France's President Emmanuel Macron has issued an urgent warning in Dresden about the danger of extremes in Europe. Democracy and freedom had seemed so self-evident to everyone, Macron said on Monday in front of the Frauenkirche in Dresden. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, people had thought that this wind would spread everywhere. "But let's look around us today! Let's look at the fascination with authoritarian regimes. Let's look at the illiberal moment we are living through in Europe!"
Many people said they wanted the money from Europe, but not the independence of the judiciary, the freedom of the press, the diversity of culture, the autonomy of universities. "This tendency is not a tendency, it is a reality in Hungary. It was a reality until the wonderful elections in Poland." Macron added: "Everywhere in our democracies, these ideas are flourishing, given a boost by the extremes and especially the far right."
Macron appealed: "Let's wake up! Our Europe is not a supermarket!" Europe is not just a place where people agree on common rules. "It is a pillar of values, of culture, of individual and political freedoms." He emphasized: "We must regain the strength, the commitment to defend it everywhere, and to do so in every country in the face of these bad winds and extremes." We must respond to the concerns and reasons for anger with a Europe of respect.
