Let's reflect on our economic success. Over the lifetime of the European Union, we have more than doubled our living standards. We are the largest, most productive, economic entity in the world. It is not a smooth path. Progress is not made, in free societies, without difficulty and debate, especially in the midst of technology-driven restructuring of economic activity and working life.
Some people question whether our adherence to social cohesion is still viable.
But it is the opposite which is untenable. Social cohesion, as in the early 1950s, is the only path to the economic healthy, and successfully enlarged, Union we seek. To maintain the economic and social balance on which the Union is founded, we must do two things. And we must do these both in the present Union, as well as in the applicant countries. First, we must make clear that social policy has not damaged the Union's competitive health and prospects.