Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament (EP), stated that the European Union (EU) needs to be more active and ambitious on a global scale, and that the Union's strength was demonstrated by the joint stance taken against Russia.
During the second session of the European Union (EU) Parliament Presidents Meeting, which was held in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, topics such as information warfare, energy dependence and security, and disinformation were discussed under the title "The role of the EU in the global solidarity of democracies and the dependence of EU member states on totalitarian regimes".
Many parliamentary speakers from several countries, including Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, Mustafa Şentop, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and Jan Lipavski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, attended the meeting, which was hosted by the Czech Republic.
In her speech, EP President Roberta Metsola stated that Russia's illegitimate attacks on Ukraine were still testing Europe's resilience, saying, "This has affected our economies and dragged us into an unprecedented energy crisis. It has led to inflation and increased cost of living. This is a test, and I know we will overcome it."
Metsola also expressed that the EU had successfully thwarted attempts against its principles and values.
Metsola noted that the EU's principles had been questioned by some circles during this process and said that the Union's principles set an example, but reforms were also needed in this area.
"RE-EVALUATE EU RELATIONS"
Metsola said, "We need to re-evaluate our interactions with each other and with the rest of the world. We need to rebalance our political and economic relationships with strategic partners. We need to reconsider our energy dependence on Russia and not repeat the same mistakes. We need to make our supply chains more resilient. We need to diversify our sources and reduce our dependence, which is extremely critical. This way, we can change the geopolitical order."
ACTIVE EU EMPHASIS Metsola, who advocated for Europe's actions and claims to be consistent with each other, said, "I believe we need to be more active, more ambitious, more involved in global democracies and multilateral relations. We should be confident and aware of our own strength and power. When we unite and make decisions together, we have seen that we are effective."
Metsola also noted that the EU should not be locked into protectionist measures, but rather should strengthen free trade and make agreements with countries through which natural gas pipelines pass.
Metsola pointed out that wars are no longer fought between soldiers and on battlefields, but through information warfare, cyberattacks, and disinformation campaigns in a more digital environment.
Metsola also mentioned that similar situations had occurred in the war in Ukraine.