Opening speech by President von der Leyen at the New European Bauhaus Festival 2026

Opening speech by the President at the New European Bauhaus Festival 2026

"Check against delivery"

Dear António,

Dear Members of the European Parliament,

Dear Commissioners,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to the 2026 Festival of the New European Bauhaus. It is good to be here today, surrounded by people and projects that show Europe at its best. Europe has always been a continent of builders, cathedrals that took generations to complete, railways and bridges to connect our countries and – of course – building our European Union itself. A Union that is aspiring to be the best place in the world to live, to work and to raise a family. The best place to feel safe and to grow old with dignity. The best place to be innovative and daring. The best place to sow respect and harvest community. Therefore, our buildings have always been more than stones or steel. They embody our culture, our values and our way of life.

But as the world around us is changing, we have to change our approach. Geopolitical shocks are shaking our economies. Extreme weather events are the new normal of climate change. Extremists within and outside our Union are challenging our democracies. This does not mean we should stop building, it means we must build differently. More sustainable. More resilient. Better connected. That is what the New European Bauhaus is all about. It is a shared effort to tackle the issues that matter most to our people today. From affordable housing to the industries and infrastructure of the clean transition, to democracy itself. And we are doing so in a way that is sustainable, inclusive and beautiful. Because these are the values that have long made Europe special.

Coming to the New European Bauhaus, what started six years ago has become a real movement. Over 700 projects, more than 2,000 organisations, and millions of people from Europe to Brazil to Japan.

And our Member States are fully engaged on this journey. Just last month, the Council adopted our new recommendation on the NEB. So the commitment is here, and so is creativity.

As you walk through the festival, you see it on display. Building materials created from agricultural waste. Civic spaces reimagined to bring communities together. Neighbourhoods that are cleaner, cooler and more accessible. We are showing that inclusiveness and competitiveness go together, that clean is cool and that people drive lasting change. Through projects like these, the New European Bauhaus is building a more sustainable, more liveable and more democratic Europe.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Sustainability is the baseline for everything we do through the NEB. It is a big topic, but I want to start small – with an olive pit. Two thirds of the world's olive oil come from our Union, but only 20% of the olives becomes oil. The rest – pulp, skin, pits – becomes waste. Two years ago, a group of Cypriot entrepreneurs brought their idea to a NEB hackathon in Nicosia. They wanted to turn discarded pits into sustainable design materials – tabletops and other commercial panels. Cyprus produces over 24,000 tonnes of olive pits each year. So this project both reduces waste and creates new revenues for communities across the island. And this week, the results are here at this festival: beautiful, durable tables. From waste to everyday usability.

This project shows a shift in how we can build – making new out of old, turning waste into value. And we need more of this approach, because the circular economy will help power our clean transition. The built environment makes up 35% of Europe's waste – and 12% of national emissions. So circular buildings can make a huge difference, for communities and nature. We also know that today, sustainability and competitiveness go hand in hand. And as global demand for clean technologies and materials grows, staying at the forefront of that curve will give our businesses a competitive edge. And this is also a matter of economic independence. The more we recycle, the less we import, the less we depend on vulnerable supply chains. For all these reasons, later this year, we will adopt the Circular Economy Act. It will create a single European market for high-quality recycled materials – to grow supply and strengthen demand. As our Bauhaus projects show, circularity is already a present reality. But we can make it the new normal, so that we waste less, create more and develop more value here at home.

Great innovations like these start with people, people who have a vision and skills. This is why we put the NEB Academy at the heart of this project, and we will increase our investments here. Today, I can say that over the next two years, we will commit an additional EUR 50 million to the NEB Academy. This will go toward building skills, to research and experimentation, and to supporting start-ups, SMEs and creative practitioners.

Dear guests,

Several of our Member States already have NEB Academy hubs. Now, just last month, we officially launched our first international hub in Ukraine. The destruction in this brave country is abhorrent, but we will overcome it. We are supporting new skills, jobs and industries. We will turn rubble into recovery. So that Ukrainians can build back their country stronger than ever. I am very much looking forward to hearing more on this soon from our friend Hanna Bondar and to learn from Ukraine's example.

Ladies and gentlemen,

When we started this, we knew that the True test would be whether people can feel the difference in their daily lives. And this is also True for housing. A home is more than four walls and a roof, it is the foundation on which people build their lives: family, health, jobs, a sense of belonging. And when people put down roots, entire communities flourish alongside them. This is why the housing crisis is one of the most urgent facing Europeans today. And our solution is not just to build more, but to build better. Homes that are affordable, sustainable and genuinely liveable. We see this in Amsterdam, at the Kleiburg flat complex. This modernist icon from the 1970s fell into dereliction. But instead of demolishing it, the local community launched a project to restore it. Each future occupant helped to finish off their own apartment. By giving residents control, the project reduced delays and costs. The result was housing made not only affordable, but fast, functioning and fit for purpose.

We need more of this. The good news is: Bauhaus funding is still available in our current budget. And I encourage our Member States to take full advantage, particularly for housing, so that we can deliver at the necessary scale. This is why, today, we are launching a new Catalogue of New European Bauhaus blueprints. It is a tool for architects, real estate companies, local authorities. Use it so that we can build better and faster where it is most needed. The knowledge is out there, seize the moment.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In 1925, 100 years ago, the legendary Bauhaus opened its doors in Dessau. It was a promising moment, and a fragile one. We know what was lost in the years that followed, and how quickly democracy can fracture. This lesson is especially urgent today. As polarisation and distrust grow, and some feel disconnected, we need stronger public spaces where citizens can come together and engage. And this is why participation is the cornerstone of our Bauhaus approach. Because when people act together, they build trust, and stronger communities make stronger democracies.

Change starts at the local level. From something as small as an olive pit, or a new tree in the square.   And taken together, our projects add up to something much greater. Over the past five years, the New European Bauhaus Prizes have become a True expression of this idea. This year is special. For the first time, we launched an EU-wide competition to design the official trophy, and we have many of the finalists with us today. Their amazing work is displayed all around the room. If each of you could please stand up for a moment. We asked you to imagine a symbol for an entire movement, and you delivered beautifully. Being selected among the ten finalists is already a remarkable achievement. So let me thank each of you for your creativity and imagination. Thank you and please join me in giving our finalists a warm round of applause.

Thank you, and long live Europe.