German chancellor outlines his vision for new European Union

BERLIN (AA) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday outlined his vision for a new European Union, and called for much stronger unity among European states against Russia.

Delivering a keynote speech at a university in Prague, Scholz condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine, and argued that this war also targets European Union and its democratic ideals.

“Our Europe is united in peace and freedom, it’s open to all European nations who share our values,” he stressed, and called for a more strategic approach to EU enlargement, taking into account the geopolitical realities.

“Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, and down the line also Georgia; and of course, the six countries of the Western Balkans, they belong to us, they are part of free and democratic Europe. Their EU membership is in our interest,” he said.

Scholz expressed support for French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to create a European Political Community, but underlined that this new forum cannot be an alternative to the EU membership of candidate countries.

“Such a grouping is not an alternative to the upcoming process of EU enlargement, and it is very important for me to emphasize this once again,” Scholz said.

“We have given our word to the candidate countries, and in the case of the countries of the Western Balkans that was almost 20 years ago. And these words must be followed by deeds.”