Declaration Pau Casals Foundation

On the occasion of the annual Europe Day gathering at the Pau Casals Museum, we would like once again to express our support for and commitment to the European project.
In a world where the disruption of democratic systems is a real threat, a strong and coherent European Union is more necessary than ever. In this context, we join voices across Europe calling for stronger European unity, warning that what is at stake is the very idea of the integration of our continent.

We democrats must act, and we must act urgently, from Europe, to rediscover the Union's true purpose: to restore the prestige and integrity of knowledge, critical thinking and the values that have sustained our coexistence.
Perhaps the idea of Europe, as George Steiner once said, is not so much identified with the European Central Bank or artificial intelligence, but rather with a deep sense of belonging to a shared space of well-being, solidarity and justice.
Europe's crisis has deep roots in culture, identity issues and a lack of mutual trust. That's why we need to strengthen a common European identity that unites us across our diversity.

We are convinced that culture is essential to human life. We support music and culture as essential pillars for restoring the fundamental values that must guide European integration - this common project for which so many men and women have fought.
The devastating wars in Ukraine and the Middle East call on us, as Europeans and democrats, to raise our voices in favour of peace and the defence of human rights.

The legacy of Pau Casals - his commitment to peace, democracy and human dignity - inspires us to resist any reactionary drift. Alongside him, we affirm our commitment to music and culture as tools for defending a fairer, more peaceful and more humane Europe.

Today, from the beach of Sant Salvador, a place in Catalonia so dear to Pau Casals, and on the occasion of another Europe Day, we reaffirm our determination to continue working for a more peaceful, more united and more humane Europe.

MUSIC AND CULTURE FOR A MORE HUMANE EUROPE!