Mattarella: "NATO is essential for the balance of the world"

A walk under the snow on the Charles Bridge in the historic center of Praguebetween applause and the Italian anthem sung by a group of Sicilian students on a trip, opened the day of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarellain the Czech capital. “Thank you president”, the boys cheered him. “Have a nice walk in the snow and best wishes”, replied the president, taking a few selfies before continuing with his institutional commitments.

At the center of the meetings with the presidents of the Chamber and Senate of the Czech Republic, the role ofAtlantic Alliance and the need to strengthen the transatlantic link. “The transatlantic relationship must remain strong. The Nato it is essential to guarantee the balance of the world system and is useful to both shores”, said Mattarella, inviting us to recover the spirit of “creative courage” that accompanied the enlargement to the East in the early 2000s.

Peace and freedom for European citizens

The head of state linked this picture to the request coming from European citizenswho “ask for a future of peace and freedom“. An objective which – he underlined in the message entrusted to the guest book of the Czech Senate – “can be built together thanks to the common belonging toEuropean Union and to Nato“.

Shared sovereignty for global challenges

During the talks, Mattarella also insisted on the need to strengthen the European size through a “shared sovereignty“. “The specifications and characteristics of each country must always be respected. But the challenges today are global and no country, even the strongest economically or militarily, can think of doing it alone. Otherwise sovereignty becomes illusory”, he highlighted. In detail, Mattarella cited “safety, migrations, financial balancethe presence of subjects who operate above the States and the international lawi climate changesthe issues of salute” which “can only be addressed in a global way”, only “with shared sovereignty”.

Respect for international law

The president also recalled the importance of respecting the international lawdefining the attacks on “extremely serious”. international courts. “It was a real leap of civilization when international courts were established to sanction violations of international law. It is extremely serious that they are attacked. We must avoid going back in the history of humanity when disputes were settled by force and not by law. We must remember this. There is a Latin saying that goes ‘Amicus Plato sed magis amica veritas’ (Plato is a friend but the truth is friendlier),” he warned.