Discurso del Embajador Representante Permanente de España en el Consejo de Europa, Manuel Montobbio, con motivo de la Fiesta Nacional Speech of ...

Discurso del Embajador Representante Permanente de España en el
Consejo de Europa, Manuel Montobbio, con motivo de la Fiesta Nacional
  Speech of the Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the
    Council of Europe, Manuel Montobbio, on the occasion of Spain’s
                             National Day

    Discours de l’Ambassadeur Répresentant Permanent de l’Espagne,
    Manuel Montobbio, à l’occassion de la Fête Nationale de l’Espagne

                               Estrasburgo, 14 de Octubre de 2022

                                  Strasbourg, 14 Octobre 2022

                                 Strasbourg, 14th October 2022

When I was trying to prepare this speech, I asked myself: why and what for are we here? I would
say that we are here – well, we are supposed to be on the 12th of October even though today is
the 14th– because of three previous dates, because of a triple navigation.

We are here because in the morning of the 12th of October 1492 Rodrigo de Triana, from the
topsail of the “Pinta”, saw the shore of the island of Guanahaní and cried “Tierra”. And America
was discovered, and I would say that the w¡World was discovered, two worlds encountered each
other and became the World. We are here because on the 5th May 1949 some visionary leaders
signed the Statute of London, conceived and created the Council of Europe. We are here because
another 12th October, in 1977, the Parliamentary Assembly approved the recommendation to
the Committee of Ministers proposing that Spain should become a member of the Council of
Europe, which happened on the 24th November 1977.

These dates are possible because of previous dates. I would say that we are here, our presence
here began the day when the world was illuminated inside Christopher Columbus, when he
thought that it was round and not flat, and decided to contrast with reality this idea. It was with
this idea and decision, and with the passion, the willingness, the collective adventure of many,
that our World, not America, our World was invented, was created. We are here because after
the Second World War, Winston Churchill pronounced a speech in Zurich, because some people
gathered in The Hague in 1948, because we had these visionary leaders. We are here also
because, as my first predecessor here, José Luis Messía, recounts in his memoirs, in 1962 there
was a meeting in Munich of the European Movement which was called by the Franco regime "El
Contubernio de Munich" - the conspiracy of Munich - which was a meeting between the “exiled
from the interior”, as they called themselves, and the “exiled from the exterior”. This meeting
symbolizes the beginning of reconciliation among Spaniards after the Civil War, saying that we
wanted a Spain which was not any Spain, but which should be a democracy accepted by the
Council of Europe. This was a common objective, a common dream finally come to reality in our
democratic transition. We are also here, on this National Day of Spain at the Council of Europe,
this 12th of October, because on the 10th of October 1977, in this dining room, a delegation of
parliamentarians from all political parties elected in our first democratic elections, from the right

to the leader of the – until quite recently clandestine – communist party, were having dinner
with the Ambassador, asking what to do. What they did was to write a document promising that,
if we were to be admitted as members of the Council of Europe, the Constitution that we
intended to elaborate would be inspired in the Statute of London. Because of our word of
honour, we were admitted as State member of the Council of Europe, the only one before the
elaboration of the Constitution. Not only was the presence of these parliamentarians necessary,
but they also called Felipe González to come to convince some members of his political group at
the Assembly to vote in favour. And the Assembly, right on the 12th of October 1977, voted for
the admission of Spain as member State, and then my predecessor, just all of a sudden, invited
all of the Council of Europe to this Residence that 12th of October. He said that there were four
hundred persons. I don't know how they entered here, but he said that everybody was invited
to celebrate. That is why we are now celebrating this National Day today. Because this
celebration was made possible for all of us. I don't know how was his speech, or how were the
speeches of my ten predecessors; but I am sure that these were the speeches of different
persons, but with the same character, the same institutional figure. These were the speeches of
a figure, which we have all made possible in the institutional life of the Council of Europe, in the
international diplomatic life, which is that of the existence of an Ambassador Permanent
Representative of Spain to the Council of Europe, as all other Member states have theirs. I would
say that if we would go through all these forty five speeches, we would go through the History
of the Council of Europe and also that of Spain in the Council of Europe.

This is the fifth time – two were virtual because of the pandemic – that I deliver this speech, and
forseeably the last one. Thus, I would like to look backwards and forward; and to do so, to make
a recount of our navigation, I think that we have to ask ourselves which is the ship and which is
the navigation chart. Our ship is Spain, as all other member states, which navigates in
international waters, in the International Society and in Europe, but the ship is also the Council
of Europe. We, the Ambassadors Permanent Representatives, are co-conductors of this ship, we
have this collective responsibility at the Committee of Ministers. We are at the same time Spain
in Europe, in the Council of Europe, and co-conductors of the Council of Europe and our
challenge is to make of it a positive sum game. Jean Monnet in his memoirs said that we create
institutions to make possible what persons alone cannot do. That is why we have created the
Council of Europe. Since what we could achieve together, also in inter-institutional
collaboration, goes much beyond of what we could do alone. That is the sense. And he says,
when reflecting on his experience, that persons go by and institutions remain; that institutions
are what they are because after every person having passed through an institution, there is an
accumulation of know-how, of wisdom, of experience, that enriches the institution and permits
it to go beyond, and the ultimate sense of our passage through the institutions is to make them
better.

