More than 250 political leaders, Nobel laureates and civil organizations have signed an open letter calling on EU leaders to commit to defending democracy. “Ensuring solid democracies in the Member States of Europe is the basis for combating challenges such as extremism, electoral interference, the spread of false information or threats to journalists,” they say in a letter, endorsed by political leaders – such as, among others. more than a hundred, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Michele Bachelet, Herman van Rompuy, or Gordon Brown―, as well as by various organizations and groups, which total 119, among which are Reporters Without Borders, Global Project against Hate and extremism (Global Project Against Hate and Extremism) or the Democratic Research Institute (Democracy Research Institute).
The initiative – promoted by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), based in Stockholm – is raised in response to the “real risk” of the appearance of “anti-democratic political actors” after the elections to the EU Parliament , summoned in the Twenty-seven between June 6 and 9.
Precisely, in the next elections, a strong growth of the populist and Eurosceptic extreme right is expected in many countries of the Union, as the main pro-European forces in the European Parliament have warned. Although the text does not mention specific political formations, it does refer to the danger posed by extremism: “They undermine not only the founding democratic values of the EU, but also the credibility of its efforts to strengthen democracy around the world.” ”.
“The EU is a global champion of democracy. But the future authorities of the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission must ensure that their commitment to defend and support it does not waver in the face of a multitude of global crises,” argues Kevin Casas-Zamora, secretary general of International IDEA, according to a statement in the one who presents the initiative, to which any citizen can join.
The petition –A call to defend democracy: 10 priorities for the EU― seeks to mobilize political leaders and comes at a time of strong polarization on the continent, with a rise in hate speech and attacks against politicians of various parties: such as the attempted assassination of the prime minister of Slovakia, the populist and pro-Russian Robert Fico, shot this Wednesday; or the recent brutal attack against the German social democratic MEP Matthias Ecke while he was putting up election posters in Dresden.
The social democratic, liberal and left-wing families in the European Parliament have asked the conservatives to unite in a declaration against the “normalization” of the extreme right. A cordon sanitaire that the European People’s Party (EPP) has refused to join, whose candidate is the current president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Within the EPP there is a faction that defends a rapprochement with some of these groups to ensure governability after the next elections.
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In this context, the initiative demands “the commitment of the bloc [europeo]” with democratic values and in the face of “an increasingly authoritarian world.” “It aims to mobilize political leaders to guarantee that democracy remains central,” the organization explains. To this end, the signatories propose a decalogue of priorities for the new elected leaders of the EU that would guarantee that commitment.
Among the proposals, they include “guaranteeing the rule of law within the borders of the EU; ensure that new digital technologies protect human rights; or placing democracy at the center of the EU’s security, migration, energy and trade agendas.” Furthermore, they encourage the promotion of the political involvement of citizens and the defense of “global electoral integrity.” “Safeguarding democracy at home also maintains the legitimacy of the EU abroad,” the text underlines.
The letter is presented shortly before the start of the European campaign, on May 24, when citizens prepare to vote “in the midst of growing socioeconomic inequalities, corruption, polarization and misinformation that have eroded satisfaction with democratic institutions.”
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