Brussels, 17 June 2020
The June plenary session of the European Parliament opened with a debate on the anti-racism protests following the death of George Floyd. Next to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who took the floor for a statement on behalf of the Co
mmission, Members of the European Parliament condemned advocated the need for full enjoyment of human and fundamental rights and to reject any kind of violence and discrimination.
EPP Vice coordinator for the Committee on Foreign Affairs Željana Zovko also intervened in the debate. She recalled that throughout history all those groups who did not have a police or state force supporting their rights had to pay the price for changing systems that resulted in uncertainty.
“We have seen similar cases after the great wars and revolutions when other totalitarian ideologies replaced the menace of fascism by imposing the exclusion of those who did not fit or obey, at least in my part of the world,” Zovko said. She stated that the brutal killing of George Floyd spoiled the American dream that we had. “We witnessed it with our own eyes via modern technologies and it woke us up. We understood that similar cases need legitimate representation in order for everybody to feel equal and not like second-class citizens”.
Zovko explained that, although we tried to explain this for many years to all our partners outside of Europe, we need to export our way of thinking and show that the EU has the best model as a peace project for the last 70 years. “Let us export the European model to the rest of the world and let us be honest with ourselves, because it is the one that works.” Zovko concluded.