Onderstaand de toespraak die partijvoorzitter Hans Huibers gaf tijdens de opening van het EPP Congres in Rotterdam.Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,9 European Heads of State and Prime Ministers, 5 deputy Prime Ministers, 2 Presidents of EU Institutes, 8 EU Commissioners, 172 Members of the European Parliament, 800 special guests from members parties, 75 representatives from observer and associate parties, 300 people from the international press and more than 300 people staff, crew and volunteers.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is by far the greatest international political assembly in Europe in 2022. Welcome in the Netherlands, welcome at EPP Congress 2022, welcome to Rotterdam!Not only is this the biggest and most important, it will also be an historic assembly. Last November we had to decide at the last moment to postpone. At that moment we could not imagine how fundamentally our reality would change in those few months. We could not realise how fundamentally the perspective in which this assembly takes place would change. And, to be honest, we were not fully aware how important and current, how relevant and appealing the values of our Christian Democratic philosophy are for present society.I have two daughters, Dana and Loes. They are 24 and 22 years old. They are privileged, well educated, speak multiple languages, have an international orientation. They took everything for granted, their future was always full of opportunity. Then came corona. For the first time in their lives some things were nót possible. No international exchange, graduation on line instead of  celebrating together. Two difficult years. And then, then there was war in Europe. For the first time they are aware that peace cannot be taken for granted. That our freedom and freedom of speech, of press is something we have to stand up for. That basic values, human dignity, respect for diversity and differences in beliefs and opinions are something we have to fight for. That society, the intrinsic power of human being, living together and creating a society we believe in, is something that has to be cherished and has to be defended. We stand with democracy.And, ladies and gentlemen, let us be honest. Did we not all take these values for granted. Did we not áll became part of the spirit of the age of individualism, lack attention when it comes to building our society. In this society the privileged you and me can support ourselves and find our way. We assumed the government would solve the problems of others. That government turned out not to be competent at all when it comes to facing those challenges. The only political family that took advantage of this lack of awareness, that took advantage of our intellectual and ideological neglect were the populists, from both the right and the left wing. We gave them the opportunity for political presence. They understood the lack of trust many people have when it comes to society and government, but they will never give any answer or solution. They thrive on mistrust. Their business model is to stir up hate, to turn groups of  people against one another instead of connecting and building bridges. And so they worsen problems and enlarge the gap.It's no use blaming them, there is no point attacking their strategy. We have to go back to our own roots. We have to re-invent our own story for and our contribution to society. It was Christian Democrats who started to build up Europe. One of the first presidents of the EPP, 40 years ago, was Piet Bukman. He would have attended the Congress in November but unfortunately passed away this March, at the age of 88. I welcome the members of his family, Bert and Hilleen, who sit here right in front as our special guests. I spoke at his funeral, but I also met him just a couple of weeks before his passing. “Hans”, he said, sharp of mind as ever, “you as newly elected president of CDA have to bring our party back to where it comes from. Not out of misplaced nostalgia, not longing for faded glory, but because our philosophy is in this time frame incredibly futureproof. Our story is what modern society is longing for. We are the Peoples Party, so we have to stand next to people, shoulder at shoulder”. Piet Bukman, at 88 years old, was completely right!We, as CDA in the Netherlands, had some difficult years. We lost elections. Not because of the success of others, but because of our failure to extend a hand to all those people who have lost faith in government, who have lost the hope for a better future. We did not adapt our party structure and culture to modern necessities and working methods. As the party of society we lost the connection with that society. We lost the faith in the problem solving ability of that society i