The war in Ukraine has made European citizens realize that the values that seemed natural have been called into question, both outside the EU and inside the community space, said the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, on Tuesday, at a meeting with young Romanians, told Agerpres.
The event was organized in the Aula of the Faculty of Law in Bucharest. Metsola referred to the reaction of the Romanians who received the Ukrainian citizens refugees from the Russian invasion.
No one told Romania what to do. You went to the border and received thousands and thousands of Ukrainians fleeing a war that we could not have imagined in 2022, a war that made us realize that we took democracy, the rule of law, territorial integrity, justice, equality for granted, a war for which we overlooked the warning signs. We, Europe, relied too much on a neighbour who was not reliable, blackmailer, threatening, pointed out the head of the EU legislature.
She spoke about the experience of joining the EU from the perspective of her native country, Malta.
If there was a promise from the political leaders in my country then, it was that we would join the EU to ensure that these values are natural. Today we can no longer say that. Today each (value, ed. n.) is put under question mark not only outside the EU, but also inside the Union. How do we answer? We make sure that the money, the funds are used in the right way, pointed out Roberta Metsola.
She recognised that justice and integrity are an "essential part" of the European Union's activity.
These are exactly the things that Ukrainians are fighting for. If we look at what is happening in the neighbouring country, we see how everything that we took for granted is called into question - and justice and dignity are at the center and we must fight for them every day, so that we never have to live a war. You will not have to live the war for decades to come, she added.
After an hour of dialogue with the young people and before getting off the stage, the president of the European Parliament took a selfie with the people who participated in the event. Moreover, Metsola spent a good few minutes taking photos with the pupils and students.
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