The topic chosen for our discussion today is indeed one of great interest. I would start by welcoming our hosts' intuition, one that challenges us to analytically assess who we are and where we are heading to, in a certain context in which Europe, after the French and Dutch referenda on the European Constitution, is concerned with the present and future of its architecture. We are passing, for sure, through an introspection momentum, a time to evaluate the European role and targets, a time to

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... k for constructive approaches from all European leaders and for vision necessary for solving this intricate puzzle we name European Union.