As MEPs start their final term before facing voters in June 2024, Wiseler-Lima outlines two significant priorities that she intends to focus on in an interview with our colleagues from RTL.lu.
Her first priority is the safety of journalists worldwide. She stresses that free journalism is a fundamental element of democracy but remains under threat in many parts of the world.
“Journalists have a right to inform and citizens have a right to be informed, and that is something that is in danger now more than ever,” she says, arguing that authoritarian states, such as Russia, suppress free journalism, leading to the imprisonment of critical voices.
The issue of disinformation, which has gained prominence since the start of the Ukraine conflict, is also a concern. Wiseler-Lima warns that disinformation poses a significant threat to democracy by eroding the distinction between truth and falsehood, undermining public trust, and ultimately weakening democratic institutions.
Wiseler-Lima emphasises that it is essential to prevent a situation where people lose confidence in their ability to distinguish right from wrong, as this could ultimately undermine democracy. She points out that more countries are moving toward authoritarianism than toward democracy, highlighting the need for vigilant defence of democratic values: “The day you stop defending it, you lose it.”
She views this struggle as one of the European Union’s significant challenges.
Another crucial concern for Wiseler-Lima is the need for greater European unity to ensure collective defence. The war in Ukraine has underscored the importance of Europe being capable of responding to threats independently.
“We must be able to react when faced with danger and Europe must also be able to make decisions on its own. We cannot always wait for the US to be there,” Wiseler-Lima states.
The differing responses to the situations in Afghanistan and Ukraine illustrate the need for Europe to have a unified approach to security and defence, she notes.
The MEP stresses that Europe must not become complacent or normalised to the horrors of war:
“We must not get used to the images of the bombardments. We must keep the images of Bucha in our minds. It is murder, it is rape, it is torture, it is deportation of children. Something we could not have imagined happening again,” Wiseler-Lima says.
Isabel Wiseler-Lima pledges to continue advocating for Europe’s unwavering support for Ukraine in its time of need.
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