We all remember the images of that night between 30 April and 1 May, 20 years ago. Fireworks illuminated the towers here over St. Vitus Cathedral with a cascade of golden stars. Tens of thousands of people celebrated in the streets of Prague. Women, men and children danced and sang at concerts in Vilnius and Valletta, they embraced each other across Nicosia and Budapest.
And not only in the capital cities. Wherever the Iron Curtain had separated people from each other for such a long time, they turned out to consign the fallen power of borders to the past. In the towns of Železná Ruda and Bayerisch Eisenstein on either side of the Czech-German border, it was not fireworks that illuminated the night sky but the flying sparks of the angle-grinder used to remove the old barrier. And in Frankfurt an der Oder on Germany’s border with Poland, the Bridge of Friendship was bathed in a luminous blue light at midnight. In Nova Gorica on the Slovenian border with Italy, rose bushes replaced the iron fence that had run through the middle of the divided town.
What people were celebrating in those hours was an historic moment, a happy occasion for Europe. And anyone who looks at some of the many films and photos taken of that night will see one thing, above all, in countless faces: joy. Great joy.
Today, 20 years later, we all sense that we can no longer celebrate quite so light-heartedly in this enlarged, and for so long peaceful, Europe. We are currently witnessing the greatest challenge for the European continent since the Second World War. With Russia’s attack on Ukraine, war between states has returned to Europe. With this despicable invasion of our European neighbour, the idea of the peaceful, sovereign coexistence of democratic countries in Europe is quite literally under fire day and night. The attack on Ukraine is a violation of international law. It is an attack on peace and justice – far beyond Ukraine.
That worries us all. It affects us all. But it is not the only thing that worries and affects us. Within our European Union, too, fundamental democratic values are being called into question, indeed the European project is being called into question, by irresponsible populists.
These days, I sometimes think of the image of the circle formed by the golden stars on our European flag. The image of this circle of stars shows the nature of our freedom-loving community. We are bound to one another and, at the same time, each of us is free. We have needed time and patience to mould our Union in precisely this way. And nevertheless, it is important that we remain flexible, that our Union can reorient itself should circumstances change. The European Union is something that we must defend, and something that is certainly not indestructible. Our friend Emmanuel Macron has just made this very point in his Sorbonne speech. It would in fact be dangerous for all of us to assume, to think, to act as if the European Union, once established, were forever guaranteed.
By anchoring ourselves in a European community of rights and values, we in the united Europe have shown the world how coexistence founded on democratic order and peace can succeed. We know that we must now navigate through a period of uncertainty and upheaval. We know that we must defend this united Europe if we want future generations to inherit an equally peaceful Europe in diversity.
It is just as crucial as it was 20 years ago for us to now take action together. And so this year’s anniversary is perhaps not an entirely carefree celebration, but it is an occasion on which we can look all the more clearly at what we have already achieved, as well as at what is in danger and what must be done to ensure a secure future for the EU.
Together, we all seized a unique, an historic opportunity in the European Union in 2004. It would by no means be enough if I said that welcoming the ten new members in Eastern and Central Europe to the EU meant the biggest enlargement of our alliance. The EU’s eastward enlargement meant, first and foremost, overcoming the ahistorical division of Europe. It meant consigning the Iron Curtain to the annals of history. At a time when the world was rearranging itself, Europe made far-reaching strategic decisions. That was nothing short of an epochal change. Or, as our Enlargement Commissioner at the time, Günter Verheugen, said looking back: an act of historical justice.
But we remember that, even 20 years ago, it was not solely a cause for celebration. There were also concerns in some quarters about whether we would be able to rise to the challenge of this mammoth project together. And many people had their own personal doubts. These are doubts that always arise when it comes to major processes of change. Processes such as we perhaps also face today.
Then, as now, I say: Let us not allow scepticism to win! Optimism was and is, I strongly believe, quite warranted! All the more so when we take stock now, 20 years later – all those who predicted that the EU would fail can see an alliance that has proven resilient in many crises. More resilient than we perhaps believed. In these days and weeks, however, we must also recognise that seemingly achieved certainties cannot be taken for granted. We are becoming painfully aware that peaceful coexistence in diversity must be defended time and again. And we are becoming aware that excessive nationalism can once again lead to war. Even in the twenty-first century.
Perhaps, at those times in the past when the wind was at our backs, we were for too long somewhat too quick to take for granted the great and fundamental value of this European Union. If we look back a little further, it becomes clear that what is today a matter of course to us is really still a miracle. Or, let’s say, a mixture of tenacious political work and immense historical good fortune.
