Your Majesty, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you, Madam President, for a very interesting presentation.

And a special thanks to you, my dear friend Jan Peter Balkenende, for having taken the initiative for this conference.

The issue we are here to discuss is of vital importance for us all. If politics becomes a game, played for no other purpose than winning the next election, it will no longer be politics. Unfortunately, too many people believe that politicians are like Groucho Marx, who said,

“Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others.”

I believe that what gives politics legitimacy is that we – both politicians and citizens – have a vision. A vision based on fundamental values.

In Europe, we share common traditions and common memories. We are all part of a tree that has grown from the great Mediterranean cultures of antiquity. Christians, Muslims, Jews; to some extent we all have a spiritual and intellectual heritage from Athens – democracy -, Rome – the rule of law -, and Jerusalem – the Judaeo-Christian values. To make my own platform clear, for me as Christian-democrat this means values such as human dignity, stewardship, love of our neighbour or solidarity, and the family as a fundamental basis of society. And these values are relevant in my daily political practice.

But populism is a constant temptation. We live in a society where politicians are expected to present an immediate quick fix for any problem. The media demands it. For generations politicians have promised to solve the problems facing our societies. To a surprising degree we have succeeded. But at the same time we have created expectations we cannot meet.

People want more freedom, but less responsibility. This is the theme of the play The Lady from the Sea by my countryman Henrik Ibsen. The main character is given her freedom, but she is also reminded of her responsibilities. In this age of growing personal freedom I believe this reminder is as important today as it was when the play was written.

Today, with increasing individualism, globalisation and opening of borders, we cannot as before regulate the behaviour of the individual by legislation. We have to create a moral consciousness, founded on values, rights and duties.

As politicians we take upon ourselves a special responsibility. All policy making is based on value judgments, and these should be the object of public scrutiny and debate. This is why, when I first became prime minister six years ago, I established a Commission on Human Values. The idea behind the Commission was to invite the whole population to reflect with us on questions such as: What is a good life? For the individual and the civil society? What values do we want our society and our government to be built on? How can we ensure that we can all participate in bringing about a future that benefits all of us?

It should be obvious that everyone must be able to have a say in what goes on in our societies. Yet in today’s Europe this is not always the case. Exclusion is one of our greatest challenges.

For example, there are all those who do not take part in our democratic processes. Election turnout is falling in most European countries. This is a challenge to political leaders, but even more to democracy. It is one of many signs that people are feeling excluded.

The labour market is the main entry to participation in society, but not everyone succeeds in this market. The value of these people cannot be measured in money. Their value lies in being themselves. To quote a young Norwegian philosopher, Henrik Syse:

“There are more types of values than those represented on the Stock Exchange.”

Our challenge is to create a society where people are appreciated for their human value, where everyone feels a valued part of the community.

Some groups are more vulnerable to exclusion than others. Single parents. Immigrants. Members of ethnic minorities. The disabled. Sometimes employers hesitate to hire people from these groups.

The challenge is: We must build an inclusive society. Those capable of working must receive help to find decent employment, and those incapable of working must be assisted by a social security system that confirms their human dignity.

I am proud to say that the government and the social partners in Norway have made an agreement on a more inclusive workplace. The agreement is based on a common recognition that those with special needs have an essential place in society. It is an example of the kind of partnership we need to fight exclusion.

Solidarity is the backbone of a society. Solidarity is a relationship that goes both ways. But solidarity must go beyond those we can easily identify with. We must go beyond mutual solidarity, to attain the love of our neighbour the Gospels demand of us. We must be inspired by the Good Samaritan, and show solidarity to those outside our own community, those who think and behave quite differently from us.

If not, solidarity carries within itself the seed of exclusion. Exclusive solidarity based on nationality, ethnicity or religion can be directed against “the other”. We have seen this countless times in the course of European history. We have seen European nations confronting each other in the trenches. We have seen Europeans attacking minorities within their own countries. We have seen “the other” – internal or external – being blamed for real or imagined ills. And again and again we have forgotten the lesson of our Abrahamic religions: that the scapegoat is innocent. He pays the price for our sins.

I am very worried by the current tendency towards polarisation and extremism. This is linked with the problem of exclusion, and often carries with it elements of scapegoat thinking. Scapegoat thinking shows itself in everyday life through harassment in schools, at the workplace and on the street. Sadly, our society has developed a certain tolerance of this phenomenon. But harassment is something we must not tolerate. I have put the question of harassment on the political agenda in Norway, and have launched a public campaign against bullying and for inclusion. The response from the Norwegian public was overwhelmingly positive.

Europe is not, and must not become, a homogeneous continent where Istanbul is similar to Reykjavik, and Lisbon to Moscow. In the Europe of today, places even a few kilometres apart have different customs, attitudes, and traditions. We must not allow these differences to vanish. The strength of Europe is its diversity. Tolerance develops from knowledge, and from respect for those who are different from us. This doesn’t prevent us from enjoying and being proud of our common Christian and Humanist heritage.

I am looking forward to hearing your views on how to raise the discussion on Europe from today’s focus on day-to-day problems to the great challenges facing the Europe of tomorrow.

Ladies and gentlemen: How can we build an inclusive European society?

Thank you.