In this sense, one of the great poets of the Golden Century of Spanish literature, Francisco de
Quevedo, said “Empezamos a morir cuando nacemos” (We begin to die when we are born), and
he also said “Somos polvo, mas polvo enamorado” (We are dust, but dust in love). We begin
dying when we are born and we are just dust, but dust in love. Another poet, Jorge Manrique,
at the beginning of the Renaissance, said “Nuestras vidas son los ríos que van a dar a la mar, que
es el morir”, that our lives are the rivers which go to die to the sea, which is to die. However, I
think that we are not just the rivers, because our water, our life, is not just the water flowing
down the river: it is also the steam which evaporates, and what we evaporate is also in all the
passages of our river, the valleys it crosses and irrigates, as our dust in love remains and gives

life to our beloved ones. And that we evaporate also in the institutions where we serve, and
which become the passion and the motive of our life.

A l’occasion de ce cinquième et dernier discours du 12 Octobre je voulais, avant de retourner à
port et ayant relu mes précédents discours, partager avec vous un récit de navigation sur les
directions que j’ai essayé de prendre, et aussi sur mon expérience des eaux et des vents, des
mers, des tempêtes, des courantes profondes de notre navegation. Voyons d’abord les
directions, les horizons de notre navigation. Pour moi, il y a en eu quatre:

   Celui de l’Espagne au Conseil de l’Europe, car nous sommes ici pour défendre les interêts de
    notre pays, pour l’expliquer, pour faire en sorte, à travers le monitoring ou autre, qu’il soit
    bien compris, bien approuvé. Bien évidemment, nous sommes ici aussi pour nous engager
    auprès du Conseil de l’Europe. Pendant mon séjour nous avons promu notre participaction
    en douce conventions, car nous en avons ratifié huit, et cinq. Cela a représenté un effort
    important afin d’avancer dans notre engagement avec le Conseil de l’Europe. Je suis
    notamment fier que nous soyons devenus état partie de la Charte Sociale Européenne
    revisée et du Protocole des réclamations collectives.
   En outre, et ça c’est la deuxième direction, nous participons d’une manière proactive à
    l’agenda commune du Conseil de l’Europe. Il y a l’agenda proposée, et il y a l’agenda
    imposée par les circonstances que nous connaissons très bien, à savoir le COVID-19 puis
    l’agression de la Fédération Russe en Ukraine et toutes les conséquences qui en dérivent.
   Cépendant, notre devoir n’est pas seulement d’être proactifs et constructifs dans l’agenda,
    mais c’est aussi de penser l’agenda, de proposer l’agenda, et là j’ai aussi fait l’effort de fair
    des propositions, de promovoir l’adgenda. Lorsque je suis arrivé je crois que j’etais un des
    premiers à évoquer les objectifs du développement durable, actuellement on en parle
    davantage. J’ai également proposé d’effectuer une réflexion sur la contribution du Conseil
    de l’Europe à l’ordre international et la Gouvernance Globale. Nous avons progressé sur
    cette voie, sur la structuration de cette réflexion. Cela a été une expérience importante pour
    moi de voir que le bâteau que j’ai eu l’occasion de diriger, de présider, ce n’était pas
    seulement l’Espagne au Conseil de l’Europe, c’était aussi la Présidence du Centre Européen
    pour l’Interdépendance globale et la solidarité / Centre Nord Sud du Conseil de l’Europe, où
    nous avons défini une vision commune. Tous ensemble nous avons essayé de réaliser cette
    vision, et bien avancé, au service de tous. C’est, bien sur, la Présidence du Groupe de
    Rapporteurs des Relations Extérieures du Commité de Ministres que j’ai exerce, depuis
    laquelle j’ai essayée de reflechir sur des nouveaux horizons et defis, sur notre contribution
    aux grands objectifs de notre humanité partagée au delà de l’Europe. Je ressens comme une
    responsabilité fondamentale que cette contribution soit axée non seulement sur l’Europe
    en Europe, mais sur l’Europe dans le Monde, vers le Monde, vers l’Humanité toute entière.
   Finalement, je me rappelle de Witgenstein quand il nous dit que toute langue, tout langage,
    implique une «Weltanschauung»: c’est un mot allemand qu’on ne peut pas traduire par un
    seul mot, c’est pourquoi il y a des «Weltanschauung» qui sont différents, c’est une certaine
    vision du Monde, et j’ai l’honneur d’appartenir à un Monde qui pense mais également qui
    rêve en espagnol. L’espagnol est une des grandes langues du Monde. Un des défis que nous
    avons essayé de promouvoir c’est cette projection, c’est de faire connaître le Conseil de
    l’Europe dans le Monde en espagnol, ce qui est tout à fait naturel et coherent avec cette
    decision de l’Espagne de choisir comme date de sa Fête Nationale celle de la découverte de
    l’Amérique, alors qu’il y aurait d’autres évènements historiques susceptibles d’êtres choisis.
    Dans notre bouclier il y a le «PLUS ULTRA» et la mer. Nous avons dans notre pays, en Galice,
    un Cap Finisterre, c’est à dire un Cap oú finit la terre dans le Monde romain; mais nous ne

