Verhofstadt: ‘Russians, Americans and Turks’ are trying to destroy the EU

Guy Verhofstadt, once the Belgian Prime Minister and now one of the most prominent European liberals, says that the “ring of autocrats” is trying to destroy the European Union, citing the presidents of Russia and Turkey and their incoming colleague Donald Trump.

It seems to me that we are increasingly surrounded by autocrats. Putin, Erdogan…, alongside whom I am also very concerned about Mr. Trump’s first appointments – said the dedicated European federalist who is, to the horror of the British, the chief negotiator of the European Parliament regarding Brexit.

– What I see today is that now the Russians and Americans and Turks… are working together, more or less on European soil, to destroy the European model.

Verhofstadt accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “openly financing” populist and eurosceptic parties, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of targeting the Turkish opposition in Europe.

Speaking in the European Parliament, the representative compared the two leaders to the newly elected American president, emphasizing that Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, is opening new editions of the increasingly popular right-wing portal Breitbart News in France and Germany “to influence the elections.”

Verhofstadt, who leads the liberal group in the European Parliament, says that the mentioned presidents have a “common viewpoint that they want to undermine (…) or even destroy our way of thinking, our values.”

– We must fight back, this is a crucial moment in the history of the EU – he said according to an AFP quote.