Germany's Steinmeier wants Europe to stand firm against US
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday called on Europe to stand firm in the face of attacks by US President Donald Trump, saying the US administration's campaign against liberal democracies "is shocking."
Steinmeier, speaking at an event in Berlin to mark the 100th anniversary of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, said, "the fact that even the leading power of the democratic West is now declaring the peace and post-war order in Europe obsolete is something we could never have imagined until recently."
The foundation is associated with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Steinmeier and the outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The fact that the very country to which Europe owes its post-war democracy is now campaigning against liberal forms of democracy and even strengthening anti-democratic forces in the countries of Europe is shocking, he said.
"But it must not leave us speechless. We must protect, consolidate and revitalize what we hold in our own hands, a united, strong, democratic Europe. And we must regain trust in democratic institutions and their representatives in Europe and in Germany."
Steinmeier applauded the work of democratic foundations, many of which face poor conditions in some countries, as a way to strengthen mutual understanding and global stability.
He noted that in some countries, like Russia and Iran, conditions for such foundations are so bad that many had to stop working.
"The fact that authoritarian states go to such great lengths to take action against political foundations shows just how necessary their commitment to democracy, human rights and global cooperation really is," he said.
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