O urges European unity

Barack Obama says world needs a united Europe

The world needs a strong, democratic and united Europe, Barack Obama said on Monday, to guard against rising intolerance and authoritarianism within the European Union and across the globe.

In an ambitious and sweeping speech urging modern Europe to remember its emergence from division, war and hatred, the US president said: “We cannot allow fears about security and inequality to undermine our commitment to universal values. That is a false comfort.”

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Persistent challenges, including the 2008 financial crisis and wage inequality, had led some to question whether European integration could no longer endure, he said, and whether Europe would be better off redrawing some of the barriers and walls between nations.

“If we do not solve these problems, you see those who would like to exploit these fears and channel them in a destructive way. A creeping emergence of the kind of politics that Europe was founded to reject – an us-versus-them mentality. You see increasing intolerance in our politics and loud voices get the most attention.

“So this is a defining moment and what happens on this continent has consequences around the globe. If a peaceful, unified, pluralistic, liberal, free-market Europe begins to question the progress that has been made then we cannot expect the progress that is just now taking place around the world will continue. Instead we will be empowering those who argue that democracy cannot work.”