– It is a clear moral position from social democracy in Europe, says leader Magdalena Andersson of the Swedish Social Democrats.
She was among the party leaders who were in Berlin on Saturday to sign the joint declaration.
– We do not cooperate with parties that base their ideology on making distinctions between people, as that is a fundamentally undemocratic thought, says Andersson.
She insists that the EU Parliament will not see any cooperation similar to the Swedish government’s agreement with the far-right party Sweden Democrats.
The former prime minister points out that there are two far-right party groups in the EU parliament, and that the Sweden Democrats belong to one of them.
– The social democratic party group will not cooperate with any of them, says Andersson.
However, the declaration is not due to fear that social democratic parties in Europe will move closer to the far right, warns Andersson. She describes the promise rather as a symbolic act.
– It is our social democratic movement that is doing this, and we would like both the liberal and right-wing parties in Europe to do the same, she says.
