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EU leader warns of growing nationalism

EU's first president Herman Van Rompuy walks past a EU flag as he leaves the Elysee Palace, in Paris, December 04, 2008, after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Van Rompuy embarked on a tour of European capitals after he was chosen for the newly-created post at an EU summit last month. UPI/Eco Clement
EU's first president Herman Van Rompuy walks past a EU flag as he leaves the Elysee Palace, in Paris, December 04, 2008, after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Van Rompuy embarked on a tour of European capitals after he was chosen for the newly-created post at an EU summit last month. UPI/Eco Clement | License Photo

BERLIN, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Peace in Europe is threatened by growing nationalism, populism and anti-democratic forces, the president of the European Union says.

Council President Herman Van Rompuy told an audience in Berlin Tuesday night that it is essential for every member state to fight against what he called "a new euro-skepticism," the EUobserver reported.

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"In every member state, there are people who believe their country can survive alone in the globalized world," he said. "It is more than an illusion: It is a lie!"

Van Rompuy, paraphrasing a famous quote by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, said fear is Europe's biggest enemy and it could ultimately lead to war.

"Fear leads to egoism, egoism leads to nationalism, and nationalism leads to war," he said.

Van Rompuy spoke on the anniversary of five pivotal events in Germany's history: the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the fall of the monarchy in 1918, the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, Kristallnacht in 1938 and the execution of a leader of the 1848 revolutions in the German states.

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