The next generation of EU officials must defend freedom and democracy, the ideals of the European Union, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a speech on Friday. “There has never been a tougher time to fight for Europe but I’m sure there has never been a more important time to fight for Europe,” Steinmeier said. The German president was speaking in Bruges, Belgium, to a graduating class from the College of Europe, an elite institution that trains the next generation of officials to staff the EU institutions. In his speech, Steinmeier urged the graduating class to be optimistic, a r…