Porto, March 17, 2026 (Lusa) – The rector of Portugal's University of Porto, António Sousa Pereira, who is serving his second and final term, said on Tuesday that the war in the Middle East is “an opportunity” to rethink Europe and set it back on a path of progress.
“We must view the war [in the Middle East] not as a threat, but as an opportunity to rethink Europe,” said the rector.
Speaking to Lusa ahead of the University of Porto Day, which takes place next Monday and will be attended by the President of the European Council, António Costa, who will speak on “The Future of Europe”, António Sousa Pereira noted that this is more than just an opportunity to rethink Europe; it is a necessity.
"Right now, we must either rethink and take measures that allow us to be competitive and keep pace with the progress that is occurring at a dizzying speed, or we run the risk of being left behind", he warned.
In his view, Europe must make up for "lost time", and this means taking decisions regarding its future.
We need to think about the future in a way that is "more focused on the wishes of the people", because only in this way will Europe be able to move forward, remain competitive and avoid being overtaken by the Eastern bloc, which is developing at a rapid and unprecedented pace, he noted.
The rector of the University of Porto considered that Europe had already been suffering from “a certain lack of strategic vision” regarding all developments associated with artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
By way of example, António Sousa Pereira noted that there is only one factory in the world capable of producing the machines that make the latest-generation chips, located in the Netherlands, but there are no factories in Europe manufacturing these chips.
“So, we have the technology; we have everything we need to be at the forefront. But, due to a lack of strategic definition, we have not managed to achieve this,” he emphasised.
According to the rector, the current international crisis is likely to provide the impetus for accepting certain realities that have not been acknowledged until now.
“Europe is very much held hostage by the search for consensus, which is largely artificial,” he said.
Europe will have to accept that it is made up of diverse nations and countries with very different interests, he stressed.
And these very diverse interests will mean that each has very different objectives and expectations regarding what they expect from Europe, he added.
“I think that what has been discussed regarding a multi-speed Europe will be inevitable, and I think it will be inevitable that there will be a single market Europe, a single currency Europe and a common defence Europe,” he emphasised.
The ceremony marking the 115th anniversary of the University of Porto will, in addition to speeches by the rector and the president of the European Council, feature the presentation of awards and tributes to students, lecturers, researchers and retired staff.
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