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<\/p>\n
In a\u00a0key\u00a0address to\u00a0the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Annalena Baerbock repeated\u00a0her\u00a0call to\u00a0uphold\u00a0multilateralism amid \u201ctrying times\u201d\u00a0globally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She noted that just 40 days into\u00a02026, the world has already seen crises around Venezuela,\u00a0Iran\u00a0and Greenland,\u00a0on top of\u00a0continuing\u00a0devastation\u00a0in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe international order is not only under pressure,\u00a0it is\u00a0under attack<\/strong>,\u201d she\u00a0told lawmakers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we face a new and more troubling kind of crisis: conflicts waged not even under the\u00a0pretence\u00a0of\u00a0self-defence\u00a0or respect for international law but often carried out in open defiance of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n She warned that at\u00a0precisely the moment the world most needs cooperation and the\u00a0UN,\u00a0\u201cpowers \u2013 even those who have a special responsibility to protect peace and security \u2013\u00a0are pulling away from it or even outright attacking it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Ms. Baerbock recalled that four years ago, when she was Germany\u2019s Foreign Minister, she\u00a0addressed\u00a0the General Assembly and called for the UN to stand up for Europe\u2019s peace as Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cToday,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0coming as President of the General Assembly to Europe, calling for Europe to stand up for the United Nations because\u00a0the world needs the UN. But right now, the UN and its principles as enshrined in the Charter, needs the world too<\/strong>,\u201d she said, referring to all continents.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt needs you to form a\u00a0cross-regional alliance\u00a0<\/strong>to protect, defend and champion the Charter and the international rules-based system that benefits us all individually and collectively.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n First and foremost, the EU must defend the truth in a world where\u00a0\u201cfake news, falsities, mis- and disinformation\u201d are everywhere<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDefending the truth means we cannot negotiate the facts; we cannot \u2018go along to get along\u2019 in the hope that it will avoid a tariff,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Ms. Baerbock\u00a0acknowledged that\u00a0defending the truth \u201cis easier said than done,\u00a0especially when you\u2019re faced with blackmail or coercion, or threats and intimidation.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n She stressed, however, that \u201cno one can do it alone\u201d,\u00a0highlighting\u00a0European Union (EU)\u00a0collective\u00a0action\u00a0in this regard.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFour years ago, Europe watched as 100,000 troops amassed on Ukraine\u2019s borders, shocked into paralysis. Nobody could have imagined the EU, which has been described as\u00a0\u2018too slow and too bureaucratic, too divided\u2019\u00a0would unite over a weekend,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The invasion began on a Thursday and by\u00a0that\u00a0Monday morning \u201cthe EU collectively passed one of the largest sanctions packages ever recorded because it responded as one, with conviction and purpose.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But Europe did not act alone\u00a0as she\u00a0pointed\u00a0to late-night calls and pleas made to other countries around the world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cToday dear colleagues, the world is calling.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0not only about Greenland,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0also about Latin America, about Africa<\/strong>. Once again,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0about the international peace order, once again\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0about the UN Charter,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe UN needs Europe and I count on your answer to be a clear and resounding: yes, we will be there for our peace, for the international peace order, for the United Nations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The Assembly President said\u00a0the\u00a0UN also needs Europe \u201cto reform it, to make it better, to make it more effective and efficient.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0While the 80-year-old Organization is not perfect, she insisted that the world would not be better off without it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cImperfection is an opportunity to strengthen and refine, not to cut down and demolish,\u201d said\u00a0Ms. Baerbock.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot allow those who would\u00a0weaponize\u00a0failings or setbacks to use existing inefficiencies or duplications as justification to unravel all that we have built, nor allow exclusive clubs to hold responsibilities for world peace.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nProtect the UN Charter<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Defend the truth<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
European unity over\u00a0Ukraine<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
\u2018The world is calling\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Support UN reform<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Lead by example<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n