The President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos underlined the obligation to defend the EU and the European ideal in light of global economic forces with no democratic validation. Speaking at an event organised by the Greek Foreign Ministry at the Niarchos Foundation on occasion of “Europe Day”, Mr. Pavlopoulos stressed that all the EU member-states should not forget the potential of the EU project and its history in these most crucial times. He reminded the attendees at the event that these European ideals were founded on three pillars of Ancient Greece, Rome and the Christian teachings, adding that they defined the content of other significant values and principles underlying the European edifice like representative democracy, which is the cornerstone of western and European civilisation. The Greek President said the time had come for the EU as an institution to complete its final destination, which was transforming into a supranational entity.