Our civilization is mortal. Europe is mortal. There is a risk that our Europe will die, said French President Emmanuel Macron at the Sorbonne in Paris, stressing that pressures in the economic, military and other spheres could undermine the stability of the European Union.
„Emmanuel Macron's phrase should startle and ring a bell,” commented Toni Nikolov, philosopher and journalist, to bTV.
„It is an echo of a famous essay by the great French writer Paul Valery – “Civilizations are also mortal“. It was written exactly 100 years ago," added Nikolov.
In his speech, the French president points out that in years the US may see Europe as an economic competitor and as a neutral partner.
„It struck me that Macron asked – “Where are we now?“. The idea is to chart a new path. For large European countries, these elections are very important. A serious debate is starting”, said the journalist.
„This is not a debate about the future of generations, but about the survival of certain politicians and their temporary benefits. In this case, we are not at a stage where we can talk big about Europe. Macron outlined the situation of global crisis and global war at the moment. The conflict in the Middle East has become intrinsic to Europe because Jewish and Palestinian communities are in conflict everywhere. We see that Russia's aggression is also increasing, he emphasized.
„Macron emphasized that Great Britain is an important partner and the United Kingdom should be part of the common European defense”, Tony Nikolov explained.
According to him, the topics of economy, defense and industry touched upon in the French president's speech will become a major debate in the coming year.
„The President of China, Xi Jinping, did not go to Brussels during his tour of Europe, but to France. China privileges specific partnerships, he recalled.
According to him, Bulgaria has not isolated itself from global processes, as the big parties are still part of the big European political families.