“We live in, I think, the most difficult times we could have imagined in our lifetime,” said Federica Mogherini during this year’s ARENA Lecture.
She is Rector of the College of Europe in Bruges, and former High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission.
Listen to the lecture as an episode of Arena Europa in Spotify, Apple Podcasts or here.
“I think that 20 or 30 years ago, had somebody said ‘in 2025, this is the situation of the world’, very few would have believed that,” Mogherini continued.
She states difficulties facing Europe and the rest of the world such as climate change, conflicts, in particular the Russian aggression towards Ukraine, and the changes that the current US administration has brought with it.
International cooperation as the solution
“I am deeply convinced that the DNA of the European Union and the DNA of the multilateral rules-based international order is exactly the same,” said Mogherini.
That is a world based on multilateralism, rule of law, democracy and human rights.
“The concept that international cooperation is more convenient is not only better in value terms, but it's also more convenient, more pragmatic than fighting, competition or confrontation”
“I know that all of this in these months sounds completely surreal,” she continued.
“I believe it's in our interest to uphold a rules-based order because this makes us stronger and also it's fairer”.
The lecture was followed by a panel discussion with Federica Mogherini, Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, State Secretary for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, Member of the Norwegian Parliament, moderated by Pernille Rieker, Centre Director at ARENA Centre for European Studies.
Watch the full recorded event here.