New German President urges more not less European unity

Joachim Gauck and Angela Merkel

Germany on Friday swore in new president Joachim Gauck, who warned the government that it had a historical obligation to help Europe’s weakest members as they struggle to stay financially afloat.Gauck, the first head of state from the former communist east, delivered the impassioned appeal to members of parliament and Chancellor Angela Merkel in the light-flooded chamber of the Reichstag parliament building.

“We must keep saying yes to Europe,” said Gauck, who was elected president by a special assembly with an overwhelming majority on Sunday. “Particularly in times of crisis, the tendency to retreat to the level of the nation state is very common.

European unity is however impossible without the life’s blood of solidarity. Particularly in the crisis, we must dare to have more Europe.”Gauck, 72, said that languishing under the Nazi and then the communist dictatorships had made the notion of a united Europe living in peace, freedom and prosperity a driving force of his political awakening. “Europe was the promised land for my generation,” he said.

“For my grandchildren, Europe has long been part of their day-to-day reality, with freedom across borders and the opportunities and concerns of an open society. This reality is an achievement, not only for my grandchildren.”

With Joachim Gauck as president and Angela Merkel in the chancellery, the country's two top political positions will for the first time be held by people from the former communist East Germany.

EU-Digest