‘I […] read a book on the Treaty of Verdun, which perpetually separated Germany and France. […] We must correct history which is something we have been doing for a few years now. […] I happen to believe that we live in a time where our imagination is somewhat stronger than our memory. […] We must not trace war back to human dimensions, […] we must eradicate the thought of war, we must make war itself impossible. […]
I am convinced above all that the economic and social future will belong to the great communities. I am convinced that it is impossible to actualize the final advances in science and technology within the framework of our individual European countries. […] Europe is entitled to one of the top positions in the world. But we would be wrong to think that our work has been done for us. In the process of constructing Europe there may sometimes be periods of rest but never a voluntary slacking. The fight must go on.’