One of the key topics of conversation was unity, democracy and rule of law in today’s European Union (EU). ‘Stripped down understanding of democracy assumes that power belongs to majority, but modern liberal democratic views oppose the notion of absolute power of majority, as such power is limited by rule of law to ensure the individual rights and free media,’ said Egils Levits when asked to comment the illiberal democracy trends in some EU member states. Court of Justice of the European Union is the body which has already produced rulings and needs to continue adjudicating cases involving member state infringements of the Treaty of the EU and shared fundamental values of the EU, including the rule of law, added the President.
On the topic of civic society in Belarus and its demands for free and fair elections, President Levits underlined that European Union member states need to continue to offer their moral support to Belarus: ‘In late 1980s Baltic countries also experienced how important it is to have the support of Western countries to keep independence movement going, and now we need to do the same for Belarus.’
Egils Levits stressed the significance of territorial integrity of Ukraine and added that ‘there should be zero tolerance towards violations of international law. That is why Baltic states have always been grateful to West for non-recognition of occupation throughout all five decades of it’. In conclusion, President Levits praised Ukraine for reform progress and wished it all the best in strengthening the capacity of various institutions and the rule of law, which is one of the cornerstones of democracy.
Yalta European Strategy (YES) is a forum for discussing Ukraine’s European future and global context. YES fosters new ideas. Full video of online conversation will be available on YES Online Conversation YouTube channel.
