Speech by President von der Leyen at the inauguration of the liaison office of the College of Europe in Tirana

Prime Minister, dear Edi,

Rector Mogherini, dear Federica,

Dear Charles, President of the European Council,

Ministers,

Excellencies,

Mr Mayor, thank you very much for hosting us here tonight in your beautiful city,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In December last year you, Edi, came with that idea about having the College of Europe in Tirana. From the very first second on, I was thrilled. It was an amazing thought. It took us only nine months to deliver, also because of the fantastic Rector of the College of Europe. Yes, Federica, without you, it would not have been possible. So many thanks from our side for that. This is a special moment. And to me, it represents Europe at its best. Just think about the idea. We will have in this College of Europe, here in Tirana, for students from Albania, across the whole Western Balkans, from the European Union, or even beyond, young people studying the European transformation and integration, and basically laying the foundation for the leaders of tomorrow. It could not be better. Ambassadors of the European idea.

This campus of the College is only the third. We have the first in Belgium, the second in Poland and here now the third College of Europe. The second campus was opened in Poland back in the 1990s. And symbolically, it accompanied the country and others on their path towards the European Union. So I am deeply convinced the same will happen with Albania, too. Dear Federica, you said recently: ‘We do not only teach Europe. We make our students live and shape Europe.' I think it says it all. Indeed, many of the students who as of next year will study here in Tirana – 31 for the first class to come – will help shape and form the European Union. Yesterday, when we started and opened the registrations – because since yesterday, students from all over can register or apply for this Master of Arts –, I was thinking what a wonderful feeling that must be for these young people. You wish you were young again. You had the future ahead of you. You could go into these fantastic studies and explore the ideas of Europe – amazing.

So, I could not agree with you more, Edi, when you called this new campus a ‘great gift'. But it is not only a gift from Europe to Albania, but it also is a big gift from Albania to Europe, and I should say from Tirana to Europe. Thank you so much, because you are welcoming this College here in Tirana to a modern, vibrant country at the heart of our continent. So to make it short: Thank you very much for hosting the College of Europe here. It is going to be a big success. And from the bottom of my heart, you can, and we can all say: Long live Europe.

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