Vienna — Austria’s Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier have issued a joint appeal for European unity and renewed responsibility in safeguarding peace and security, warning that Europe must adapt to a changing world.
Ahead of Steinmeier’s state visit to Vienna, the two leaders released a statement titled “Europe Must and Can Reinvent Itself.” They praised seven decades of peace and prosperity as “a miracle” born of European cooperation but cautioned that many have come to see it as permanent and self-evident, “a mistake,” they said.
Europe now faces what they described as a “double turning point”: Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and weakening transatlantic guarantees of security. “Our certainties about the durability of the transatlantic security architecture have become fragile,” the statement said, adding that Europe “can no longer rely on others.”
Van der Bellen and Steinmeier urged EU members to strengthen their own defense, deterrence, and unity to avoid being seen as “weak or controllable.” True security, they said, begins within, through a more “courageous and proactive foreign policy based on European values and interests.”
“For every member state,” the presidents concluded, “this is a moment of decision for or against Europe. Let us continue working together on the miracle of Europe, for peace and freedom on our continent.”
