In this interview, Manuel Marín, Vice-President of the European Commission from 1993 to 1999, discusses European values as the result of a reflexion on a mixed past which resulted in the ‘historic success’ of the creation of an area of peace, progress and stability. He also mentions future European challenges, particularly the development of systems for citizen protection and the consolidation of a cooperation on the European continent that will supersede a history marked by domination.