It would be a serious error of judgement to consider European integration as nothing more than an effort to adapt the economies of our countries to the challenges of free international trade and globalisation. The European idea stems from the observation that 'men who are placed in new practical circumstances, or subjected to a new set of obligations, adapt their behaviour and become different. If the new context is better, they themselves become better: that is the whole rationale of the European Community, and the process of civilisation itself' (1). Man is at the centre of the European project as part of a voluntarist and positive vision of his capacity to learn from the mistakes of the past in order to prepare a better world for future generations. As a continent which has witnessed the most tragic events in history, as a battleground between sovereign nations and totalitarian ideologies which have sent off cohorts of innocent people to war or for planned extermination, the Europe of the 20th century is completing its mutation and is commencing the third millennium having consolidated the instruments which offer everyone the promise of lasting peace.

Young people are Europe's future. Accordingly, the European Union has prepared for them ambitious programmes in areas such as education, training, exchanges and employment. This is one of the essential aspects of the Europe of the citizens.

With the institutions and the message left by Robert Schuman and the architects of his time as a basis, it is now up to the people of Europe to complete the unity of the continent and to constantly think about what this Union can contribute to civilisation.

1  Jean Monnet, op. cit., pp. 389-390.