The political situation in Europe
Rome Motion
The EDP adopted on 14 October 2022 the following political motion during its congress in Rome.
I - The war in Ukraine
The European Democratic Party (EDP) reiterates in the most formal way its condemnation of the invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine, in defiance of international law, the United Nations Charter and the founding principles of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).
The EDP denounces the strategy and behaviour of the invaders towards the Ukrainian population: massive and deliberate destruction of civilian buildings and homes, summary executions of unarmed citizens, kidnappings and torture, inhuman and degrading treatment of women in particular, and even the abduction of children.
The EDP considers that the masquerade of the so-called referenda on the request for the attachment to Russia of four regions along the eastern border makes it necessary and urgent to implement new and reinforced sanctions (financial, economic, industrial, restrictions on freedom of movement, freezing and seizure of assets); the EDP welcomes, in this respect, the eighth package of sanctions adopted by the European Union
The EDP is in favour of a significant and rapid reinforcement of the military support of European countries to the Ukrainian army; the objective is to help the Ukrainian forces, which are already on the offensive at the moment, to reconquer as much of the territory illegally and fraudulently annexed by Vladimir Putin's Russia as possible, before the invading Russian troops are reinforced by the 300,000 men recruited within the framework of the partial mobilisation operation, which is currently underway.
The EDP stresses the need to counteract the manoeuvres of Vladimir Putin's Russia to destabilise certain European states and to divide the EU member states with a view to "satelliteising" them and destroying the Union's power of attraction. To this end, the EDP supports the creation of a European Political Community, launched by President Emmanuel Macron, to strengthen the links between the member states, the states already engaged in accession negotiations and the other European states, whether or not they wish to apply in the future. In this way, a European Community of democracies can be created, which will be able to cooperate in areas of common interest and reorganise the continental stability and security architecture. The EDP welcomes the success of the first meeting held in Prague on 6 October.
The EDP considers that one of the points to be put on the agenda of this political community would be to seek a consensus of European democracies and international support in order to prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes committed in Ukraine.
II. Our fight for a sovereign Europe in a worrying political landscape
The political situation in Italy
1. The EDP welcomes the results of Italia Viva in the last elections and the creation, with Azione, of the "Renew Italy" movement. We stand alongside our Italian allies to build a real alternative to a far right now in power and to an increasingly conservative left. The European elections of 2024 will be an opportunity to increase our consensus and influence as a central and reforming force, in Italy and in Europe. Hence the importance of having a new pro-European movement like "Renew Italy" that defends our vision for a stronger, sovereign and democratic Europe.
2. Indeed, on the one hand, the European People's Party is more and more a back-up partner, used by extremists to gain power, as we can see in Rome and Stockholm; on the other hand, the left is weakening and is looking more and more to alliances with populist and extremist forces. The EDP believes, and has for many years, that by uniting against populists and Eurosceptics, the central pro-European forces will increasingly become the engine of European recovery: this is our great challenge in view of the European elections in 2024.
01
The rise of the extremes and populists is not unique to Italy with the arrival in government of Giorgia Meloni, but is visible on a European scale. In Sweden, the far right is on the threshold of power. In Germany, the results of the populist Alternative für Deutschland party have increased in several elections. In France, the far-right keeps changing its name and leader, while muffling its "Frexit" rhetoric since the UK withdrawal. However, it retains the same extremist agenda: pushing for an inward-looking France and the end of the European Union as we know it. The far left has also made progress, but although it is dressed differently, it also subscribes to an anti-EU agenda.
02
The EDP recalls that the dangers of an absolute majority obtained by political extremes are well known: they believe they can do whatever they want, forgetting the balance of power, eroding the independence of the judiciary, undermining fundamental rights, such as the right to abortion, and tearing apart Europe's common values (equality, justice, the rule of law, mutual respect and openness to others).
03
For the EDP, a nation turned in on itself is bad news for Europe and its citizens. An Italy led by Giorgia Meloni is bad news for Europe. A more extremist Sweden is bad news for Europe. A weakened Germany weakens Europe. Yet a pro-European victory in France, enshrined in the re-election of Emmanuel Macron as president, is a victory for Europe. Indeed, we live in an interdependent world and there are no purely national elections, especially in the European Union. Any national election, in our Union, has an impact on all the others because our economies, our daily lives, our prosperity, our democracies and our future as Europeans are inextricably linked.
