On 25 March 2017, 27 leaders of the European Union’s Member States will stand united in peace and friendship in Rome.

That alone is an achievement that many would have thought unthinkable when the six founding Member States agreed on the Treaties of Rome 60 years ago.

As we mark this anniversary, our thoughts are with those before us whose dream for Europe has become a reality. Now is the time to reflect with pride on our achievements and to remind ourselves of the valuesthat bind us together.

But Rome must also be the start of a new chapter. There are important challenges ahead of us, for our security, for the well-being of our people, for the role that Europe will need to play in an increasingly multipolar world.

A united Europe at 27 needs to shape its own destiny and carve out a vision for its own future.

This White Paper is the European Commission’s contribution to this new chapter of the European project. We want to launch a process in which Europe determines its own path. We want to map out the challenges and opportunities ahead of us and present how we can collectively choose to respond.

After a broad debate across our continent in the months to come, including the European Parliament, national Parliaments, local and regional authorities, and civil society at large, I will take these ideas forward and give my personal views on the future of Europe in my State of the Union speech in September 2017.

This should help the European Council draw first conclusions by the end of the year and decide ona course of action to be rolled out in time for the European Parliament elections in June 2019.

As we decide which way to go, we should remember that Europe has always been at its best when we are united, bold and confident that we can shape our future together.

The European Union has changed our lives for the better. We must ensure it keeps doing so for all of those that will follow us.

Jean-Claude Juncker
1 March 2017