 Now before I hand over to our master of ceremonies this afternoon, I do want to say to you, Madam President, that you should feel not just welcome here, you should feel at home. That Trinity is, to the best of my knowledge, the only university on this island to offer courses in Croatian, in the Croatian language. We've done so for a number of years now through our School of Russian and Slavonic Languages. And at various points, we've had as many as 100 people learning Croatian. Now that may be a small contribution and the overall scheme of things to the task of allowing Europeans to listen to one another more closely, but it's a task that we take very seriously. Madam President, I know that we will enjoy and we will remember what you have to say today. Brendan Hulligan of the IEA will introduce our guest. You're very welcome. Thank you. Madam President, Vice Provost Excellencies, all of you, individually and collectively. Director General Barry Andrews, distinguished guests, members of the Institute, ladies and gentlemen. It's obviously a great honor for me to chair this address by the President of Croatia on the intriguing topic of European unity, the resilience thereof. And it's a great privilege for us to be associated with Trinity College in hosting this event. And I would ask the Vice Provost to convey our deepest appreciation and thanks to Provost Prendergast. It's hopefully one of many of the cooperative efforts in these important areas. Madam President, you are particularly welcome as the head of state of the most recent entrance into the European Union. Croatia is a country that has transitioned successfully from dictatorship to democracy. It's not an easy journey. It is a great undaunting task to create a parliamentary democracy, a functioning market economy, respect for the rule of law, and protection of human rights. But it has been achieved by Croatia, achieved triumphantly, it must be said. And it is a journey that we in our institute have observed with admiration and with enthusiasm. Not least because over 20 years ago, we began the study of Balkan affairs and have received many guests from Croatia in the intervening period. And we have expressed to them continuously our support and our solidarity, as we do here again today. Today, all of us are privileged to meet the president of Croatia and to listen to her. She's the first woman to occupy that high office. Madam President, I have to say that women occupying the presidency of the country is not unusual in this country. Two of them, first of all, Mary Robinson and then Mary Macalese were, of course, professors in this very university. And both of them experts in constitutional law. So the position of president in Croatia is somewhat analogous to that of our own under our own constitution. The president is directly elected by the people with defined responsibilities. But ultimately, the president in such a case as here is always the protector, the ultimate protector of the constitution and the sovereignty of the people. And she came very well prepared to this task, astonishingly rich career, a civil servant and then a senior public servant. A diplomat then raised at the rank of ambassador. An elected parliamentarian then promoted to the position of minister. And then perhaps maybe the highlight of a career so far up to that point, responsible for the negotiation of the accession of Croatians to the European Union. On top of which, she has an astonishingly wide international experience, assistant secretary general at NATO with responsibility for public policy. The woman who has reached those, only woman to have reached such a high level would have NATO herself. But to many other accomplishments, a gifted linguist studied secondary school in New Mexico, Los Alamos, a Fulbright scholar at Washington, graduate of the JFK School of Government at Harvard. So that's an astonishing CV. And it is one that she brings to the tasks which she has now undertaken on behalf of the people of Croatia. So with this great experience behind her, she speaks always with great authority and has listened to great respect and attention. And we look forward to hearing her now talk on European, as the representative of the 28 entrant and the most recent entrant into European Union, on European unity in search of resilience. Adam President. Dear Vice Provost Morash, Dear Mr. Halligan and Mr. Andrews, distinguished members of the faculty, dear students, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, let me express my appreciation to the Institute of International and European Affairs for organizing this event. And thank you for the most warm welcome and for a wonderful introduction. You've really done me honor. I am delighted to be here with you today at the renowned Trinity College and to share some of my thoughts on how to maintain European unity and make it resilient in the face of growing challenges. Our union celebrated its 60th anniversary just last week with the signing of the Rome Declaration. Such a noteworthy anniversary always calls for reflection, particularly so if it takes place during such turbulent and challenging times. We have been asking ourselves, where do we go from here? What kind of union and how much of that union will best provide us with a prosperity and safety for us as nations and as individuals and preserve our values? These