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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen believes Europe has entered an era of confrontation between democracy and neoliberalism, where unity is more important than ever, and extremist parties act in the interest of foreign powers—among them, Russia.
She made this statement during a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, during debates on a far-right motion of no confidence against her, Ukrinform reports.
“We have entered an era of struggle between democracy and neoliberalism. We are seeing alarming threats from extremist parties that aim to polarize our societies using disinformation. There is no evidence that they have any real answers. But there is plenty of evidence that many of them are supported by our enemies and their puppet masters in Russia or elsewhere. These are movements fueled by conspiracy theories—from anti-vaxxers to Putin apologists,” von der Leyen said.
In her view, attempts to rewrite the history of how Europe successfully overcame the COVID pandemic together, the promotion of conspiracy theories, and other tactics are “taken straight from the oldest extremist playbook” to undermine trust in democracy.
Von der Leyen stressed that during the pandemic, she did consult with top epidemiologists and virologists and maintained contact with UN and non-governmental organizations.
“But the claim that these contracts did not serve European interests… is simply wrong. The negotiations were conducted jointly by the Commission and member states. Every single contract was reviewed in detail by capitals before being signed by each of the 27 member states. There were no secrets, no hidden clauses, no obligations to purchase for member states. So any claims that a country did not know about the contracts, prices, or volumes are dishonest,” she emphasized.
According to the Commission President, Europeans must unite, find balanced compromises, and act in the interest of the people.
“When the Commission sits at the negotiating table with the United States on trade and tariffs, Europe must show strength. When we stand up for Ukraine’s future, Europe must show strength. Or when we go to China to defend our interests, Europe must show strength. And that strength only comes through our unity. So let’s stand united,” von der Leyen urged.
The no-confidence resolution will be put to a vote in the European Parliament on Thursday.
The formal trigger for the motion was a recent ruling by the EU court in Luxembourg, which criticized von der Leyen’s lack of transparency in the so-called “Pfizergate” case. Additional accusations included excessive centralization of power in the European Commission and bypassing the European Parliament.
The motion was submitted by Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea, a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group. However, the group distanced itself from the motion, saying it was the initiative of “individual MEPs.”
As previously reported, MEPs are set to debate the no-confidence motion against von der Leyen today.
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