On April 28, Leuphana University of Lüneburg awarded President Egils Levits with an honorary doctorate in recognition of his work as a statesman, lawyer and a convinced European.
After receiving the honorary doctorate, the President of Latvia addressed the audience and engaged in a discussion on ‘The European Union as a community of rights and values’.
E. Levits noted that every person’s conscious action is based on values. A decision to act is also a decision about an arrangement of values, where preference is given to one value or a set of values.
States also have their own values and goals, otherwise meaningful state action would be unthinkable, said E. Levits. The starting point for legal consideration of values and related state objectives is their explicit naming in the constitution.
The new preamble to the 1922 Constitution of Latvia, adopted in 2014, addresses the state’s objectives and fundamental values. The preamble to Switzerland’s new constitution of 1999 also contains a noteworthy statement of objectives and values.
All the member states of the European Union share common core values, but each country also has its own values, which differ from country to country. ‘We must not only feel like Europeans, but also act like Europeans,’ said the President of Latvia, stressing the importance of a democratic, united European identity and belonging.
