To overcome populism, generational change must be accelerated by empowering the youth, particularly regarding political participation, Portuguese President Rebelo de Sousa told MEPs in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
“Time is pressing, and Europe cannot afford to waste any more time” in fulfilling the EU’s aims, Rebelo de Sousa told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg.
Commenting on the European Parliament, he said it “cannot remain just an abstract idea, one or another working group, revelling in debates on institutional details that have nothing to do with the day-to-day lives of Europeans”.
“It is only by looking at the medium and long term that the future can be won”, he added.
The European Union must thus “accelerate the generational change” of political actors, “increase the participation of young people, the rejuvenation of the political, economic and social systems of member states”.
Otherwise, there is a risk of “creating voids that will be filled” by “populism and anti-systemic movements”, the president added.
According to the Portuguese president, the European Union must advance in the political, economic-financial and social reforms it advocates to present itself as a global power: “National egoisms must give way before the EU […], the world deserves a stronger Europe.”
Speaking of the bloc’s response to Russia’s”illegal, unjust and immoral” invasion of Ukraine, Rebelo de Sousa said the “Union has responded with principles, firmness and unity”.
Still, the president warned that the EU-27 must continue to show the world that the war in Ukraine is not just a European problem but also a global one.
(André Campos Ferrão; edited by Cristina Cardoso – Lusa.pt, Daniel Eck)
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