When I walked into the Rimini Meeting for the first time this August, I expected an interesting conference. What I found was something far greater: a living crossroads of ideas, people, and experiences that felt unlike anything else in Europe. In one hall, Mario Draghi was delivering a sobering speech on Europe’s geopolitical weakness. In another, missionaries from Algeria were recounting the horrors of civil war. Just a few steps away, families, students, and volunteers filled the corridors with energy, eager to listen, debate, and learn.

Since 1980, it has brought together world leaders and ordinary citizens, philosophers and politicians, believers and skeptics. Most strikingly, it does so without barriers: admission is free, and the audience is everyone. That is why, in contrast to elite forums that empty after the opening speeches, the Meeting is often more crowded on its third day than on its first.

This year, I had the privilege of attending the opening days of the Rimini Meeting. What struck me immediately was not only the diversity of the panels from philosophy and family issues to geopolitics and cutting-edge technology but also the diversity of the people in attendance. People from all walks of life filled the halls: students, families, pensioners, business leaders, and diplomats. Rarely have I seen a space where so many different audiences converge, and where one can listen to political leaders one moment, and then, in the very next panel, hear moving testimonies about community life, faith, or resilience in the face of tragedy.

The accessibility of the Rimini Meeting is perhaps its greatest strength. Because entrance is free, no one is excluded. Anyone can come to listen, learn, and participate. This alone sets it apart from most international gatherings, where registration fees, exclusivity, or geographical distance limit participation. The result is an atmosphere that feels connected to the grassroots, not detached from them.

One of the most memorable moments for me was listening to Mario Draghi, former Prime Minister of Italy and former President of the European Central Bank. Last Friday, he delivered what I can only call a sobering speech. His central message was blunt: Europe must let go of the illusion that its economic weight automatically grants it geopolitical power. If anything, Draghi warned, Europe is regressing as a global power.

He laid out ten key points that should resonate across the continent:

1. Europe’s 450 million consumers do not automatically translate into global influence.
2. The EU has too often allowed itself to be pushed by Washington, whether on tariffs or defense spending.
3. Despite supporting Ukraine, Europe has been sidelined in peace talks and global crises.
4. China’s geo-economic strategy is undercutting Europe, from rare earths to backing Russia.
5. The problem is not Europe’s values, but its inability to defend them.
6. Europe faces a serious technology gap in fields like semiconductors and AI.
7. The neoliberal era is over; markets alone cannot deliver security or resilience.
8. Deeper European integration is essential to face global challenges.
9. Europe must move from being a geopolitical spectator to a geopolitical actor.
10. Action, not just unity in crises, is what will allow Europe to survive and thrive.

The question now is whether European governments will heed these warnings. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in her recent letter, addressed some of Draghi’s points. She was right to underline that a trade war between the EU and the US would be celebrated only in Moscow and Beijing. Indeed, such a conflict would not strengthen Europe, it would weaken it, while handing geopolitical victories to those who wish us harm. Europe needs to avoid turning skepticism into self-sabotage. Instead, as Ursula argued, we must channel criticism into concrete action and preserve the transatlantic bond, which remains the cornerstone of our global strength. As members of the EPP family, we also know how important her leadership has been in keeping Europe united in turbulent times.

What impressed me at Rimini was not only Draghi’s analysis but also the way the Meeting provides a stage for voices often forgotten in policy circles. I listened to testimonies from members of the Christian community in Syria who had suffered severe persecution after the fall of Assad in certain regions, facing the terror of ISIS. Their message, however, was not one of vengeance but of peace and bridge-building between communities. I also attended a panel with missionaries from Algeria, who recalled the dark years of the 1990s civil war, when more than 150,000 lives were lost and nineteen missionaries were killed. Their stories were both harrowing and inspiring, a reminder that dialogue and coexistence are fragile but indispensable.

On the margins of the Meeting, I also had the chance to meet many young activists and share the work of European Democrat Students, together with our Chairman Francesco Sismondi, who has been coming to Rimini for over a decade. For me, it was the first time participating in the Meeting, but I am convinced that EDS should always strive to be present in such spaces, where dialogue, activism, and faith intersect. I was also glad to connect with members of our partner organizations StudiCentro from Italy and GDC San Marino, both proud members of EDS. These exchanges reminded me that the Meeting is not just about listening to global leaders, but also about strengthening ties within our own political family and supporting the next generation of European leaders.

Equally powerful was the sight of hundreds of volunteers working tirelessly to make the Rimini Meeting possible. Their dedication reflects how deeply this gathering is rooted in the community. This is not a corporate-sponsored spectacle designed for media headlines, it is a civic event sustained by faith, commitment, and the belief in dialogue.

The Meeting’s history itself is a lesson. When it was launched in 1980, Italy was still scarred by political violence, terrorism, and deep ideological divisions. The founders of the Meeting wanted to create a space that would transcend divisions, where people could meet as people before anything else. Forty-five years later, the event continues to embody that spirit.

In today’s Europe, where polarization is often the norm, such spaces are more necessary than ever. Our societies are increasingly fragmented between East and West, North and South, urban and rural, young and old. Too often, debates are reduced to slogans, and dialogue is replaced by mutual suspicion. The Rimini Meeting demonstrates that another approach is possible. By bringing together thousands of people, famous and unknown, powerful and powerless, it reminds us that Europe was built on dialogue.

That is why I believe Europe needs more Rimini Meeting(s). Not replicas in form, but replications in spirit. Spaces where dialogue is free, open, and inclusive. Spaces where economic and geopolitical debates stand side by side with discussions on family, faith, and culture. Spaces where ideas can be tested against lived experience.

Europe cannot afford to be only a market, nor only an institution. It must be a community. And communities are sustained not just by treaties or policies, but by dialogue. In Rimini, I witnessed once again that dialogue is possible and that when it happens sincerely, it can attract not just hundreds but tens of thousands.

The Rimini Meeting may take place in one Italian city, but its spirit belongs to Europe as a whole.