STA, 7 November 2018 - Slovenia's opposition leader Janez Janša addressed the European People Party's (EPP) congress in Helsinki on Wednesday, calling for unity in defence of the foundations of European democracy against internal and external threats.
The leader of the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), one of around 15 European centre-right party leaders to address the event, said this was a moment in time which called for defence of the foundations of European civilisation from within and from the outside world.
As internal threats Janša described pressures by various forms of "cultural Marxism" that were trying to dismantle the family, national and European identity, private property, private education and religion.
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From the outside, the European civilisation is facing a massive and increasing demographic pressure on ageing Europe, Janša said, adding this was used as a political weapon by the radical Islam.
"A combination of the two threats at the moment poses the biggest danger to the European civilisation since the collapse of the Soviet Union," said Janša.
He said defence of the European civilisation's foundations was the most pressing task for the EPP, which was the only group strong enough to lead the defence based on common values.
Čeprav ni in nikoli ne bo enotne evropske nacionalne kulture, evropska civilizacija obstaja že stoletja. Vsaka civilizacija je stalno podvržena izzivom. Pridejo tudi časi, ko so ogroženi njeni lastni temelji in ko jih je treba braniti. Zdaj živimo v takšnem trenutku. #Up2Eu pic.twitter.com/PGeagDlQI6
— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) November 7, 2018
“Although there is no and there will never be a single European national culture, the European civilisation has been there for centuries. Every civilisation is constantly subject to challenges. There are also times when their own foundations are threatened and when they are to be defended. Now we live in a moment like this. “
"The defence of the very core of our civilisation is the most important priority and the noblest goal that we must be united on. We belong to the European People's Party so it's our duty to fight for a united, strong and free Europe and to provide security, opportunity and a predictable future to the Europeans.
"If voters in Europe see and feel our unity and resolve, the EPP will win the next European election with a landslide," Janša said.
