President Klaus Iohannis, attending the Summit of heads of State and government of the Council of Europe member states, said that democratic values are under pressure on the European continent, which is why it is more important than ever to invest in resilient democracies capable of protecting fundamental rights, write Agerpres.

The remarks were made at the start of the roundtable on „Safeguarding democracy in testing times – risks, resilience and recommitment”, held at the summit in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The president pointed out that in recent years, Europe has faced a number of challenges, starting with the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, which has generated „unavoidable restrictions”, but also a „huge wave” of misinformation, which has allowed the resurgence of „exacerbated nationalism”. Klaus Iohannis mentioned that hate speech, misinformation, manipulation, violence against journalists and malign influences are just a few examples of the effects of these crises across Europe.

„Democratic values, civic space, freedom of the media, diversity and liberal democracy are all under pressure on the European continent. Thus, it is now more important than ever to invest in making democracies more resilient and better able to protect our fundamental rights,” he said.

Klaus Iohannis said that democratic countries support Ukraine and its citizens, but also the fight for freedom, democracy, against intimidation, authoritarianism and tyranny.

„By its illegal aggression against Ukraine, Russia has violated international law, bringing a major threat to the democratic system. Russia’s war is an attack on our common values and principles. But this crisis, the most severe since the end of the Second World War, has catalysed our unity and determination to defend the democratic way of life,” Iohannis said.