I thank you Mr. President of the European Parliament. Ladies and gentlemen of the media, Good afternoon, bonjour.

I am pleased to be joined by President Buzek of the European Parliament. It was a great honour for me and the United Nations to address the distinguished members of the European Parliament.

I want to first of all to thank President Buzek for his very kind invitation to me and for his hospitality, as well as his vision and his commitment to work together with the United Nations. As he said, and as I have written in the golden book, the European Union and the United Nations are natural allies in addressing all the issues: global, regional and development and protecting human rights around the world. In this regard, President Buzek and the European Union are the leaders on issues across the board – and we are grateful for that.

You heard my speech this morning so I won't give another one. Let me just say, the United Nations enjoys excellent relationship with the European Parliament as our strongest partner. Without such generous and strong commitments of the European Union, it would be very difficult for the United Nations to discharge our mandate to meet the expectations of the international community in every aspect of our agenda.

Our partnership is delivering results on the ground around the world.

We are working together to advance peace and security, human rights, development. These are three major pillars of the United Nations Charter.

Our relationship should continue to grow as the European Parliament takes on growing responsibilities and a rising role as a result of the Lisbon Treaty.

I am honoured to have this chance to discuss in practical and direct terms about the next steps for realizing our vision of a stronger European Union and a better world.

There are many important avenues of opportunity: economic development and recovery, climate change and disarmament, and realizing a world free of nuclear weapons.

There is also the issue of managing diversity within – the challenge of inclusion and opportunity for all in Europe, which I addressed today.

I urged Europeans not to give in to the siren songs of suspicion -- populists who are trying to find someone to blame for economic hard times.

They will only blow you off course from the values you -- and we -- hold dear.

We are living in an interconnected world with interconnected challenges.

No country or region can do it alone.

We are living in an era of multiple crises, multiple challenges. These require global solidarity and a global collective response.

But if we share in the burden, we will share in the benefits.

President Buzek, thank you once again. Ladies and gentlemen I will be happy to answer some of your questions. Thank you.