How we respond to Putin’s aggression against Ukraine and its people today will define the world we will live in in the future.
Ukraine is fighting for our values today and we must do everything we can to end the aggression and restore peace.
To date, almost 1.5 million people in Ukraine have fled their homes and crossed the borders of Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. Around 128,000 of them have already arrived in Slovakia alone.
I have personally met with volunteers and organizations that have been helping these people since day one, and I want to thank them all for their solidarity and helping those who are fleeing the war.
Nowadays, there is often talk about the polarization of society. But now we are witnessing that people can unite to help those who need it. I am proud of us, both Slovaks and other Europeans, to welcome people in need with an open heart.
As Pope Francis said almost two years ago, when we faced the beginning of a pandemic: ‘we are on the same ship, all fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and necessary, all called to row together.’
I welcome the fact that the European Union has responded to unjustifiable aggression in unison, and I call for us to continue to adhere to that unity and to return to the values on which today’s free, democratic and prosperous European Union was built.
Because only the United can solve the challenges we face, only the United can stop the tragedy that unfolds before our eyes, and only the United can defend freedom and democracy.
Photo: European Parliament, Alain Rolland
