The world liberal movement has new goals for after the war in Ukraine and they were laid out at a Congress of the Liberal International (LI) in Sofia by the organisation’s head Hakima El Haite and by Mustafa Karadayi, the chairman of Bulgaria’s liberal party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). Both speakers told the Congress that the new liberal order will be based on energy security, climate neutrality and hydrogen-fuel solutions.
Between June 30 and July 3, the liberals of Bulgaria are hosting the Congress of the LI, which marks the organisation’s 75th anniversary.
I truly hope that in the future we will act together to make use of all the policies adopted by liberals around the world, said Hakima El Haite. She conveyed special thanks to Bulgaria’s liberal party – the MRF, its leader Mustafa Karadayi and the co-chairs of ALDE - Ilhan Kucuk, member of the European parliament (MEP) from MRF/Renew Europe, and Timmy Dooley, also an MEP from Renew Europe. "Congratulations, Mustafa, congratulations, Ilhan, congratulations, Timmy," Hakima El Haite said. She opened the forum in Sofia, saying in Bulgarian the words: "Dear friends, thank you for your hospitality." The chair pointed out that the name of the Bulgarian capital Sofia means “wisdom”, just like her name - Hakima.
More than 250 politicians from all over the world gathered in Sofia to marshal the new liberal vision for the world. The Congress began with a concert of Bulgarian folk songs performed by the Vanya Moneva Choir.
Like the founders of the Liberal International, we must keep thinking about the gloomy times that lay ahead. The pandemic has shown us how reliant we are on each other. No one can be guaranteed safety without other people being in a state of security, too, Hakima El Haite said.
Right now, we are witnessing a devastating war in Europe's own land. The war will have many collateral victims. Europe is a neighbour of Ukraine, and this war threatens the European economy, its energy independence, threatens food security in Latin America, in Africa. 267 million people all over the world are at risk of starvation because of this war. This is not an isolated conflict, the chair of the LI also said. "We need a multilateral order that entails liberal decisions in favour of the entire world. We have no other choice but to win this battle," she urged.
The leader of Bulgaria’s liberal party, the MRF, Mustafa Karadayi laid out five problems that must be solved.
The international order is at a crossroads. We have found ourselves in an unprecedented crisis that has not been seen since the end of the Cold War. It is no coincidence that the motto of today's forum is the restoration of the liberal world order. We are committed to shared peace and prosperity, the MRF leader said, defining five global issues that should be a priority for liberals around the world.
The first two are the consequences of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The economic outcomes of the war and the energy crisis have spread swiftly and far off, hitting the most vulnerable people in the world the hardest, Mustafa Karadai emphasized. "Hundreds of thousands are struggling with high energy and food prices", he said.
The war challenged us on two concerns that we had forgotten over the years. Europe and Africa cannot escape the effects of this global inferno. Because of the already existing vulnerability, the recovery for Africa will be difficult. Apart from the critical question of how African countries will cope, there is an immediate issue of how this crisis affects the current peace and security on the continent, the MRF leader added.
The third global problem is inflation. For the first time in many years, it has become a danger to numerous nations in the world. This is a giant obstacle to the global recovery after the pandemic and the war, Karadayi pointed out.
Today, as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Liberal International, we recognise that the liberal world order must again be restored. We must not let the pandemic and the war prevent us from acting together, because this will block our efforts to deal with the approaching new challenges, such as global warming, Mustafa Karadayi said. And he drew attention to the fourth problem - climate change.
The digital revolution, according to him, is the fifth global challenge. It requires re-educating people to be able to deal with the increasingly digitalising economy and unlocking the potential of innovation. The future is digital. But in our opinion, it is also liberal - equal opportunities, growth, and progressive thinking, Mustafa Karadayi said.
"Crises give rise to and deepen intolerance to people with different ethnicity or religious affiliation, and to differences in general. The liberal world must make efforts to defend human rights, including those in countries that do not have liberal order. The idea of an open and free society, the inclusion of free and active citizens in the political processes and on the control of the implementation of decisions is extremely relevant and very important," he said.
Just like after World War II, today we face the threat of a new Iron Curtain. I tell you this as the leader of a party whose members are victims of life on the other side of an Iron Curtain. It is up to us as a global liberal community to prevent such a curtain from dropping by strengthening our democratic societies, but also by helping our fellow liberals who are struggling in countries with undemocratic regimes. They are trying to lift their compatriots out of the fog of false authoritarian propaganda, the placing of the state above human rights and the squashing of democracy using military force. We must succeed and we will succeed because we are together and because our values and principles give us strength and belief, Karadayi added.
Three major problems, facing the world today - the war in Ukraine, inflation, and protection of free trade, were summarised by the leader of the European liberals, Ilhan Kucuk.
Ukrainians teach us a historic lesson through their struggle for freedom, for their country, but also for our liberal values. Let me assure you that all members of parliament, and MEPs, and liberals, are proud of your fight for liberal democracy, Kucuk said.
"We will help Hungarian and Polish liberals and democrats who are standing up for their liberal democracies. It is about time that we as liberals stand on the side of good and make key decisions on what the future will be and what the liberal response should be,” he said.
