On Wednesday 19 October, in the Strasbourg hemicycle of the European Parliament, the President of the Slovak Republic, Zuzana Čaputová, called on European political leaders and citizens to be aware of the fragility of democracy and to defend it relentlessly, otherwise “it will cease to exist”.
Ms Čaputová described the recent homophobic murders in her country as an attack on the whole of Slovak society. “Democracy is the rule of the majority acting in the interest of all, with a key emphasis on the protection of minorities. If we’re failing in their protection, we’re undermining democracy itself”, she said. She warned that “if we do not protect democracy, we may be the last generation to experience it”.
According to the Slovak President, being a member of the EU always requires respect for common values, “such as the rule of law, the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary, freedom of the media and the protection of minorities”.
The social liberal leader also highlighted the issues related to “freedom of expression” which is “one of the most important democratic rights” but “is not without limits” as it carries “a responsibility”, especially in the digital environment. “Freedom of expression cannot be used as a cover for the dissemination of intolerance, lies and disinformation”, she said.
She added, “we use social networks without being fully aware, as a society, of how their algorithms can harm us, how they increase polarisation and reinforce opinion bubbles”.
Ms Čaputová welcomed the adoption of the Digital Services Act and the European Action Plan for Democracy. “What is illegal offline must also be illegal online”, she insisted, calling for global action to make digital platforms “properly accountable for the content” they publish.
The Slovak President praised the European response to the Covid-19 pandemic and more recently, to the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, two exogenous crises that were effectively tackled thanks to “our unity, cooperation and solidarity”. She advocated for continued political, financial, humanitarian and military assistance for Ukraine, which she said would one day join the EU.
Energy. On energy issues, the Slovak President called for “European, joint and united” solutions. She supported the creation of “a common ceiling on gas prices”.
And she considered it necessary to “decouple the link between electricity and gas prices”. She explained, “today, even countries like Slovakia, which produce most of their electricity from low-carbon sources, pay a disproportionate price”.
Read Ms Čaputová’s speech (in Slovak): https://aeur.eu/f/3oz (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)