HM-HETZELMEDIA

 

To the 63rd Congress of the European Journalist Association (EJ)

 

22–25 October 2026 | Rome, Italy

 

By HELMUT HETZEL, The Hague

Honorary President of the EJ and Foreign Correspondent

 

Dear Paolo, dear friends, dear colleagues,

 

A warm hello and Buon Giorno to all of you at the 63rd Congress of the European Journalist Association in Bella Italia, in the Eternal City of Rome!

How I wish I could be there with you now, among you, simply taking part, talking, laughing, having a drink and debating with you.

Unfortunately, that is not possible. A serious illness is preventing me from flying to Rome. I still have several medical examinations scheduled for this week, and an operation is likely to follow next week.

Once all this is behind me, I hope to be back in full force at next year’s 64th EJ Congress, wherever it may be held.

I am very much looking forward to it!

Two presentations by me are on the EJ program:

The Role of the Media in a Multipolar World and the presentation of My New Book: “Ungefiltert – Unzensiert –

Ein Auslandskorrespondent berichtet” (Unfiltered – Uncensored – A Foreign Correspondent Reports)

Here are a few thoughts and theses on these subjects. My intention is not only to encourage you to think, but also to stimulate debate.

Let’s get started!

1. The Role of the Media in a Multipolar World

Following the bipolar world order of the Cold War, the world has once again become multipolar. It is also more uncertain than ever. Tensions are rising at the geopolitical, European and domestic political levels.

Geopolitically, the global situation is dominated by the two wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, involving the United States, Israel, Gaza, Iran, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Putin and the Russia he rules dictatorially want to conquer Ukraine. At the same time, Putin is already waging a hybrid war against other European countries, testing NATO’s resolve and capabilities.

 

How can we stop Putin? Will US President Donald Trump, together with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, bring the war in Ukraine to an end?

More importantly, will this powerful trio divide the world anew, following the model of Yalta?

Will Trump and Putin allow Xi to attack and seize Taiwan? Or will Trump defend Taiwan as a key geopolitical ally and an indispensable technological partner?

 

 

What do you think?

2. Europe and the European Union

The EU needs reform. It must become more democratic. But how? What ideas do you have?

Here are my proposals.

The elected President

All eligible voters in the 27 EU member states should jointly elect an EU President directly. The President should have substantial powers because he or she would possess a direct democratic mandate. At the same time, the President must be subject to democratic oversight, including by the European Parliament.

The elected President could set the guidelines for a common EU foreign policy and serve as Commander-in-Chief of a European Rapid Intervention Force.

Communication

We need to create a European public opinion across national borders. But how? We must overcome language barriers. Should English become the common language?

Europe and the EU also need their own powerful satellite communications system comparable to Starlink, the system developed by Elon Musk and available to the United States.

At present, we are entirely dependent on the United States when it comes to satellite communications.

This is particularly important because even the new US-made F-35 fighter jets already operated by the Netherlands, and which Germany and Switzerland intend to purchase, depend on US-controlled systems for certain advanced operational capabilities.

The next euro crisis?

Another euro crisis may be looming. The reason is the situation in France.

On 18 April and 2 May 2027, the French will elect a new president. The candidates could include right-wing populist Marine Le Pen or left-wing populist Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Neither is known for advocating strict budgetary restraint. Both want to maintain the retirement age at 62. France, however, can no longer afford to sustain its current pension arrangements without significant financial pressure.

French public debt has already reached approximately 120% of GDP.

For further discussion, see my article “The Future of the Euro” on my website and in my new book, pages 215–245.

Link: https://www.hetzelmedia.com/the-future-of-the-euro-die-zukunft-des-euro/

Furthermore there are elections next year in: Italy, Spain, Polen.

3. Domestic Politics

I have already discussed France. Now, let us turn to Germany.

Germany

Germany is experiencing its most severe political and economic crisis since the Federal Republic was founded in 1949.

The parties of the political centre have failed. Voters are moving away from the centre, benefiting both the far-right AfD and the far-left party “Die Linke.”

“Die Linke” is the successor party to the communist SED, which ruled the GDR under a communist dictatorship. It is the successor to the SED, the so-called “party of the Wall shooters,” (“Mauerschützen-Partei” in German) which imprisoned millions of East German citizens in the GDR which was effectively been a prison and had East German citizens shot at the Berlin Wall when they tried to escape from the GDR’s prison-like state, searching for freedom in West-Berlin.

 

My thesis is that “Die Linke” poses a substantially greater threat to democracy and the economy than the AfD.

“Die Linke” cooperates with criminal clans and political Islamists. Its plans for state ownership and nationalisation in Berlin threaten Germany’s attractiveness as a business location.

One example: the Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche has put all investments in Germany on hold, Roche announced in an interview with “DIE WELT.”

Freedom of expression in Germany is under threat.

One example is Section 188 of the German Criminal Code (in German: StGB-Paragraph 188). I discuss this and related issues in greater detail in my new book, pages 152–215.

 

The Netherlands

The Netherlands is now governed by a minority cabinet of the centre-left, headed for the first time by an openly gay prime minister.

A surrogate mother is expecting a child for him and his partner next year.

The government is unstable. It has not even presented a draft budget for 2027.

Italy

From the outside, the government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appears stable. However, unrest in France has already reached Milan. This is dangerous.

Will these disturbances soon spread to Berlin or other European cities?

My thesis is that France and the riots there represent an ultimate warning of where uncontrolled migration can lead.

Migration goes hand in hand with the Islamization of many European countries. In the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, this process has already advanced considerably.

Migration and the Islamization of Europe should therefore both be halted.

Alongside the threat posed by Putin, the Islamization of Europe is, in my view, one of the greatest challenges and dangers facing our continent.

What do you think?

4. Last but not least: The Media and AI

 

Artificial intelligence will not wipe out humanity. We created it, and we can also control it.

We should make use of it. AI is a driving force for progress, particularly in medicine.

For example, AI is helping researchers develop many new medicines. One promising area of research involves treatments that can induce cancer cells to destroy themselves.

AI could help make cancer a curable disease!

Let us use this technology and ensure that it remains under appropriate human control.

All the best! Stay healthy! Be happy !

Arrivederci and Ciao

Helmut

My new book

Please order here:

https://buchshop.bod.de/ungefiltert-unzensiert-helmut-hetzel-9783695171767

 

or via QR-Code:

 

 

LINKS:

https://www.european-journalists.eu/

www.hetzelmedia.com

www.helmuthetzel.com

https://www.youtube.com/@HMHetzelMedia

 

 

 

 

 

End of text / Copyright © HELMUT HETZEL / The Hague