The First Deputy Prime Minister, Artan Grubi, spoke at the CIVIL public event on “European values - (im)possible mission: Equality, non-discrimination and multiculturalism through the prism of policies and practices at the national level” about European values as a way of life.
To be honest, last night when they reminded me of this event and got sent a finished speech, I saw it in the morning and I did not like it and I wrote a new one because important messages should be sent.
Today, from what I saw, the event is about European values.
Our country shares European values for peace, tolerance, rule of law, etc. But in essence, European values are worth much more than a default state of a whole. It is a way of life and a sacrifice for peace. Our continent has had longer periods of war than peace.
Diversity is a benefit and a color, but it is also a problem of religious, ethical and other issues. That is because of discrimination. Equality is the formula for multiculturalism. The more loyal the state is to the citizens, the more loyal the citizens are to the state.
A society cannot be one if we are not equal.
All our governments were Euro-Atlantic and strongly committed to the EU and NATO because they strongly believed in that commitment.
In 2018, the Euro-Atlantic Alliance opened its doors to Croatia and Albania, but not to us.
We reached and ratified the Prespa Agreement and the good neighborly agreement with Bulgaria, we changed the Constitution and ratified the Ohrid Framework Agreement. We held local parliamentary and presidential elections. We have changed the way we think and act. We did it gambling without much thought.
Europe is the second smallest continent on the planet in size. A simple picture with sad black and white graphics shows that our continent has been more at war than at peace for more than 2000 years.
When making a decision, the then EU leaders were brave, peaceful. They made the decision with the responsibility of making peace. I do not believe that they thought when making the decision of how to reach the next elections.
This society of ours, instead of being rewarded, is facing a great challenge due to another meaningless dispute, which tells you that you are something you are not. A dispute that tells you that until 1945 you spoke one language and from 1945 onwards you spoke another language.
I do not know how to explain to myself and then to my children as well, as to what the reason is that we are waiting behind closed doors in 2021.
We will not give up and we will continue to build Europe at home because it is essential. Tolerance, equality and non-discrimination are essential.
