We thought we were rid of it. We had lost sight of the fact that war is not an old trick buried forever in the vault of the past.
In fact, for the last 70 years we thought we were living without enemies or borders. Worse still, the war in Yugoslavia, as harsh and violent as it was, was considered by most Europeans as a parenthesis at the gates of our Community.
I saw and experienced the disasters of that war and the tragedy of Sarajevo, but even these horrors did not really shake European public opinion.
So, since 1945, we had become the spoiled children of peace. We were floating in an era of eternal insensitivity… until February 24, when tragedy returned to our continent.
At the time of this sinister anniversary, it is not a question of undertaking a Girardian analysis to explain the mimetic rage of men which pushes them to desire and to hate the individual or the country next door. This is not the time for deciphering, but it forces us to go beyond ourselves. It is clear that this Russian invasion of Ukraine is probably the most powerful lever in terms of unity and integration. Zelensky, in the face of the unspeakable, was able to awaken an exceptional national unity and to anchor himself even more firmly in European values.
From this conflict, through fear, our European solidarity has been strengthened in the face of the invader. War is the continuation of politics by other means,” said Carl Von Clausewitz. Today, I believe we can add to the words of the military theorist “and vice versa”.
In fact, is not politics the continuation of war? I think so. Let us therefore follow in the footsteps of the Founding Fathers who, after the war, thought about Europe.
Let us have the courage to think about the Europe of tomorrow with this same software. The time has come to overcome the emotional mechanism and to reconcile the idea of Europe with that of power. Power to which Ukraine and other countries dream of being linked. But we must be realistic: to welcome them properly, we must revise our treaties, which were designed in the last century for a Europe of 6, not for a Europe of 27, 30 or 35 countries.
This conflict forces us to undertake a profound revision of our political and institutional organization.
The European Union can no longer suffer from the limitations imposed by its institutional structure, its imperfect distribution of competences and its decision-making process, which is unsuited to the construction of a truly political and federal Union. We must overcome the false debate between national and European sovereignty. We must have the will to move forward, united, in giant steps, towards a common defense policy.
European “strategic sovereignty” is more than necessary. Everyone must understand that without a sovereign Europe, with a real capacity for action, we risk losing not only Europe, but also the states. As of February 24, 2022, the European continent has shattered all its certainties and illusions of not repeating the horrors of the 20ᵉ century.
Peace is not perpetual, nor should war be. History invites us to a new constituent moment. Let us listen to it.
Related member(s)
Sandro
Gozi
Secretary General
France
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Sandro Gozi to Vučić: “Serbia cannot join Europe with repression and lies”
The Secretary General of the European Democratic Party and Member of the European Parliament with Renew Europe, Sandro Gozi, has published an open letter to the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, with a copy to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The initiative follows Vučić’s letter sent to Brussels on 21 August, in which he accused Serbian students and demonstrators of violence, reversing the truth and blaming the victims of repression.
In his statement, Gozi denounces the hundreds of arrests of students and peaceful citizens, the use of a sonic cannon (LRAD) during the March protest in Novi Sad, the shocking video of students forced to their knees and filmed by police, the violent arrests of women and even minors, and the attack on press freedom with intimidation against N1, documented by OCCRP/KRIK.
Gozi stresses that it is not citizens who endanger Serbia’s European path, but President Vučić and his government. By resorting to repression, false narratives and attacks on fundamental freedoms, they are undermining the credibility and the European future of the country.
Open Letter
To the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić
with a copy to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen
President Vučić,
Your letter of 21 August addressed to President von der Leyen is a masterpiece of hypocrisy. But facts, numbers and images tell another story.
In recent months, hundreds of people have been arrested in Serbia, including students and peaceful citizens. Many of them remain in prison today, facing charges that are essentially political. In practice, this undermines their freedom of expression and discourages democratic participation. It is not the citizens who are destabilising the country: it is your government, repressing the right to protest.
In March, during a commemoration in Novi Sad, a sonic cannon (LRAD) was used against demonstrators, A weapon, capable of provoking harsh pain, panic and permanent hearing damage. A practice that has nothing to do with the european standards you claim to embrace.
On 15 August, a video showed fifteen young people forced to their knees against a wall, filmed by police officers. An act of public humiliation, in total contempt for human dignity and contrary to every democratic standard.
And this was not an isolated case: in those same days, other footage and testimonies clearly showed worrying heavy-handed arrests, with students dragged to the ground, women and even minors treated without regard for their rights.
While students are beaten and arrested, citizens have witnessed violent groups apparently close to your party moving about undisturbed.
This selective tolerance raises serious concerns of rule of law.
Equally serious is the attack on freedom of information. N1, a news channel belonging to United Media (United Group), has been the target of a campaign of intimidation and pressure documented in recordings published by OCCRP/KRIK. You know perfectly well that silencing the last independent broadcaster means suffocating truth and pluralism.
President Vučić, it is not the youth, it is not the citizens, it is not the demonstrators who are jeopardising the European path of Serbia: Serbia belongs to Europe. But it is you — with your policies, your denyal your statements — which are undermining the credibility and the european path of your country.
Your accusations against Nikolina Sindjelić are embarrassing . The evidence shows that threats, unlawful arrests and violence have indeed taken place: personal attacks do not erase reality.
Your letter must therefore be sent back to the sender.
Serbian citizens deserve much better and Europe is something else: freedom, dignity, democracy.
EDP Hosts Transatlantic Dialogue on the Future of Centrist Politics
As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen international cooperation between democratic forces, the EDP recently hosted a transatlantic dinner discussion in Paris, bringing together key figures from European and American centrist politics.
Joint statement on the 30th Anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide
Thirty years ago, in Srebrenica, more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were murdered by the Bosnian Serb army. In 2007, the International Court of Justice ruled that the atrocities constituted genocide. The wider Bosnian War saw over 100,000 killed, thousands of women raped, and more than two million people forced from their homes between 1992 and 1995. On this solemn occasion remembering one of the darkest chapters in Europe’s recent history, the ALDE Party, LIBSEEN members in the region, ALDE in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, European Democratic Party, Liberal International, LYMEC, Renew Europe in the Committee of the Regions, Renew Europe in the European Parliament, and the Young Democrats for Europe are united in honouring their memory and issue the following statement:
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