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Köhler: Using Freedom to Help Shape Our World
Message from Federal President Horst Köhler on the occasion of the Day of German Unity 2009
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- Federal President Horst Köhler
- (© Bundesregierung/ Chaperon, Laurence)
2009 is a special year for Germany: we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Basic Law and the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Germany is marking this double celebration in freedom and unity – this is cause for gratitude and joy for us Germans.
By adopting the Basic Law 60 years ago, Germans in the west of our country pledged – also on behalf of our compatriots who were unable to express themselves freely at that time – to rebuild Germany on the basis of freedom and human dignity; to create a democracy and to lead their country back into the community of free nations. This pledge has been fulfilled.
And twenty years ago people in the former GDR, together with the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe peacefully swept away the Iron Curtain and paved the way for ending the division of Europe. Today reunited Germany has found its place among its partners in Europe and in the world. Germans have created a stable democracy and an economic order which combines freedom and competition with social justice. We have played our role in consolidating and widening European integration and gradually assumed international responsibility.
The freedom which we Germans gained with the Basic Law and the fall of the Berlin Wall is precious. We want to use it as part of the international community to help shape our one world and to solve its problems.
In establishing the European Union, which has 27 member states today, Europeans created a major force for peace, economic and social prosperity, the consolidation of democracy and the promotion of human rights. The European Union is a cornerstone for a fair and stable world order.
Our task now is to further develop the European model so that it will continue to serve us in the future. To this end, structural reforms are needed – at Community level but, above all, at member state level – for more growth and jobs and to enhance competitiveness. Above all, the Lisbon Treaty must enter into force as quickly as possible.
Freedom and competition are the most important sources of creativity. However, the global economic and financial crisis has brought home to us in a dramatic fashion the consequences of freedom if it is not linked to its necessary counterpart – responsibility. The impact of the crisis is being felt everywhere – in Europe, Africa, America, Asia and Australia, in industrialized nations, emerging economies and developing countries. It will still require much strength and effort to overcome it. But the crisis is also testing our readiness to draw the right conclusions at global level and to take resolute action. This presents a great opportunity for the entire international community. If we succeed in defining common ground and in acting accordingly, then the crisis can lead us to a new, innovative policy: a global policy in a spirit of cooperation, which does not merely serve isolated national interests but also advances the global common good in a lasting and comprehensive manner.
It is high time to agree on the tasks common to the whole of humanity. We need order in globalization, better rules and effective institutions. This is about more than the international financial and economic order. An increasing number of people in industrialized nations – including Germany – realize that there can only be lasting security, prosperity and peace if there is more justice in our world and if we develop new respect for Creation. Sustainable action to counter poverty and climate change is something that concerns all of us. We need a development strategy for the entire planet. It can be a success if everyone contributes and joins together in global solidarity.
We therefore regard our positive experiences and achievements during the last 60 years as a commitment for the future. We are prepared to continue the journey we embarked upon with the adoption of the Basic Law – as German patriots, as good Europeans, as citizens of our one world.
(sgd) Horst Köhler
