The European Parliament, meeting in mini plenary session in Brussels, celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Wednesday 13 November, in the presence of Wolfgang Schäuble, President of the German Bundestag. The ceremony was dominated by calls for unity and defending European values and achievements.
The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, gave the lead, stating that "European democracy, and the values and principles on which it is based are unfortunately not irreversible", and that it is, in fact, "necessary to commit to defending these values. "I cannot help but look with great concern, at the return, in Europe, of ghosts we thought were dead and buried under the weight of history", he added.
The European Parliament President also paid tribute to the victims of the attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015, deploring "the interference that is trying to undermine our achievements". However, he warned against those who "wish to distort history" and confuse pride in their country with hatred and contempt for others.
Wolfgang Schäuble in turn went back to the events of the autumn of 1989. Like Mr Sassoli, he assured that in the twenty-first century, "nothing is acquired forever" and that "today there are warning signs". The former Finance Minister called for unity, deploring the widening gaps between East and West Europe, and assured that Europeans could only be taken seriously and play a role in a changing world if they are united.
The President of the Bundestag also regretted that the EU was "losing one of its largest Member States" and that "NATO partners are behaving in a way that NATO's most critical voices could not have dreamed of".
Some discordant voices
These speeches were followed by interventions from the representatives of the political groups. The Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, and the Finnish Minister for European Affairs, Tytti Tuppurainen, whose country currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, also took the floor. Most in turn called for the unity and defence of European democracy and the values inherited from German and European reunification.
Only Jörg Meuthen (Identity and Democracy, Germany) and Ryszard Legutko (ECR, Poland) took an opposite viewpoint. Mr Meuthen denounced a ‘manipulation’ of this historic event. Advocating for "a return to a Union of sovereign nations", he said that "it was not for the EU that the 1989 demonstrators had taken so many risks", but for a united Germany. Mr Legutko deplored that "the spirit of communism continues to survive". (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki, intern)