Simon Coveney and Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir: Renewing democracy in Europe

Amid economic uncertainty and rising inequality, democracy has come under sustained assault, and we must fight for it, as the people of Ukraine are doing today

For millions of Europeans, a new life began after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. A great wave of democratisation washed across our continent, promising prosperity, raising hopes. Picture: AP /John Gaps III

On November 9, 33 years ago, the people of Berlin tore down a wall.

History did not end on that crisp November night. But for millions of Europeans, a new life did begin. A great wave of democratisation washed across our continent, promising prosperity, raising hopes.