Brussels, 07/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - The undeniable link between German unity and European integration was underlined during the commemorations for the 20th anniversary of German reunification (3 October 1990), which took place on Thursday 7 October at the European Parliament in Brussels, attended by many important figures from that era, including the first democratically elected minister-president of the former Democratic German (GDR), Lothar de Maizière, and the former president of the European Commission, Jacques Delors. The presidents of the three EU institutions were also there: Herman Van Rompuy (European Council), José Manuel Barroso (Commission) and Jerzy Buzek (EP), as well as many MEPs. De Maizière, who headed the East German government elected at the first and last free elections in the history of the GDR on 18 March 1990 (a few months after the fall of the Berlin Wall on the night of October 1989 and seven months before the disappearance of the GDR on 3 October 1990) pointed out that German reunification “was also always a European affair” and one would have been unthinkable without the other. He pointed out that the fall of the wall helped to re-establish German unity in the early period and that the reunification of Europe afterwards would not have been possible without the courage of the different people who rose against the Communist dictatorship everywhere in Central and Eastern Europe. He also recalled that “everything began with the election of a Polish Pope, which was the first sign of change” and ignited the democratic movement in Poland. The German Christian Democrat explained that “Germans owe the Polish a lot”. The Russia of Mikhail Gorbachev, the co-signatory in 1990 of the “4+2” agreements between the two Germanies and the four old allies, was also important in the construction of German reunification, added de Maizière. This is why the EU should not forget “the existential importance” of maintaining “partnership” relations with Russia, which is “an important member of the European household”, explained the former minister president of the GDR. He welcomed the “remarkable work” achieved by the president of the European Commission at the time, Jacques Delors, who provided “indispensable assistance” in the process of German reunification. He concluded his speech with an appeal for the deepening of European integration and pointed out that “returning to the old disagreements is the worst thing that could happen today to the European People”. De Maizière said that Germany is ready to play its role of European driving force because the country, “considers that obtaining its national unity is a commitment towards working for European unity”.
Jacques Delors welcomed the “wisdom and sang-froid” of the leaders during the epoch, who were able to prevent events turning into a bloodbath. The European Community had to respond very quickly after the fall of the wall in November 1989. Two days after the opening up of the German border on 11 November, the Commission met and sent out a message “of welcome and hope” to the East Germans and informed them that “they have their place in the European community”, recalled Delors. Even if the German question has “raised a lot of questions within the European Community”, the 12 European leaders at the time, during a European Council on 8 and 9 September 1989 in Strasbourg, accepted the right to “self-determination of the German people” and the prospect of European integration for East Germany. Nonetheless, they set out a number of conditions, particularly with respect for the eastern border (the Oder/Neisse line) with Poland. After German reunification, reconstruction and social economic development efforts in eastern states were huge and the European Community contributed to this via structural funds. “I would have liked the Commission to have done even more” to help Germany but the German leaders did not want this because they were afraid of provoking fears or negative reactions among their European partners, revealed Delors. The former president of the Commission closed his speech with an appeal for European unity. (H.B./transl.fl)