Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
  In his speech during the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the creation of the European Central Bank. “My political career began before the Maastricht Treaty and before the launch of the euro,” said Charles Michel, President of the Council of the European Union. Our generation learned to count using francs, marks, liras and all our different national currencies. But today, at last, we have one clear answer to the long-standing question: when I am in Europe How can I pay?
  This institution is a tangible expression of the progress we have made in our European journey. And how European ideas and dreams have grown. After praising the important role played by the European Central Bank in the vitality of the unified European bloc, Michel said, "You are responsible for the monetary policy of our union, and you ensure the stability of one of the main reserve currencies in the world, which is the euro. You have a crucial task in monitoring and supervising our banks so that the citizens of the union can trust European in that their money is safe and secure, which is more important today than ever.
We can all be proud of what has been achieved in the past 25 years. All of you here today, members of the governing bodies and staff, have breathed life into the dreams of our European founding fathers.
The birth of the European Central Bank in 1998 was a milestone in the history of the European Union. It symbolized a commitment to a new era of economic integration, stability and sovereignty. The euro, a global currency, has grown into a powerful symbol of European unity and European identity. And we, the Europeans, have developed a strong relationship with our currency.
Outside the world of finance, the European Central Bank and the euro also play a crucial role. You help make us more sovereign and more independent in world affairs. I am deeply convinced: European sovereignty is the challenge of our generation, and it is more important now than ever. With strong and competitive economies, we have more influence in the world, we have more leverage to advance our values, we have more leverage to defend our interests and uphold the rules-based international order, and we have more resources to meet collective challenges, such as combating climate change.
The European Central Bank and the euro reinforce our sovereignty in at least three ways:
First, the euro enhances our economic stability and helps us weather external shocks.
Secondly, the euro gives us more leverage in international trade.
And third, our economic and monetary union helps advance integration with the European Union.

Our banking union is a good example. It has made our banking system strong and resilient but we still need to complete our journey. That is why at our recent European Summit we called for continued efforts to complete our banking union and accelerate progress on our capital markets union, to boost our economies with more investment, drive innovation forward, create jobs and accelerate our business. Green and digital transformations.

As we celebrate the first 25 years of the ECB's life, it also makes us think about the next 25 years. Success is not measured in how we get started, but in how we progress. Let us build on our progress with openness and creativity, to ensure that we are up to the challenges of the next 25 years: to be at the forefront of green and digital transformations, to ensure our energy and economic security, and to advance our values through partnership building. We have the people, we have the passion and determination to succeed, we have a clear compass to guide us, our European values and the EU's promises of peace and prosperity.

The challenges are many and European sovereignty must be our answer, our way to make the European Union stronger and to better control our destiny, without allowing others to decide for us. We must build our sovereignty together, brick by brick: the next generation of the European Union, security and defense, our unwavering support for Ukraine. This is how we defend Europe's values and interests at home and abroad.