COMUNICACIÓN

The director of Yuste Foundation, Juan Carlos Moreno, reaffirmed European values, the need to establish a coordinated strategy, and regrouping around the European project as key solutions to overcome the ongoing challenges facing Europe. (27/06/2025)

He made these remarks at the closing of the Doctoral Seminar associated with the Carlos V European Award – Angela Merkel, entitled “The Fortune of Being United: Securing and Strengthening the Europe’s Cohesion”, held from 23 to 26 June at the Monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste and organised by the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation. “An international meeting that offers a glimpse into the future of Europe by bringing together eighteen researchers from Bulgaria, Cuba, Spain and Malaysia with leading academics from Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Serbia, Belgium and Peru”, he noted.

The director of Yuste Foundation also recalled that in 2021, former chancellor Merkel received the Carlos V European Award “for her political career in the service of Europe, her steadfast defence of the European integration process, and for the strategic role played by Europe in the international arena”, also highlighting that, thanks to her generosity, eighteen research and mobility grants in European studies have been awarded this year.

For several years now, Europe has been living in a state of permanent crisis, driven by the succession of wars since 1999 in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as by events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the invasion of Iraq, the 2008 economic and financial crisis, Brexit, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Moreno, these events, combined with society’s limited knowledge of European institutions and Europe’s dependence on the United States, have fuelled the relentless rise of populist forces that “manipulate and exploit widespread discontent”.

To overcome this ongoing crisis and make progress towards European cohesion, the director of Yuste Foundation proposed that Europe “follow its own path and remain true to the European values on which it was built”, including respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and tolerance upholding Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union as Europe’s compass and guiding principle.

Over the course of three days, the professors and researchers taking part in the Carlos V European Award Doctoral Seminar have analysed, reflected on and debated European cohesion, thereby renewing “their commitment to Europe and to humanity through serious and responsible work”. The doctoral students have also become affiliated with Yuste Foundation through Yuste’s Euro-Ibero-American Network, which already includes researchers specialising in European affairs from Germany, Belgium, Brazil, Cyprus, Cuba, Spain, France, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Russia.

The Doctoral Seminar was held with the support of the Regional Government of Extremadura, Patrimonio Nacional, the University of Extremadura, the European Parliament Liaison Office in Spain, and the Provincial Councils of Cáceres and Badajoz.