Joint Statement by the Ambassadors to the U.S. of the 28 EU Member States and of the EU Delegation

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Delegation of the European Union to the United States

Jan 07, 2015, 05:31 ET

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The horrific and cowardly attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris today is an attack not only on over twenty innocent civilians, but also on two of the most fundamental values shared by the European Union and the United States. We, the Representatives of the European Union and its Member States in the United States, condemn this attack in the strongest terms.

Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are essential elements of any democratic and open society. Each is protected, on both sides of the Atlantic, by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, by the European Convention on Human Rights, and by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. These values are a central tenet of who we are as Europeans.

Today twelve individuals, including ten of Charlie Hebdo's staff and two French police officers, paid the ultimate price in defense of these values. They were murdered in cold blood for doing their jobs, for exercising not just their own rights and freedoms, but those of all of us. Still more were wounded, some seriously. Our sincerest condolences are with these individuals and their families.

We thank President Barack Obama, Secretary John Kerry and all those across the United States who have stood in solidarity with us today. A chorus of condemnation has rung out across the globe today following this barbaric attack. Those who would seek to deprive us of our fundamental freedoms, on either side of the Atlantic, should be left in no doubt that our collective resolve to defend these freedoms will never be diminished.

SOURCE Delegation of the European Union to the United States