Particularly in view of the challenges we face, I believe it is worth taking the time to look back. Almost at the same time as the twentieth anniversary of EU enlargement, this and next year we will also be remembering our continent’s more distant past. The twentieth century that plunged Europe time and again into catastrophe. In this and the coming months, we will commemorate the barbarity of the Second World War. Of the all-destroying horror that the National Socialists wreaked on Europe. On Westerplatte in Poland, we will commemorate the start of the war; before the ruins of Oradour-sur-Glane in France, the atrocities committed by the SS that wiped out the population of entire villages and areas.
Such as the Lidice massacre, that heinous act of terror by the German occupiers; we mark the anniversary in June. The massacre was a reprisal for the daring assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the “Butcher of Prague”. During my last visit to Prague three years ago, I laid a wreath at the Cathedral Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in memory of the resistance fighters responsible and the many murdered civilians who were accused by the Nazis of helping them. For me, that was one of the most sombre and, at the same time, most important moments of my first term in office.
In Lidice, the Nazis shot dead all the men – the youngest was a child not yet 15 years old, the oldest 90. Most of the women were deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp. Many of the children were murdered shortly afterwards in the Chełmno extermination camp.
Lidice ceased to exist. In their cynical death cult, the National Socialists recorded this act of destruction for posterity – with a film they produced themselves. And the Allies wrote the name of the village, Lidice, on the weapons and bombs that they used to liberate Europe from National Socialism.
Europe in its “zero hour” was therefore more than just one era removed from our united Europe today. Back then, many countries looked on each other with suspicion, and especially on my country, from which so much cruelty and destruction had emanated. Villages, towns and cities bore the ravages of the war; children were growing up without their fathers who had fallen in battle. Whole families had been murdered, whole Jewish communities eradicated. Millions of survivors were displaced, refugees, with nowhere to call home. For most people, building a future after 1945 first of all meant having a roof of their own over their heads, finding a life of their own once again.
Today, as Germany’s Head of State on a visit to close friends and neighbours, seeing first-hand our close ties of mutual trust, I also think of the long period in post-war Europe when there was what Libor Rouček described quite simply as a lack of any political contact between our two countries. When there was contact, it was not encouraging. The founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, whose seventy-fifth anniversary we will be celebrating in a few weeks’ time, prompted what was then Czechoslovakia to publish a note of protest. The Federal Republic in turn did not yet want to consider establishing diplomatic relations with a state that had recognised the GDR. The complicated relationship between our two countries was now riven by two dividing lines. The emotional divide of the recent past – and a territorial divide of global importance between two systems. It was a long road from here to the German-Czech Declaration of 1997, in which we affirmed that our two states, while not forgetting the past, would look to the future together.
Today both Czechia and Germany have every reason to celebrate Czechia’s accession 20 years ago. We have all benefited from this step – not merely economically but above all as neighbours. And I am certain that this success story will continue. The European Union has changed Czechia, but Czechia has changed the European Union as well. The single currency, too, remains open to all. Of course, this is entirely a matter for each sovereign state to decide. However, my message is: should the Czech people one day decide to join, we would bid you a very warm welcome to the eurozone.
Today we are celebrating the long road that we in the EU – at first separately and then increasingly together – have travelled. In the beginning, the common European house was at best a remote idea. This idea was then laboriously, step by step, developed.
It was to be a long time before Europe could evolve into the peace project of the new age. From the outset, however, our community was founded on a strong commitment, which was: never again should there be war.
But what does this commitment mean now that war has returned to Europe? I would like to respond with the words of Václav Havel, who – at the time concerning NATO’s intervention in Kosovo – said that there are simply situations where one has to shout “Enough!”. Intervening then, said Havel, is not only an act of solidarity but also an act of self-preservation. As so often, he was entirely correct.
The people in the European countries to the east – in the Baltic, in Poland, in Czechia – very quickly and very clearly saw and asserted how important it now is for us in the EU to take decisive action! For them, the experience of having regained their freedom and sovereignty, and in some cases also their national identity, is still very present in their minds.
However, the danger that this freedom and sovereignty will come under attack exists for the whole of today’s united Europe! Because Russia’s aggression is an attack on all of the lessons that we in Germany and in Europe had drawn from two World Wars. The states that seek peaceful and sovereign coexistence in this united Europe have a response to this attack: we support Ukraine as an integral part of Europe and as a future member of the European Union. Here, too, our strength lies in joint action. We will not allow ourselves to be worn down, nor divided.
What matters now is very tangible assistance – and I am pleased that my country is making such a great effort to support Ukraine, in humanitarian, financial and military terms. We are delivering military assistance on an enormous scale, including heavy weaponry as well as cutting-edge, highly effective air defence technology. Petr, you have launched important initiatives to help Ukraine, and we are happy to make a substantial contribution, out of a sense of conviction. We are united by the conviction that all of us must do everything we possibly can to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom, independence and sovereignty.
