On this fateful day 25 years ago, a wall
was torn down and the world was forever changed. Germany was reunited.
And German unity in turn became a catalyst for European unity.
The
fall of the Berlin wall enabled new bridges to be built between people.
Today, as President of the European Commission, I see it as my task to
repair the cracks in these bridges that appeared after the worst
financial and economic crisis since World War II.
Europe
must once again become a thing of the heart. It was with passion and
courage that the people tore down that which divided them, in search of
peace, freedom, unity, democracy and prosperity. Two decades later, we
must not forget that peace is not a given in Europe. More than ever,
Europe must live up to its responsibility to safeguard freedom and
peace. Europe makes nation states collectively stronger but we can only
win the future by playing together.
We
are the Europe of the last chance. We have to seize that chance and
give Europe's citizens the new start they are expecting of us.
