Your Excellency Minister Chee Hong Tat, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance,

Honourable Members of Parliament, Ms Joan Pereira and Mr Henry Kwek,

Fellow ambassadors, distinguished guests,

Welcome to this celebration of Europe Day. On this occasion we recall the Schuman declaration of 1950. It marked the starting point of our unique project, in which former enemies joined hands to build a peaceful, prosperous, and united Europe.

This year’s Europe Day allows us to also mark several important anniversaries:

• On the 1^st of May we celebrated 20 years since the European Union welcomed 10 Member States – including my native Poland. This enlargement has changed millions of lives on our continent, as one of the greatest leaps forward in political, economic, and social development that the world has ever known. We will mark this later with a dance performance representing the cultures of some of the countries that joined the EU in 2004.
• Another 20-year anniversary that is close to my heart is the establishment of the EU Delegation to Singapore. This is an important landmark, although the ties between Singapore and the EU go back decades more. Singapore’s first Ambassador to the European Economic Community, the late Ho Rih Hwa, was appointed in 1972.
• Finally, the 10th elections to the European Parliament will take place next month. These will be one of the biggest democratic exercises on the planet and the only multinational election in the world, in which the citizens of our 27 Member States decide the way forward for our common project. I would like to encourage all EU citizens present to cast their vote in these elections.

Dear friends,

Tonight is an occasion to celebrate the enduring partnership between the European Union and Singapore. As our world is growing ever more interconnected, our diverse ties have kept up to ensure opportunity as well as greater resilience.

Singapore is our largest trade and investment partner in Southeast Asia. EU-Singapore trade in goods and services reached a record high of €130 billion in 2022 and our Free Trade Agreement, in force since 2019, provides many opportunities to further diversify and deepen our ties. More than 10,000 EU companies are established in Singapore, with EU Foreign Direct Investment Stock amounting to almost €300 billion at the end of 2022, contributing to the creation of many jobs here. We are pleased to see that there is an ever increasing interest of Singaporean firms to invest in the EU as well.

Last year, we signed our EU-Singapore Digital Partnership and, subsequently, agreed a set of Digital Trade Principles. Building on this, we launched negotiations for a legally binding Digital Trade Agreement. Once concluded, it will allow us to better harness the growth of the digital economy through seamless cross-border data flows and raise the ambition for digital standards globally.

Our shared vision of global connectivity leads us to work together on many fronts. We shift the technological frontier to make international transportation more digital and sustainable. And we celebrate the first tangible outcomes of the ASEAN-EU Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement, the world’s first bloc-to-bloc air transport pact that we signed in 2022.

Like Europe, Southeast Asia needs bold investments to build a more resilient and sustainable future and to meet our shared climate ambitions. The EU supports these efforts with the Global Gateway, our strategy to build sustainable and trusted connections worldwide. Our companies and financial institutions can team up to better meet these challenges. The interest shown by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and the Monetary Authority of Singapore in the Global Gateway is testament to the potential in the area of sustainable finance.

All progress in these areas is underpinned by innovation, which is more swiftly achieved when we can bring the world’s best and brightest minds together. That is why I am so pleased that Singapore’s National Research Foundation has recently signalled an interest – by way of a Letter of Intent – in a possible association to Horizon Europe, the world’s largest transnational programme for research and innovation.

By building bridges and supporting cutting edge research we contribute to the multilateral efforts to address the challenges of our time, from climate change to preventing future pandemics. Because multilateralism is in our – and your – DNA.

In Singapore, we have a like-minded partner in upholding an open, rules-based trading order and international law. We stand side-by-side in efforts to reform international organisations and in urging all to respect the UN Charter.

• We do this with respect to Ukraine, more than 2 years after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. We stand with Ukraine.
• We do this with regard to the violence in the Middle East that we witness with sadness and horror.
• And we do so in this region, whose continued stability, security and prosperity is of key interest to the European Union.

That is why we are also growing our security and defence ties with ASEAN and Singapore, for instance in maritime and cybersecurity and in countering disinformation. We look forward to the participation of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell in the Shangri-La Dialogue, as an opportunity to take this further.

Excellencies, distinguished guests,

People are at the heart of everything we do and we will continue to bring Singaporeans and Europeans together through our many cultural and educational exchange programmes.

The broad range of our common interests is also reflected in the many high-level contacts between EU and Member States’ leaders and ministers with their Singaporean counterparts, and the productive exchanges between the members of our respective parliaments.

Singapore’s pivotal role is deeply appreciated in the European Union and continues to garner increasing recognition. The Little Red Dot shines far beyond its vast neighbourhood. It is in this country that all political and economic strands seem to meet. The ingenuity of the people of Singapore, your ambition and grit are truly inspiring.

In these times of heightened tension and conflict, the 27 Member States are embracing the Team Europe spirit to jointly engage our international partners more closely than ever.

As Singapore embarks on its leadership transition in just a few days, I have no doubt that our relations will continue to grow from strength to strength. We look forward to building upon the foundation of trust and mutual respect between us to achieve even more together.

Dear friends,

Before we begin this evening’s cultural programme, I would like to thank my colleagues, the Ambassadors of Member States of the European Union and their teams for their friendship and the excellent cooperation throughout the years and tonight.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to our sponsors and partners. Our corporate sponsors for this evening are Airbus, BNP Paribas and EuroCham Singapore. Your enduring support for Europe Day helps keep this event special.

Thank you to our in-kind sponsor Consorzio di Tutela Prosecco DOC, who provided authentic Prosecco for tonight’s toast. Prosecco is one of the EU’s 165 Geographical Indications successfully registered in Singapore.

Thank you to Backshop Asia and BeerCellar Asia; Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma; Sedno; Lumöblu; Ecolah; and Bio Catina for their in-kind contributions. In addition, our carefully curated menu will bring you to all geographic corners of the EU tonight, showcasing our rich culinary diversity.

The German European School in Singapore are responsible for the splendid backdrop behind me – designed by students Sophie and Rujuta – as well as for the photo booth that many of you have seen on your way in.

Finally, I would like to thank my team at the EU Delegation which, like this country, punches far above its weight.

Minister Chee, Excellencies, distinguished guests,

We are now going to listen to the National Anthem of the Republic of Singapore, which will be performed by Zoe Seah, a student supported by United Women Singapore. The European Anthem will then be performed by the Grade Five Choir from the German European School in Singapore.

Following the performance of the National Anthem of Singapore, I would like to propose a toast to His Excellency Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of the Republic of Singapore, and to the People of Singapore.

Thank you very much.