EU Commission President von der Leyen calls for the defense of fundamental values ahead of European elections

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called on people to defend fundamental values two weeks before the European elections. "Peaceful Europe is being challenged by extremists like never before. They want to divide it, and we will not allow that," said von der Leyen on Sunday at a CDU rally for the European and local elections in Leipzig. The European Union is the guardian of freedom and human rights and a guarantor of security and peace, said von der Leyen, who is the lead candidate of the conservative EPP.

Businesses in Europe need fair competitive conditions with less bureaucracy. Nature must be preserved for future generations and, above all, illegal migration must be stopped. "We decide who comes to Europe, not smugglers and traffickers," said the current EU Commission President in front of several hundred people at the Nikolaikirche in the trade fair city.

Earlier at the rally, CDU Federal Chairman Friedrich Merz had emphasized that the EU was under threat from left-wing and right-wing extremists. "They want another state and to abolish the EU." The fight must be waged to preserve it - priorities must be set. To achieve this, Germany must remain an industrialized country. The hard-working in the country must be relieved.

An estimated handful of people disrupted the event with heckling. Merz said to them: "Millions of people envy us for the European Union, and we will defend this peace and prosperity." He added that they would not be intimidated by isolated shouters. "You are just a tiny minority in Germany, and you will remain so." Votes will be cast in the European elections in Germany on June 9.