The European liberals who met in Brussels on Saturday, 25 October, for the annual congress of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) reaffirmed that faced with the challenge posed by autocracies around the world, Europe must remain “a lighthouse of freedom and democracy” and be able to protect its “vital interests”.
“Europe must become a global superpower that is independent from Moscow for energy, Beijing for technology and Washington for defence. We want partnership, not dependence”, the liberal family affirmed in its ‘Brussels Declaration’.
On the economic front, the ALDE Party is advocating “drastic reforms” to bolster the internal market; stimulate innovation, particularly in clean technologies and artificial intelligence; and reduce bureaucracy. This can notably be achieved, according to its view, by lowering taxes on labour. Negotiating new free trade agreements will also enable supply chains to be secured.
Although NATO remains the cornerstone of [European] security, Europe must be in a position to defend not only its territory and its infrastructure but also the digital sphere. The liberals stress, “Cybersecurity must become Europe’s new frontier for sovereignty.”
On the diplomatic front, they are urging the EU to speak with a single voice and to undertake internal reforms so as to prepare for enlargement and be able to take decisions more quickly.
See the ‘Brussels Declaration’: https://aeur.eu/f/j6j (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)