On 24 March, ALDE Party President Svenja Hahn joined other European and national leaders from our political family at the Summit for Democracy and Liberties in Paris.
More than 60 representatives of our political family including party leaders, MEPs, leading members of national Parliaments and European Commissioners gathered to show unity against the latest rise in autocratic governments across the globe.
Liberal, centrist and democrat leaders undersigned the Paris Declaration, including six key commitments to fight for democracy in their respective political systems and beyond.
- An Alliance of Liberal Democracies: A call for global unity to safeguard democracy, fight disinformation and foreign interference.
- Ensure long-lasting peace and prosperity: Defend sovereignty, support Greenland’s self-determination, strengthen economic growth and phase out Russian energy.
- Build a true European defence: Invest at least 3% of GDP in defense, support European nuclear deterrence discussions.
- Support Ukraine for as long as it takes: Financially, militarily and politically; push for Ukraine’s accelerated EU integration and parliamentary observer status.
- Defend human rights everywhere: Stand by Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and all pro-democracy movements.
- Mend multilateralism: Reform global cooperation, strengthen the Euro as a reserve currency and work together against autocracies.
“My ambition is very clear: I want the EU to be the third superpower in the world, next to China and the US. For that, we need to be a military superpower, and help our partners like Ukraine; an economic superpower, and be able to finance not only our defence but also our way of living; and a diplomatic superpower, working with all those countries that want to strengthen democracy in the world. If that is the goal, it is us liberals and centrists leading the work: we won’t give up the achievements of the EU to the populists on the left and right,” said President Hahn.
Click here to read the full document.
The event was co-organised by our political family, including ALDE Party, Renew Europe, Renaissance, Ensemble and the European Democratic Party.
You can rewatch the closing press conference below.