German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday Europe has a global responsibility beyond its borders “because the well-being of Europe cannot be separated from the well-being of the rest of the world.” Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, he said “The world of the 21st century will be multipolar, it already is”.
He identified three lessons for the EU: “First, Europe’s future is in our hands. Secondly, the more united Europe is, the easier it will be to secure a good future for ourselves. And thirdly, not less but more openness and more cooperation are the order of the day.” To secure Europe’s place in the world of tomorrow, the EU must change, stressed the German Chancellor.
“We need a geopolitical EU, an enlarged and reformed EU, and an EU open to the future”, he said.
On Russia’s war against Ukraine, he said the EU must now set the course for the reconstruction of Ukraine. A prosperous, democratic, European Ukraine is the clearest rejection “of Putin’s imperial, revisionist and illegal policy.” In a multipolar world, the countries of the global south are important partners, Chancellor Scholz continued. Europe must stand up for food security and poverty reduction and it must keep its promises of action on international climate and environmental protection. Reacting to Scholz’s EU reform proposals, MEPs in their interventions demanded courage from Europe’s leaders to take the EU into the future and called on Chancellor Scholz to initiate a Convention before the 2024 European elections.
Several MEPs demanded the continuance of support for Ukraine in the Russian war against Ukraine until a just peace is secured, while others criticized Germany for providing tardy support to Ukraine, and the EU for providing more money to the arms industry.
Today was the tenth of the series “This is Europe” debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Source: Kuwait News Agency