In his speech to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, meeting in plenary session in Strasbourg, the King of the Belgians called for the establishment and preservation of a decent society, expressing his regret at “too many situations in which men and women are not treated with dignity”. These shameful attitudes, which we were acquiring in particular when faced with the pressures of migration, were not just held by private individuals but also by institutions, he said, pointing to the recent tragedies in the Mediterranean.
According to the King of the Belgians, in order to build and preserve a decent society, there was a need to “reconnect with our vision of human beings in their entirety”, namely independent individuals, free of any external interference, but at the same time receptive to others and the world around them, shaping themselves in a spirit of respect and tolerance.
Greater Europe's task was to continue to build a culture which promoted the human capacity both for independence and for openness, a culture in which decency and civility prevailed over indifference and humiliation, which was the only one in which human rights could be properly implemented, he concluded.