We have learned a key lesson from our shared history in the twentieth century: We need each other. It is our responsibility to pull together and protect our Europe and its people. And just as we need each other here, we need each other in NATO. With its enlargement to Eastern Europe 25 years ago, the Alliance truly showed foresight, and for 25 years now, we Europeans in NATO have been glad to have Czechia and our other Eastern European partners at our side. The unity between the European Union and NATO is our greatest anchor of security if we want to preserve peace and freedom in our region.
Russia must not win the war that Russia has unleashed. Russia will test our resolve and unity – time and again. We must pass this test and show strength. Not just today! Ukraine will continue to need our support. And all of us will need to demonstrate staying power. Solidarity has no expiry date!
Now, 20 years after our alliance’s biggest enlargement, we once again find ourselves in an historic situation where we must do everything in our power to secure our goal of peaceful coexistence in freedom and democracy. Once again, ten states are going through the accession process at the same time. They have embarked on the path towards the European Union. And one thing is clear – since Putin will maintain his destructive influence wherever he can, the Western Balkans must not remain in a geopolitical grey zone. The Western Balkan states, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia belong to a free Europe, to our Union.
With our experiences, we have every reason to confidently stand up to anything and anyone challenging our European unity. However, that does not mean that we are already adequately equipped for a changing world. We have to evolve in order to secure peace and preserve our security in the long term. I am glad to see that the reform discussions in the EU have not just begun but are being conducted with great care, and are set to pick up further speed and hopefully reach a conclusion during the next legislative term of the European Parliament.
Europe’s resilience – as an alliance, as a peace project, as a stronghold of liberal democracy, as a common economic area – grows with every day that we successfully work towards consensus on a joint path. This does not mean that we must always agree on every point from the outset.
We, these liberal, stable democracies, are well-practised in negotiating compromises, and we do not see that as a disadvantage in our endeavours to find a shared line, although we perhaps approach this line from different points. Negotiating like this is the everyday business of those who hold positions of responsibility in the European Union and in all liberal democracies.
I admit that negotiating doesn’t quite have a ring of glory and adventure. And anyone who has sat through long nights in Brussels or Strasbourg or in one of the many conference rooms in Europe, which are certainly not all as splendid as this hall here, knows that the high life looks rather different. Working in the engine room of Europe is often laborious and strenuous. What is more, this work tends to be outwardly presented and perceived as “in-fighting”, which is unfair and false.
This process of negotiating is what guarantees that we find solutions together time and again – in situations where we did not begin on the same page but ultimately manage to overcome the thorniest crises. Together we have mastered the sovereign debt crisis, together we have overcome the pandemic. Together we have faced up to the vast scale of migration and have now finally reached an agreement on asylum procedures. Together we are also showing strength in our response to Russia’s war of aggression.
It is all the more important for us to explain and defend, time and again, this very process of negotiating, the essence of how we reach a democratic consensus. This is particularly true at a time when populists are able to convince many people that the loudest voice is seemingly always the most important voice. At a time when the fundamental values of pluralism, human rights and the rule of law – the values of our shared European Union – are coming under attack.
We must be aware that the foundation on which democracies are rooted and thrive is trust! This includes the trust that well-informed citizens place in those on whom they bestow the responsibility to search for solutions. That is why populists aim to sow division and undermine trust wherever possible: trust in political institutions, in democratic processes, in alliances such as the EU, in the peaceful coexistence of those quite different from one another, ultimately our trust in ourselves and in our ability to act and ensure that things that are not yet going well take a turn for the better. I am therefore grateful to the Czech security authorities for recently uncovering an external attempt to destabilise the European Union with disinformation.
Democracy must be defended within the European Union and beyond in this crucial year. More than half of the world’s population will have the opportunity to vote in their country – including more than 400 million voters who will be able to choose among the candidates for the European Parliament. In democracy, everyone’s participation matters. It is indifference, apathy, that makes us vulnerable to attack.
And so I can only concur with the Czech President in his appeal. You have the opportunity to vote – please use it! We must be aware, now most particularly, of what is at stake. We in Germany and in Czechia know that a democracy once established is not guaranteed to endure for all eternity on its own. We know that the strength of liberal democracy, its tolerance, is at once its greatest vulnerability. And we know that we need to be robust and act robustly when those who scorn democracy take advantage of this tolerance in order to attack it!
The motto of the last Czech Presidency of the EU Council, which so successfully steered us through difficult times in 2022, continues to hold true: Europe as a task.
Knowing what we are celebrating this year also means knowing what we are defending: Europe!
As you have often said in the past year, Petr, Europe is a task! Standing together means, more than ever, assuming responsibility. We must stand together if we want to continue our success story of peace, freedom and solidarity. This success story is threatened as perhaps never before in the history of European integration! And so our cohesion and our steadfastness matter as never before! Let us together stand behind democracy and human rights! Let us together fight against populism and simple answers! Let us stand up for our European values and against those who threaten them: for security and stability, for freedom and a just peace!
