Europe no longer holds power it once has - PACE President
Photo: Theodoros Rousopoulos (Getty Images)
In recent years, Europe has lost many of its positions that created the Western civilization as we know it, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) President Theodoros Rousopoulos states in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
"I think that politically speaking or financially speaking, Europe has not the power that it used to have in the past," said Rousopoulos on the sidelines of the PACE session in Strasbourg.
The PACE President noted that his first disappointment as a pro-European was during the economic crisis. "Instead of having a mechanism to face the economic crisis, we have asked for the IMF to come and save us. So it was the first disappointment," he said.
As Rousopoulos mentioned, later in Europe, a certain mechanism was created, which means things would be much better if a new economic crisis arises.
"On the other hand, what happened with the war of aggression, Russia against Ukraine – the Europeans are united, and this is obvious. There are some exceptions, but I believe that if not all, the high majority of the people and of course the high majority of the governments in Europe are supporting Ukraine," the PACE President added.
The Greek Theodoros Rousopoulos became President of PACE a year ago, in January 2024. He was re-elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for another year on January 29, 2025. Other candidates for the position were not nominated, so Roussopoulos's powers were extended without a vote in the session hall.
In his speech immediately after his re-election, Rousopoulos stated that the issue of Russian aggression against Ukraine would be his main priority in office.
