambition, we adopted regulation. In 1970, EU is Airbus. In 1980, EU is Ariane. In 1987, EU is Erasmus. In 2020, EU is a bottle cap.
ETS2 for example… a new taxation that confuses ecology with punishment. More expensive, more complex but less competitive, less united and surely less free.
Some call that a transition. Today, within the international context, I call that suicide. An energetic, industrial and even European suicide for the middle class.
And never forget, middle class is the blood of our democracies. And middle class is under pressure, too much taxes, too much regulations, too much fears.
For example, thanks to EU Commission official documents, we already know that Europe will be losing nearly two million workers each year by 2040.
And another example: We gave… no, sorry… we gifted the keys of our automobile industry to China, by signing the end of combustion engines too early. Automobile industry represents thirteen million jobs, seven percent of Europe’s GDP.
And still, 88,000 jobs gone in 2024 only. In the same time, Chinese electric cars represent 70 % of the world market of electric cars. That’s not a statistic: that’s not even a warning.
We may have lost this battle, but the war is not over yet.
Because of our lack of competitiveness, according to the World Bank, industry’s share of total EU GDP has fallen from 29 percent in 1991 to just 23 % in 2022. These numbers are not hidden: they are written in every EU report. But somehow, no one talks about them.
Right now, only four of the world top 50 tech companies are European. Europe has stagnated. And when Europe stagnates, Europe becomes weaker.
Thirty years ago, GDP of EU and US were equals. Today, the American GDP almost double the European GDP.
By the end of the century we might stand dignified. But empty handed. We would then become the new Louvre, désolé Valérie, Vive la France!
With Liberals, With all of us in this room, This cannot, This will not happen.
DEAR FRIENDS, Let’s no longer be scared. Let’s privilege risk and audacity. Strength and strategy.
How do we “Make Europe a global superpower”? We have all the answers.
The Draghi report lists them one by one, in black and white. Methodology, metrics, solutions. In the past year only 10 % of those recommendations have been applied.
More than ever, Belgium might be right. L’union fait la force. Strength in unity.
Let us be a Europe strong in NATO, and strong by itself, able of deterring aggression, and never again being caught unprepared in a crisis. Let us eliminate the fragmentation of industry and defence. Let us develop an industry capable of mass-producing drones and ammunition.
Let us support the strategic investments in semi-conductors and rare earth exploitation. Let us accelerate the development of AI and its integration into all our strategic sectors: automotive, robotics, energy, telecommunications, agriculture, aerospation, defence, industry and education.
Let us reduce our dependency and break the taboo of nuclear. Let us accelerate.
DEAR MEMBERS, Now is the time for a bold, confident liberal agenda for Europe.
If Europe wants to become a new superpower, it has to stop being a super‑conference. The world is moving forward. Fast. It’s time for acts. Strong acts.
Facing these challenges, Europe needs leadership: real leadership. And leadership doesn’t come from bureaucracy. It comes from the ballot box.
A direct election for the EU Presidency is not an illusion. It’s an obligation.
An obligation for our growth, development, autonomy. That’s the only way to have real influence and share our values all around the world.
Power is what underpins principle on the world stage. By becoming an economic powerhouse and a security provider, Europe can engage the world on our terms.
Europe must become independent from Russia, Middle East for energy, China for industry and USA for defence.
Inject intelligence, strength, efficiency into this congress.
Join the Brussels Declaration. Because Europe needs us. Europe needs Liberals, more than ever.
Let’s be brave. Let’s be proud to be Liberals. Welcome to your Capital.