Speech by President António Costa at the second meeting of the 'In Defence of Democracy: Fighting Against Extremism' initiative 18:00 The President of the European Council,[...]

Dear friends, thank you very much for inviting me here. Today, I want to share three messages with you all.

My first message is that democracy is not just another ideology.

Democracy is the system that makes coexistence and the peaceful and political transition of power between different ideological visions possible. Democracy cannot be ascribed any colour, race or nationality. Democracy guarantees the freedom of all those who wish to defend freedom. Democracy belongs to humanity. If we limit it to partisan conflict, we weaken it and betray its essence, which is to be the common ground where political differences are resolved.

My second message is that the defence of democracy needs all democrats. Democracy is everyone's heritage.

It is the heritage of progressives, but also of many conservatives. It requires the two sides to acknowledge each other within the same democratic sphere. The greatest risk today comes not only from extremist attacks, but also from moderate parties drifting towards authoritarian positions. That is why democracy must be a shared commitment, going beyond any ideological border.

The specific contribution that progressives can make today is to combat new inequalities. These include difficulties in accessing housing, which is eroding the middle class and harming young people, above all. Because there will be no strong democracy without a strong middle class. And democracy will have no future if young people are excluded.

We must do everything we can to ensure that democratic parties remain the backbone of the democratic system. Because democracy must be a shared commitment, going beyond any ideological border. Because democracy means dialogue and commitment.

My third and final message is that democracy loses out if we pit it against technological progress.

We must learn how to strengthen democracy with the tools that technological progress offers us. It is true that anti-democratic movements have been effective in using technology, social media, to distort public debate. We must regulate digital services in a way that protects our freedoms. This is why, with the European Digital Services Act, we are pushing ahead with clear regulations for online platforms in order to curb the spread of fake news.

We also need global, multilateral coordination to combat the disinformation spread by authoritarian movements. But technology does not 'belong' to anyone: it is a tool and has historically also served every democratic cause. The fact that Leni Riefenstahl used cinema for Nazi propaganda did not make all cinema Nazi. Similarly, just because some people use the internet to spread poison does not mean that we should give up on the technology. On the contrary, it is up to us to show that it can strengthen freedom and public discourse.

Looking around the table, I see that Colombia is the only country that was not living under a dictatorship 50 years ago. Uruguay was under a dictatorship, Brazil was under a dictatorship, Chile was under a dictatorship, and Spain was trying to break free of a dictatorship, as was my country. But 50 years on, they are all democracies. That means that it is worth fighting for democracy - keeping it alive, open and capable of renewal, and understanding that it belongs to everyone and that it is inseparable from human progress. It is our responsibility to do what was done 50 years ago by those who fought to defend democracy in Uruguay, in Brazil, in Chile, in Spain, and in all countries living under dictatorships.

Long live democracy!