are the questions that we need to find answers to. These are the questions that are being asked at all levels by all members and by all of our citizens. I strongly believe that to answer these questions, we must work together to find new ways to enhance our unity, to regain the support and confidence of our citizens and to ensure overall security by consolidating Europe. Looking back at our 60 year long European project, we can proudly assert, we have built a great economic force that has benefited hundreds of millions of people across the continent and brought a myriad of opportunities to our citizens. However, lulled by this relative prosperity, today's generations often easily forget the greatest achievements of the European Union, peace, freedom, democracy, equality, human rights. It is easy to overlook the freedom that it brought to Spain, Portugal, or Greece. It is easy to forget the strong desire of the people behind the iron curtain, behind that high wall to be part of Europe. That desire guided and invigorated our fight for democracy and liberation. But Croatia, as do other newer member states, remembers it all too well. The European cautionary tale might be more than 60 years old, but for us it is fresh and our memories are still vivid. As we sat so clearly in the Rome Declaration, European unity started as the dream of a few. It became the hope of the many. Coming from a country which had its fair share of struggles and remembers far too well the relatively recent war that we had to fight to achieve our independence and our right to self-determination, means that one appreciates peace, freedom, prosperity, and stability embodied by the EU even more. We understand how crucial it is to strengthen the ties binding the member states and protect the principles which allow Europe's countries and peoples to exist in a ways in which a great majority of the people on this planet are not blessed with. In turbulent times and challenging circumstances, we once again live in a world that erects walls. From an almost tangible wall across the Atlantic Ocean to the surge of a populist rhetoric within Europe that wishes to isolate and divide us. We know too well what this means. People on both sides of the wall will suffer. National borders can be walls or they can be bridges. The European project is a bridge that unites us all in our diversity. For this reason, we need to protect it and cherish it. It is true that the demanding present circumstances and an ambiguous future present the European Union with the biggest and the most far-reaching challenge since its establishment. Nonetheless, I believe that the instincts that let Europeans to undertake this monumental project for unity 60 years ago are still alive. Once again, we have shown that faced with adversity, our first response is to close ranks. We deeply regret the decision of the British people to leave our Union, but while we bid them a long goodbye and embark on the process of separation, we stand united. The EU and its member states have decided to meet the challenges head on. We're not pretending that the road ahead will be smooth and straightforward, nor are we trying to hide the fact that having more members in a group will most likely mean even more differing opinions on how to proceed and face the looming challenges. Unity, however, does not mean lack of internal discussion, examination or reflection. It does not preclude the existence of competing points of view and the liberty to present and debate them. It is, in fact, precisely through such debate that the EU and its member states can best arrive at a common and enduring strategy to promote unity and resilience. It is by facing the challenges of differing opinion without prevarication that we will best prepare ourselves to create new and more solid foundations for the EU in today's demanding circumstances. Being a new, in fact, the most recent member state does mean that we are objectively, but understandably, less experienced in the inner workings of the union. But more importantly, we can turn this into an advantage in the conditions in which both the global environment and the EU itself are in flux and are unable to resist change. I believe that we cannot address new problems with old solutions and Croatia brings a fresh pair of eyes to the table. We are less burdened by the old ways of doing things, less embroiled in standardized procedures, ways of thinking, manner of approaching problems. Our so-called inexperience is an advantage. It makes us more capable of thinking outside of the box. A skill that is becoming increasingly valuable and relevant in the dynamic and rapidly changing present-day setting. We enjoy having the privilege to exchange opinion with and learn from other more experienced counterparts. In turn, we hope and urge that our newness not be seen as greenness, but as providing an opportunity for innovation, a chance for gaining a creative outlook and a different yet informed point of view. This is what Croatia brings to the table, a fresh voice and outlook, coupled with a clear and unwavering commitment to the endurance of the European project and its inevitable but successful evolution. That is our viewpoint, our guiding belief and intention. Croatia aims to be fully involved in considering the union's next steps by defining and protecting its own objectives, while