In Defence of Democracy

The European Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail. Europe will celebrate its 75 years of peace. It is a historic project of progress that has brought shared prosperity to our continent over the past decades and that gives us common strength to shape our future together as Europeans. The European Union is the world’s most advanced project to build a transnational democracy with a strong parliament at its heart, the European Parliament. A series of recent attacks against politicians and political gatherings in our Member States show clearly however that we cannot take this for granted. We are facing a crucial moment in the history of our European project, where once more the far right is attempting to bring back the darkest pages of our history, challenging everything we built and poisoning our democracies. The European Union has always stood firm against the threats of extremism, from all sides of the political spectrum. The rise of the far-right and radical parties in Europe is a threat to our common project, its values and to the civil liberties and fundamental rights of its’ citizens. In clear contrast, we, leaders representing pro-European forces, share a history of fighting to bring people together, not set them against each other. We fight inequalities, division, and intolerance. We proudly stand for ensuring equal rights, for the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights, for civil society and freedom of press, for women's rights and gender equality, and we stand firm against all forms of discrimination, hate speech and hate crime.