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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Europe needs the English rose, Dutch king tells EU parliament

DutchNews, May 25, 2016

King Willem-Alexander with parliament
 president Martin Schulz.
 
Dutch king Willem-Alexander has told the European parliament that the EU would not be complete ‘without the English rose’. 

In a oblique reference to the forthcoming British referendum on EU membership, the king said in a speech: ‘Everyone’s input is essential. The European bouquet is not complete without the Spanish carnation, the French fleur-de-lys… the Dutch and the Hungarian tulip. And not without the English rose.’ 

While praising European ideals, the king said that for many Europeans, their own land is the important anchor, with their own history, traditions and customs. ‘But we should never forget how much we have to thank the broader European movement and the people and cultures around us,’ he said. 

Nevertheless, the importance of the EU did not absolve the organisation of the obligation to be open to criticism and look at itself critically, the king said. 

Urgency

‘We often only take action on urgent community issues when things have gone so far that there is no alternative,’ he said. 

He urged the European parliament to strengthen the EU by taking the wishes of all citizens into account. Terrorism and the refugee crisis are putting the union under pressure, and that makes a solid basis even more essential, the king said. 

The king was addressing the European parliament as part of the Netherlands’ presidency of the EU which runs until the end of June. 

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“… Human Nature is Changing

There's a new concept afoot, a change in Human nature. We've spoken about this before. How many of you studied European history? And in school, did your mind fill up with all of the dates you had to memorize? Who conquered whom and when? Over and over and over, every single country had their turn conquering another country. Borders moved constantly. As far back as you want to go, that's what Humans did. They separated, gathered, and conquered. But as little as 50 years ago, it all stopped.

We've said this before. Fifty years ago, a seed, an idea, was planted at the end of World War II. "Let's put these European countries together," they said. "Let's even drop the borders and eventually give them one currency." Do this and they'll never war again, they predicted, for countries with common economic sources don't go to war! And that's exactly what's happened. Did it work? It's fairly fresh, but their money is threatening to take over the strength of your money, did you notice? It's worth more than yours. They still struggle to make it work and balance it. But then again, you do the same in the United States, always fine tuning the unity.

South America is considering the same thing right now. The seeds are being planted in Brazil. Within a generation, they would love to see the borders dropped and one currency. Can they do it? Perhaps. Perhaps it will take longer. Why do it? Because they see the European Union with the strongest currency on Earth. We've said this before. Here is a prediction: Perhaps not in your time, but there'll come a day when there are only five currencies in the world, because continents will start understanding that unification creates peace and prosperity. Separation creates chaos. What a concept. …

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