59th Andechs Europe Day

At the 59th Andechs Europe Day of the Pan-European Union Germany, which took place on 25/26 March 2023, President Bernd Posselt spoke out against the ‘widespread assertion’ that a European federal state with a common foreign and security policy is unrealistic: ‘The same was said in the past about the direct election of the European Parliament, the common market and the euro, but today they are taken for granted.’

Posselt argued that Moscow's attack on Ukraine would be followed by decades of further geopolitical challenges: ‘Even after Putin, Russia is likely to remain a zone of instability and will also one day be devoured by its supposed patron saint, China.’ Beijing's long-term goal is ‘to reach for Siberia and other parts of Russia that are sparsely populated, have huge reserves of raw materials and are inhabited by Asian peoples who perceive the Russians as colonisers.’

The central demands for European food security, the cross-border expansion of trans-European transport networks and a European defence community were addressed by CSU MEP Marlene Mortler from Franconia, her SPD colleague Ismail Ertug from the Upper Palatinate and retired General Walter Spindler.

A discussion forum on the relevance of Christianity for a united Europe concluded the Europe Day.

Manfred Weber, the party and parliamentary group leader of the European People's Party, emphasised the importance of Christianity in the ‘engine room’ of European politics: ‘When it comes to issues such as subsidiarity, solidarity, personality, protection of life or fundamental issues, you can see very quickly that Christian thinking is highly relevant.’

• Programme (DE) (PDF)
• Press release (DE) (PDF)