• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

EU isn’t a ‘cash machine’ & you can’t ‘pocket the money but refuse values’

Alexander De Croo said recent attacks on the European Court of Justice are “completely unacceptable” - just as the Tories have been pushing for scrapping its legitimacy.  

Andra Maciuca by Andra Maciuca
2021-10-28 15:17
in Politics
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Belgium’s prime minister said winning at the ballot box does not mean “absolute power”, setting out the threats of “some” in Europe wanting to install “illiberal democracy” and heading towards a “tyranny of the majority”.

Alexander De Croo said in a heartfelt speech that the EU is a “union of values, not a cash machine” – and gave a warning to “those” who use a new world war as a threat.

Speaking to the College of Europe, he said liberal democracy is under threat, adding: “What used to be self-evident ten years ago, is not longer today. 

Liberal democracy is about ‘strong leadership’, not ‘a strong leader’

“When I was a teenager, when the iron curtain came down, liberal democracy was something people worldwide aspired for. Admired us for. 

“Today, the leaders of China and Russia have chosen a different path, the path of autocracy. Even here in Europe, some want to install “illiberal democracy” as if something like that actually would exist.”

He added: “Liberal democracy is not the easiest answer to our current challenges, but it is the right one. For the simple reason that it means ‘all of us deciding together’ on where we are headed.

“Liberal democracy is not about having ‘a strong leader’. It is about “strong leadership. 

RelatedPosts

Senior Tory MP ‘plied four victims with date-rape drugs’

Mail hails Rwanda plan a success…. as TEN migrants ask to be returned home

Johnson says helping struggling families would be ‘shovelling’ money to appease ‘bleeding hearts’

Sunak splashes £500k of public cash on repairing his public image

“It is my deep conviction that strong leadership is based on diversity and on inclusion. Liberal democracy is as much about protecting minorities, protecting diversity, as it is about the power of the majority.”

Tyranny of the majority

Quoting former British MP and philosopher John Stuart Mill, De Croo warned that “the tyranny of the majority over the minority” is popping up in Europe.

He said some national governments have been attacking the free press, denigrating immigrants and denying fundamental rights to women – whilst saying Europe’s liberal democracy is exactly the opposite. 

The recent attack on the European Court of Justice is unacceptable.

The European Union is a union of values, not a cash machine. You cannot pocket the money but refuse the values. #OpeningCeremony2021 @collegeofeurope pic.twitter.com/0A18RUoQjz

— Alexander De Croo (@alexanderdecroo) October 27, 2021

“It is about human decency, personal freedom, and allowing people of all walks of life to live their lives freely and come together in one society,” he said. 

He added: “It is above all about the separation of powers. A victory at the ballot box does not mean absolute power. 

“Independent courts enforcing civil liberties are a crucial part of democracy; because it’s these courts that need to be strong enough to stand up against a tyrannic majority.”

Attacks on European Court of Justice ‘affect trust’ and miss the point of EU

De Croo said recent attacks on the European Court of Justice are “completely unacceptable” – just as the Tories have been pushing for scrapping it. 

And he gave a warning to Poland, whose prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, suggested the European Commission may “start the third world war” by withholding money as a sanction. 

De Croo said: “European governments that are not willing to respect the ground rules of liberal democracy, they undermine all trust. Trust between member states, trust between the people of Europe. Trust we need if we want a common future. 

“To those who give incendiary interviews and think it’s necessary to declare a new world war in the Financial Times, I want to say: you are playing a dangerous game, you are playing with fire when waging war with our European colleagues for internal political reasons.”

He added the EU’s measures are not about “arrogance”, but about an “overwheliming majority of member states who agree our Union is a union of values, not a cash machine”. “You cannot pocket all the money but refuse the values,” he said.

At the same time, De Croo said the way forward is for the EU to listen to the message of the 100.000 Polish citizens who took to the streets “carrying the Polish flag with the European flag, side by side, to refute fire brand tactics.”

Related: Law professor warns UK of ‘serious suffering’ from Johnson’s hard Brexit

Tags: BrexitECJEU

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Archbishop of Canterbury tells Remainers to “stop whingeing” and accept the result of the referendum

Hair transplant in Turkey and stem cells

Is Cloud-based Testing the Answer to Certification Fraud?

A Guide To America’s Conservative Utopia

Football’s top 20 most iconic moments have been revealed

8 in 10 garment workers in Bangladesh have experienced or witnessed sexual violence at work

Job for Boris? Northern Ireland has a clown shortage

Songs of the Sea: Exploring the Soundscape of The Red Turtle

Remember, remember he’ll fall in November

1000kg of garbage found on beautiful world heritage beach in just one day

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.