01
Recent events – the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the consequent scarcity of energy resources – have shown that the Union as such and particularly certain Member States are very ill-equipped to face the current challenges because they are too dependent on one or more unreliable or even hostile external suppliers
02
For the EDP, the Union and its Member States have a historic responsibility to prepare and implement strategic plans capable of progressively ensuring security of supply in the sectors that are essential to their action and future development. These sectors are: security, energy, food security/safety, health, advanced technologies, infrastructures of the future, among others.
03
In the current context, a plan for the security of energy supply of the EU and its Member States is a real priority. This plan should, at the very least:
- Set binding targets (possibly modulated according to the Member States) to be achieved in stages, in order to increase the share of renewable energies in the overall energy mix;
- Strengthen the pooling and joint management of energy infrastructures throughout the Union. This implies a common investment plan over three years to structure and complete the European electricity network, and to bring national managers closer together to achieve harmonised management of operations.
- Promote the search for innovative solutions to improve energy efficiency;
- As an immediate step, require all Member States to fill strategic gas reserves before each winter.
04
Our fight for a sovereign Europe is in a worrying political situation. Without a genuine European army, Europeans will not be able to defend themselves. The threats on Europe’s borders are increasing and we cannot rely solely on the United States.
European foreign and security policy must be further strengthened, both within the European Union and between the Member States. More strategy-making, more coordination – these must be our goals. Europe cannot only restore peace and promote democracy among its neighbours; it must above all become more resilient to all kinds of political crises. To achieve this, we must give new impetus to the common foreign policy. We need to create even more trust between European countries so that common decisions are not hampered by national security interests.
05
The EDP stresses that, in view of the continuing Russian aggression in Ukraine, food security, not only in the European Union but also in third countries, and food prices should be a major priority. The EDP welcomes the measures taken so far, such as the lifting of the embargo on Black Sea ports, the “green lanes”, the derogations from cross-compliance rules and the market interventions, but stresses that further measures are needed, in particular with regard to the increase in fertilizer prices; the EDP looks forward to the European Commission’s communication on fertilisers, which should form the basis of the EU fertiliser strategy, and stresses that this should also include the lifting of anti-dumping duties on fertilisers produced in third countries.
European sovereignty
III. A new phase for the European Democratic Party
A new centrist way
01
When it was founded in 2004, the EDP was already calling for a “new centrist way” in European politics. The EDP was ahead of its time, because today we continue to reject the false dichotomy between traditional parties and the extremes. Eighteen years later, the European Democrats are the central pillar, together with our liberal friends, of the new central alliance “Renew Europe”.
02
Our group in the European Parliament has become indispensable and has been at the origin of very important advances since 2019, such as the new conditionality for the rule of law (no European funds to those who do not respect European values), the Green Pact for Europe, the Recovery Plan, the introduction of transnational lists and the Conference on the Future of Europe, the first exercise of direct citizen participation on a continental scale.
03
The EDP will continue to fight for a strengthened, truly transnational and sovereign European democracy. We will bring new people and new ideas into politics, from civil society to entrepreneurs, from students to farmers, and many others. We will expand our political family to promote our project for the future from Rome to Rotterdam, from Brno to Bilbao, from Ljubljana to Larnaca, from Venice to Vilnius, from Madeira to Munich, and from Strasbourg to Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
And we will continue our unity in diversity, with full respect for different identities and with an increasingly territorial anchorage. Indeed, our movement, like those of our member parties, is deeply rooted at the local and regional level, and we demonstrated this today with a Summit of Democratic Mayors in Rome.
04
Today, the EDP is entering a new phase. Between now and the next European elections in 2024, our goal is to become the only real alternative to the extremes. In every country and in every election where we are present, we will break down, piece by piece, the populist dam that is drying up Europe.
05
The EDP will carry these battles forward, fight to defend the values of the Union and be the standard bearer for European reforms.
