After the 20th century, European integration turned old enemies into new cooperation partners in a transformation process that was the first of its kind worldwide. "But it was only with the accession of the ten new members to the European Community that we can be said to have overcome the post-war order", said Norbert Lammert.
In order to celebrate this anniversary and, at the same time, take a look at the developments to date with a critical eye, the Allianz Cultural Foundation invited ambassadors to a conference in collaboration with the German Foreign Office, the European Movement in Germany and the European Commission. Ambassadors, parliamentary and government representatives from the ten former accession countries addressed current European policy issues and ventured to express their thoughts on the possible outlook for the joint future of their countries.
The overall conclusion drawn on collaboration after ten years of membership for some countries was mixed. As far as "solidarity" between the north and the south were concerned, the foreign guests agreed: European solidarity ought to be a principle guiding European action. Malta's ambassador pointed out that solidarity had nothing to do with either altruism or selfishness, but rather was the order of the day when, for example, the coastguard saved 3000 African boat people from the Mediterranean. This sort of number, he added, places a massive burden on his "hinterland-free island state" given the size of its population. Expressed in relation to the population, this would be the same as 700,000 refugees arriving in Germany.
The Head of the Allianz Cultural Foundation, Michael M. Thoss, recalled the euphoria surrounding the referendums in eastern and southern Europe, when 84 percent of Hungarians, 90 percent of Slovenians and 92 percent of Slovakians voted in favor of their country joining the EU. Unfortunately, he noted how little was left of this euphoria today if we look at the results of the last European elections. Even in Europhile Poland, voter turnout was only just over 20 percent this time round.
Michael Roth, State Secretary at the German Foreign Office, appealed to the EU members with the words "The European Community is to be seen, first and foremost, not as a single market but as a community of values. It is only by defending common values that we can create the sort of emotions we need to identify with Europe".
