AM-17-2 to R1: Freedom to Live Better: Building a Green and Social Europe

Yet when people wake up, they see a world out of control. One day, President
Trump imposes tariffs on long-standing allies. The next, wildfires rip through
homes, and disinformation poisons politics.

This stream of crises is not random. It is the most serious ideological
challenge the EU has faced. The MAGA White House, Europe’s far-right radicals,
and Putin’s blood-soaked regime share an agenda: to undermine everything the
European project stands for.

The EU is a political community built on human dignity, freedom, democracy, the
rule of law, and respect for human rights. Globally, it stands up to the Big
Tech and fossil fuel lobbies. This is why today it is under attack.

This attack started on the extremes but is taking hold of the political forces
leading the EU:

Currently, however, authoritarian forces are taking hold of the EU:

• The European People’s Party is doing the far right’s dirty work by
  undermining climate protection, social rights and democratic principles

• Even some allies are giving up on the Green Deal, compromising our future
  for short-term gain

• The European Commission is abandoning green and social progress with
  short-sighted deregulation, leaving much of society and the business
  community behind

We face a critical choice. Pursue the far-right’s destructive, anti-European
agenda or fight for a free Europe.

What does a free Europe mean? A Europe that focuses on real and fair solutions
to the shared problems making our lives insecure. Because we are strongest when
we stand in solidarity, as in the pandemic and the energy crisis.

It means freedom from expensive imported energy and unaffordable rents. It means
freedom from distorted elections and hybrid threats. Most simply, it means the
freedom to live in a community where everyone looks out for each other.

The Time Is Now

This is why we are fighting for the next step in European integration. The time
for excuses and half-measures is over. Europe cannot wait.

We call on all pro-European forces to work together and take responsibility. We
need investment to reduce the cost of living and protect our climate. We need to
safeguard shrinking democratic space and act with unity in an insecure world.

We need to make the European Green Deal the basis for our future shared
prosperity, not roll back our environmental and social commitments.

We need massive investment in the just transition: that means an ambitious next
EU budget, joint borrowing and reformed fiscal rules.

We need a reformed EU that takes democratic decisions without being held back by
national vetoes.