H.E. Mr. António Costa, President of the European Council, was awarded the 2025 Forum Europa Prize by New Economy Forum in a ceremony presided over by the H.M. the King of Spain, the President of the Spanish Senate; the President of the Spanish Constitutional Court; the Second Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Work and Social Economy; and the Spanish Minister for Economy, Trade and Enterprise; at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain.

The full transcript of his acceptance speech is reproduced below:

It is a great honour for me to receive this award from such an important institution of a sibling country such as Spain, on such a symbolic date, with the Forum celebrating 25 years and Spain and Portugal celebrating 40 years of integration into the European Union.

New Economy Forum's Forum Europa started its activities in Brussels, the capital of the European Union, in February 2024, under the motto "Ideas to Strengthen the Union". Since then, New Economy Forum has continued to consolidate it as a meeting point for the political, economic and social spheres of the EU, its Member States, neighbours and partners. 

So far, Forum Europa has organised 17 events in Brussels, including: 

Climate, Net Zero Emissions and Clean Growth commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, said Tuesday at the Fórum Europa in Brussels that the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on society is "10 times greater" than that of the Industrial Revolution, as it is one of the main global challenges for the next 10 to 20 years, along with geopolitics and climate change.

At the Fórum Europa in Brussels on Tuesday, commissioner for Climate, Net Zero Emissions and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra, advocated for a "Marshall Plan for Energy" in the EU, with a boost to renewable and nuclear electrification, more electrical interconnections between EU countries, and an increase in battery storage capacity.

The commissioner for Climate, Net Zero Emissions and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra, acknowledged this Tuesday at the Fórum Europa in Brussels that it was "a mistake" for the EU to rely on Russian gas before the invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago and noted that the European Union must commit to its own energy plans.