​"The European Union was set up to foster concord among enemies of the past", says Íñigo Méndez de Vigo

The minister referred to the anniversary of the first democratic elections held in Spain because, in addition to establishing "harmony among the people of Spain, reflected a year later in the 1978 Constitution, this paved the way for us to join the European Union".

Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, State Secretary for the EU in the period 2011-2015 and an MEP between 1992 and 2011, stated that "although the EU is going through a period of confusion, it is good for us to remember what it has done so that we can take strength in providing responses to its future".

Lastly, the minister stressed that Spain, which has been at the forefront of building Europe since 1986, will always find a way to provide responses that lead to peace, concord, justice, freedom and solidarity, which have been the hallmarks of Europe over the last 60 years".

As stated in the document awarding the prize by the Princess of Asturias Foundation, the jury "decides to award the Princess of Asturias Prize for Concord 2017 to the European Union, upon the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome. The European Union has achieved the longest period of peace in modern Europe, collaborating in the entrenchment and spread throughout the word of the values of liberty, human rights and solidarity; these values of the European Union inspire hope in the future in times of uncertainty and represent an example of progress and well-being".