PES President Sergei Stanishev expressed his full solidarity with the victims and the Danish people, underlining that; “these outrageous attacks to freedom of expression and freedom of belief are a human tragedy that transcends borders and societies. No one should fear for their life because of what they believe in. It is in dark days like these that we are reminded that, only if we stand united, if we respond to this common threat with strong democratic principles, we will be able to defend a Europe where the voice of the many will always be stronger than the hate of the few”.
Sergei Stanishev added: “The PES family is determined to work together to ensure that these attacks stop immediately. We must firmly reject any form of violence and hate speech: only by respecting the freedom of expression and the rule of law we can achieve an inclusive society where everybody truly has their own voice. This is a core value of democracy, and it must become our flagship in the fight against violence and extremism”.
During the PES Presidency on February 5, the declaration “United against fear” was approved, a strong-worded document that urges “all European political parties to fight against contemporary totalitarian ideologies, against extremism, against all those who try to frame our societies and our values in categories or boxes, where the other is a threat for our safety”.
