Brussels, 19/08/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 19 August 2009, several European leaders met in Sopron, Hungary, to commemorate a decisive moment in the fall of the Iron Curtain. 20 years earlier, on 19 August 1989, hundreds of Europeans from either side of the Iron Curtain met for a picnic in this town on the border with Austria, for several hours opening up a passage between the two countries. This symbolic and decisive event marked "the beginning of the end of the division of Europe by the Cold War", according to the President of the European Commission. In a press release, José Manuel Barroso paid tribute to those who made a contribution to this major step forward. "It was an event shaped at least as much by ordinary citizens as by political personalities. It speaks volumes of the power of the human spirit and the courageous people who did not merely 'talk the talk', but truly 'walked the walk'. The walk to freedom, democracy and European solidarity", said Mr Barroso, who hopes that "the European spirit of the Sopron picnic will remain as a symbol and serve as an inspiration for generations to come". The Hungarian President Lazlo Solyom, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the head of Swedish diplomacy Carl Bildt, who currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, were among those present in Sopron on Wednesday. (A.B./trans.fl)