nous sommes par résignés à être là oú le Monde termine ,mais là où le Monde commence.
    C’est ce qui est à l’origine que notre langue soit parlée de l’autre côté de l’Atlantique et nous
    avons promu que les arrêts de la Cour soient traduits et publiés en Espagnol, que les
    opinions de la Commission de Venise le soient également. Aussi à l’occasion du 70 ème
    Anniversaire du Conseil de l’Europe et de la Convention Européenne des Droits de l’Homme,
    avec la Juge espagnole de la Cour et la plupart des Fonctionnaires espagnols du Conseil de
    l’Europe, nous avons écris un livre collectif sur la Cour et le Conseil de l’Europe et c’est avec
    fierté que j’ai promu cette initiative et nous venons de publier avec la Commission de Venise
    et le Centre des Etudes Constitutionnelles de l’Espagne un autre livre sur l’Etat de Droit, la
    Démocratie et la Mondialisation, à l’occasion du XXXème Anniversaire de la Commission de
    Venise, qui sera présenté simultanément à Strasbourg et à Madrid le 24 Octobre,
    évènement auquel vous êtes tous conviés.

Mais je me réferais aussi au bilan des mers et des tempêtes, des vents et courants profonds de
notre navigation. Nous avons eu des tempêtes, comme le COVID-19, comme la guerre que nous
traversons. Mais il y a aussi des courants profonds qui sont là: le défi de la technologie et de
l’intelligence artificielle, le défi de notre survie sur notre Planète et la durabilité de notre
développement, le défi du populisme et de la rétrocession démocratique, le défi que le Conseil
de l’Europe, qui a comencé par être un point de départ pour aller au delà, devienne une garantie
de non rétrocession, et c’est là un des grandes défis que nous devons relever.

But, if we have to look backwards, let’s also look forward, Plus Ultra. Looking forward, we are at
a crossroads, at a turning point, where everything may be possible, in any sense. We are in a
crossroads for the Council of Europe, of course; but also for Europe, its construction and its
diplomatic architecture, for humanity and the planet, and I would say that also for our soul. The
universal soul of which we are all part. I want to remember Simone Weil in L’enracinement,
when she was writing some ideas for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and she said
that there are no human rights, there are human obligations, because ultimately these are
obligations to be in peace with our own soul. So we are now navigating towards this Summit of
the Council of Europe, and we have the challenge to see new horizons, to make the Summit
open to new valleys. It has to be symbolic, but it has to be substantive; and we have to make
the Summit the foundation and pillar of the Europe of human rights, the rule of Law and
democracy. We need vision, we need decision, political will and to put the means for that.

María Zambrano, a Spanish philosopher, said that there is no present; that there is the present
of the past, or the memory, and the present of the future, or the hope. We have always the
challenge to make the alchemy, to transform memory into hope, and we are here precisely
because 530 years ago, 72 years ago, 45 years ago, there were these people who discovered
America, who created the Council of Europe, who promoted Spain becoming a member State of
the Council of Europe. Because of the greatness of their hope we are here, and our challenge is
that within 530 years, within 70 years, within 45 years, what our successors will think of the
greatness of our hope. That is the toast I want to make. In their memory, in their image, to toast
for the greatness of our hope, for the future of Humanity, for life in the planet, for the planet,
for the spaceship Earth we all travel in, for the future of Europe, of the Council of Europe, of
Spain in the Council of Europe, Spain in Europe, Spain in the world, Spain in Spain.

Mais je veux porter aussi un toast pour notre apport aux institutions auxquelles nous consacrons
nos vies, où nous évaporons notre âme; pour notre inspiration à prendre nos responsabilités
dans cette heure grave et décisive; pour la dignité humaine et pour notre dignité, pour notre
accomplissement et le respect de nous mêmes, pour la réalisation de nos obligations de l’âme,

pour la personne que nous sommes, que nous voulons être, au delà et en dessous du
personnage que nous interprétons; pour la démocratie, l’Etat de Droit et les obligations
humaines qui rendent possible que nous soyons des personnes. Pour le futur que nous allons
écrire avec nos vies sur le Monde, dans le Monde et dans la vie, pour que nous lui donnions sens
dans le triple sens de direction, signification et sensibilité, c’est à dire sentiment. Pour tout cela,
je porte un toast.