In response to the political crisis in Germany, President of the European Council Charles Michel affirmed Europe’s trust in its democratic institutions across all 27 member states. Michel also spoke about strengthening EU–US cooperation and supporting Ukraine, while emphasizing the need to counter authoritarian regimes like Russia.
‘We have twenty-seven member states, each with its own democratic institutions, and we trust these democratic institutions,’ President of the European Council Charles Michel stated in response to the political crisis in Germany.
PHOTO: Vivien Benko Cher/Press Office of the Prime Minister/MTI
Reflecting on the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, Michel expressed his conviction that Europe and the United States share much in common.
‘The fundamental principle is that we want to deepen our cooperation with the United States. We share much in common, but we also want to have greater control over our own destiny, gain more influence, strengthen our economic foundations, and establish a relationship based on mutual respect. On some issues, it will be easy to cooperate with the new US administration; on others, it will be more challenging,’ Michel stated.
He further noted, ‘We want to strengthen Ukraine, because we understand that strengthening Ukraine also means strengthening ourselves.’ Michel expressed his hope that American society recognizes the dangerous signal sent to the rest of the world if we fail to stand firmly against ‘authoritarian regimes like Russia’.
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