Europe is faced with a severe economic crisis, a crisis of democracy and democratic legitimacy and on top of it all with a morality crisis because Europe has abandoned its fundamental philosophy and some of its main principles, including the principle of cooperation and solidarity, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said in Poland on Tuesday.
Josipovic said this in his speech with which he opened the 22nd Economic Forum in Krynica, together with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski. This year's forum is called "New Visions for Hard Times; Europe and the World Confronting the Crisis."
"I believe that the crisis in Europe and the world is not only an economic one, but also a political. It is not only a crisis of democratic legitimacy and faith in Europe, it is a crisis of strategy, vision and leadership," Josipovic said.
Europe and the world need a new way of thinking, maybe even new vision, primarily in the economic, business and financial world, Josipovic said adding that ingenuity and innovation were necessary in the world of politics as well.
Josipovic said that people often feel that they have no influence on the political decision making process, even if they vote, adding that they were usually right.
"They feel that the real power is not in the sphere of politics, but somewhere else," Josipovic said.
We must promote the culture of equal opportunities, the right to work, the feeling of realistic division of wealth and the feeling of justice, Josipovic said. The feeling of social injustice is the key problem because "without justice, solidarity and fundamental equality there can be no long-term stability," Joispovic said.
"We need a more just Europe which will not belong to economic, financial, political and other elites, which cannot belong to politicians or to the five percent of the richest citizens, but to all people living there," Josipovic said.
He called on the participants in the forum to consider some of the thesis he presented in his speech.
Polish President Komorowski also said that Europe's fundamental values were freedom, responsibility and solidarity.
Countries facing financial difficulties need reforms so that they would be able to overcome those difficulties, but they also need solidarity of one another to be able to re-establish European values, Komorowski said at the Forum.
He stressed Poland was not the problem of the EU, on the contrary, its experience can help Europe overcome the crisis, given that Poland's Gross Domestic Product had been constantly rising for the past 20 years.
After opening the event, Josipovic and Komorowski are expected to hold a bilateral meeting.
