Merkel Calls Europe's Unity Effective Tool For Fighting Populist, Anti-Democratic Groups

Merkel Calls Europe's Unity Effective Tool for Fighting Populist, Anti-Democratic Groups

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday called upon the EU member states to fight for a united and socio-economically stable Europe, which is a decisive political tool against populist and anti-democratic movements

BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2020) German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday called upon the EU member states to fight for a united and socio-economically stable Europe, which is a decisive political tool against populist and anti-democratic movements.

While presenting the program of the German Presidency of the European Council for the next six months to the Bundesrat, the country's upper house, the chancellor stressed the need to take into account each region that was seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic when negotiating the EU's economic recovery fund.

"This is in the interests of Europe as a whole to overcome the crisis. Only economically and socially stable and united Europe can confirm its values and interests in the world. Fighting for an economically and socially strong and united Europe is a decisive political tool against populists, anti-democratic forces, radical and authoritarian movements," Merkel said during her address.

According to the leader, the bloc needs to reach an agreement on the budget and the recovery fund as soon as possible, preferably before the summer recess, as the exceptional situation cannot wait.

The chancellor also expressed confidence that the EU would manage to handle the economic crisis and other challenges posed by the pandemic, calling her decisions to introduce restrictions to curb the virus one of the most difficult in her work as chancellor.

"Europe can survive this crisis because Europe, at crucial moments, maintains the unity of its member countries, regions, but, above all, citizens. Thanks to this unity, Europe today is our guarantee of prosperity and security. The unification of Europe is the greatest gift of the 20th century, our common happiness, but it is not only a gift of history but it is also something that the countries of Europe and their peoples worked diligently for, this is a project for our common future, which we must always redesign and develop," Merkel added.

To present Germany's presidency program, Merkel arrived at the Bundesrat wearing a face mask, as she promised reporters earlier this week to wear one while in public. In particular, a photo of the chancellor and Reiner Haseloff, the president of the Federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, both in protective masks near the upper house's building, was posted to Haseloff's Twitter.

On Monday, during a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Merkel was asked why no one ever saw her wearing a face mask, while she calls on German citizens to follow coronavirus-related restrictions. The chancellor said that she wears a mask when it is necessary, for example, in shops. In addition, she noted that she was following the rules and promised that "there will be other opportunities in which I can definitely be seen wearing a mask."