simultaneously helping to carve out a new conception of common aspirations and targets. We firmly believe that the two are not in collision, that a member state can have and promote its national interests and at the same time remain a steady champion of European togetherness and unity and a common vision of the future. So yes, there are problems and challenges and the task ahead of us is a huge one and a difficult one. Not everyone will get everything they want, nor will the result be ideal. Nothing in the real world ever is. But any EU country that wants to have a better and a more stable future will be better off if it cooperates with other member states, if it searches for ways of building on what can be agreed upon rather than finding ways of deepening rifts and maximizing disagreements. One of the greatest strengths and commendable characteristics of the European Union is precisely the fact that each member state has a voice. This is something that should never change and must remain a core value. In pondering and then conceiving the revised union, one which will be in line with the evolving international landscape and the changing needs of its member states, we must avoid creating second-class members. Thus, the European Union, embodying several speeds or tears, comes to pass, although unfortunately it already does exist in some ways. It must not be based on the principles of exclusion nor must it rob any member state of its voice. In this sense, too, we as members must arrive towards resilient unity. Unity in protecting equal rights of all its members and unity in not allowing different classes of EU membership to take root. We should also not let our internal disagreements make us forget that the values promoted and the benefits offered by the union are still very much attractive in our strongest tool. The enlargement of the European Union is one of our most important achievements, which brings benefits to both the EU and the new member states and still remains the most powerful instrument to stabilize the European continent. To fully consolidate Europe and achieve stability, security, and development, Southeast Europe, or what is commonly determined as the Western Balkans, has to be incorporated. Just a footnote here, I do not like the term Western Balkans because it denotes or connotes almost ghettoization of the area and I believe as long as we refer to the area as the Balkans, it has fewer chances of becoming integrated in the European Union. And when I think about the EU and the wider EU Atlantic integration processes, I prefer to use political term consolidation of Europe. I believe that it is a broader term than EU enlargement, which is often viewed as a technical exercise. The EU may grow in the number of member states with the integration of Southeast Europe, but it will not be enlarged. Instead, it will be complete and consolidated. Ladies and gentlemen, we often forget that the European Union is by no means a given. It is a choice. It is a choice that we have made previously and that we once again have to make together. By working together, we will make each other stronger. By working together, we will have the same perspective of making more prosperous societies for all of our citizens. Croatia remains committed to developing our European project responsibly and in unity with other EU partners. We owe this to our citizens. Thank you for your attention and I look forward to our discussion. Well, thank you, Madam President, for that address. I'm sure there are a number of points that your audience would have taken on board. Certainly for me, I thought that very early on when you said that the European Union had been created as the dream of a few but had become the hope of the many, is a very memorable and the poetic phase for which we thank you. I thought also your references to Greece, Portugal and Spain, the evolution of democracy within Europe as being one of the great contributions of the European Union is very important. I had speculated on whether I should refer to that myself in my opening remarks to you and I'm very glad that you corrected that gap, that omission because it is the, as you said, the greatest achievement, in fact. And I think you're making a very important point which certainly came home to us in 2014 and noting the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. Of course, this is the region from which the great fracture happened. And without Southeast Europe fully integrated into the Union, there is no Europe. I think that's why your country in particular has held out such hope because it's an analog present that others can follow. And we hope ultimately that all will be incorporated inside of the Union. Thank you for it as well for your closing remarks, especially about no differentiation, no exclusion. I just conclude by saying that a man who was very much involved in the creation of our institute was a former prime minister, former minister as well. Indeed, his father had been force-form minister of this country, was an independent country. What a great affection for France in particular. But he was consistently obsessed with the concept that there should be no direct war within the Union. There should be no small group that would lead the rest of us. And I think your emphasis on the role of small nations is very important. And we thank you.