On 5 October 2026, the College of Europe in Natolin hosted the Opening Ceremony of the Academic Year 2026–2027. It was our great honour to welcome Mr António COSTA, President of the European Council, as the keynote speaker.
António COSTA, President of the European Council officially opened the 2026/2027 academic year at the College of Europe in Natolin, addressing an audience of students, academic staff, and the diplomatic corps from EU countries as well as invited guests. President COSTA’s keynote speech marked a historic milestone as the Natolin campus celebrates its 35th anniversary.
Welcoming António COSTA, the Vice-Rector of the College of Europe, Mrs Ewa OŚNIECKA-TAMECKA pointed out – ‘Your presence among us, Mr President, honours our students, and it affirms the place of the College of Europe in the life of the European Union.’
Mr João CRAVINHO, Rector of the College of Europe, presented the profile of Johannes Gutenberg, the Patron of this year’s Promotion. He also shared a reflection on contemporary dilemmas.
“In the age of artificial intelligence, it is machines rather than people that are becoming literate. And their capacity for absorbing, repackaging, reimagining is vastly superior to that of any human brain. So how will this impact upon our collective civic conversations as a society, be it at the local level, the national level, the level of Europe, or globally? I do not have the answer to this. And many other questions that mark the end of the Gutenberg era. But I have a very strong sense that these are the vital questions that will shape our next decades. Are we capable of shaping our own future as citizens of Europe? This is what we must answer in the next years.”
President COSTA began his speech by emphasising that when the College of Europe in Natolin was established in 1992, Europe was only just emerging from a period of division linked to the Cold War. He added that Natolin was founded with a mission: to help overcome the divide between East and West and to prepare a new generation of Europeans to think and act across borders, disciplines and prejudices. He also noted that Poland stands as one of the clearest examples of what can be achieved through the implementation of a strategy combined with EU membership.
He emphasised that when Natolin first opened its doors, Poland was a completely different country. At the end of the communist era, Poland’s GDP per capita was only about one-tenth of what it is today. Just 22 years after joining the European Union, thanks to economic growth of over 3 per cent a year, Poland is now the EU’s sixth-largest economy and is well on the way to becoming the world’s 20th-largest economy, overtaking Switzerland.
Turning to the students, President COSTA said –
‘You will learn far more here than European integration or security studies. Natolin teaches you to think beyond disciplinary boundaries because Europe itself cannot be understood through a single discipline.’
Read the full speech of President COSTA here.
The visit by the President of the European Council is part of the College of Europe’s long-standing tradition of inviting heads of state and government, as well as prominent European figures, to address the students of the Promotion during the Opening Ceremony of each academic year.
The Ceremony was livestreamed on College of Europe in Natolin channels on LinkedIn, Instagram and Youtube.
