Speeches

Excellencies,
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
Let me welcome you most warmly to the traditional New Year Reception here in the Federal Chancellery also on behalf of all the members of the newly elected Federal Government. To this, I add my sincere thanks for the outstanding cooperation with you and your staff in the embassies which is certainly not something we take for granted. You represent your countries here in Germany and you take what we give you out into the world.
 
Today, I would like to extend a special welcome to one ambassador, namely the Ambassador of the Republic of Haiti. Ambassador, on behalf of our whole country and for many, many citizens, I would like to make clear once more that our thoughts are with the people in Haiti, we mourn the victims and we want to continue supporting the international aid campaign as much as we can. We send every good wish to Haiti. May you all find strength at this difficult time.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, the various faces of globalization are developing clearer profiles. We have spoken about this in previous years. We are sensing more and more that what we do here in Germany, for example, has an impact on people elsewhere. This means we are all growing ever closer together.
 
There is a negative example of this which preyed on all our minds last year – in fact one could almost go so far as to say for the last two years: I am talking here of the international financial market crisis. It also drew the Federal Republic of Germany into the gravest economic crisis since 1949. We have had to deal with an economic slump of minus five percent. This was a first in the sixty-year history of the Federal Republic of Germany.
 
Needless to say, this has had an impact on the current policies of the new Federal Govern­ment. We are doing everything we can to overcome the consequences of this serious crisis by strengthening all growth factors in Germany and above all by investing in the future. Last week in the German Bundestag I talked about how we need a rethink which is dependent time and again on input from other countries.
 
One of the first political steps that the new Federal Government implemented in its first one hundred days in office was – and for those of you who understand German I'll just use the monstrous German word: Wachstumsbeschleunigungsgesetz (Growth Acceleration Act). Now that definitely isn't the easiest of words for a German lesson but it is meant to communicate that we have drawn up a bill so that growth can happen more quickly. We are easing the bur­den on our citizens, above all on families, and we are reducing the burden on businesses. Together with decisions taken by the last government, we are hoping to provide further momentum for a fast-track route out of the bottom of the crisis.
 
Of course, as is true the world over, it is important above all else to secure employment, to keep as many jobs as possible and prevent too many people becoming unemployed. We all sense however that the modest growth rates we are seeing at the moment are not yet on a firm footing but that the upswing – using a seasonal metaphor – is on thin ice, although at the minute the ice is getting thicker by the day.
 
We of course need to look at the full scope of the factors that triggered the international finan­cial and economic crisis. We have to develop the right strategies to ensure such a crisis doesn't happen again. We have sensed that an internationally coordinated approach and inter­nationally coordinated action, some of which worked very well, have been able to stem the impact of this crisis and prevent the situation deteriorating further.
 
Turning to the future, we in Germany want above all else to invest in education and research. We know Germany is a country in which the average age is increasing. Happily, life expecta­tion is today higher but unfortunately we only have rather few children. The shift in our country's demographic structure will be plain to see in the coming decade. That means we certainly cannot afford to let any of our young people fall by the wayside.
 
As we have pledged, we have to invest ten percent of our GDP in research and education by the year 2015. We believe – and this is particularly true of Germany which does not possess many natural resources – that education is the most important factor for prosperity, indeed our country's most important resource. We want to get all those who have immigrated to Ger­many on board here. I say to all migrants: we want to offer you a good home, you who have come from elsewhere and now settled in Germany. For this very reason integration will con­tinue to be a focus of our work. This is not a one-way process but has to go both ways – with efforts by an open society and by those who have come to live in our country.
 
The energy sector is another important pillar of our policy. Natural resources are becoming more and more crucial particularly those which can be used to produce energy. By the end of October this year, we want to draw up an energy strategy with which we can accelerate the shift to an era of renewable energies.
 
We have very ambitious plans for this year. I don't want to bore you with all the details of our policies but I would like to draw your attention to one aspect which is particularly important to us.
 
Many of you joined with us in remembering 9 November 1989 and celebrating the 20^th anni­versary of the fall of the Wall on 9 November 2009. The Brandenburg Gate has become a symbol of Europe growing together over the last twenty years. On 3 October 2010 we will be pleased and also somewhat proud to celebrate 20 years of German unity. We say to all coun­tries which are not yet united: You always need to believe it is possible. I will never forget – the Cypriot President was also sitting on the stage on that cold and rainy November day – that of the many dominoes that children had painted and which were then symbolically knocked over to sym­bolize the fall of the Wall, one was also from Cyprus. We all hoped that the political process there would move another step forward.
 
On 3 October this year we will also express our gratitude for the help and trust vested in Germany after the Second World War. It was only possible to shape German unity in peace and freedom, in good neighbourly relations and in an outstanding transatlantic relationship because so many helped us after the War. We will not forget the determination with which the United States of America for example worked for Germany's reunification and for Europe's unity. That is why for us Europeans the transatlantic partnership will remain the backbone of our security and freedom.
 
Similarly we have not forgotten that far-sighted Russian politicians played a major role at a historic moment to help freedom prevail. I want to call to mind Mikhail Gorbachev who was also there on 9 November.
 
We are grateful of course to all those who celebrated 9 November 2009 with us. I don't want to offend anyone but I believe the event in Paris was a particular highlight of the joint Euro­pean celebration.
 
In Europe we are going to cooperate ever more intensively. We are pleased – and I take the liberty of saying this although I wasn't involved from day one – that the Treaty of Lisbon has finally entered into force. 27 member states, 27 ratifications. It would have been a nightmare if we had had to start from scratch. We now have a better basis on which to work, also one which enables us to further enlarge the European Union and not be restricted to 27 member states. That is also very important. But above all else, we as the European Union will try to speak more with one voice through the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and through the President of the European Council. I say to you quite clearly: We have to try it all out first so to speak and learn how it all works but it will do Europe good.
 
In 2010 there will be four major summits of the European Union with other world regions. They will be chaired each time by the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy. The EU-LAC Summit (Latin America and the Caribbean) will be held in Madrid in May, the EU-Mediterranean Summit in June, the EU-African Union Summit in September and the EU Summit with our Asian partners in October.
 
As you can see, there is much scope for interaction. At these four summits, we, the European Union, will meet some one hundred countries of the world for consultations. Germany will help ensure we don't just talk but also discuss concrete working programmes and above all else get to know one another better.
 
Putting the international financial and economic crisis to one side for a moment, there are of course other major challenges which we are all working on. One such challenge is climate change. I think I can also speak for the Danish Ambassador when I say that we were not satis­fied with the outcome of the climate conference. But what is the point in saying that? In inter­national processes you just have to keep going. You can't just stop. But I don't need to tell you that. You all know the hard graft we have ahead on the international stage.
 
Yet there is one aspect that made me particularly concerned in Copenhagen. It was to be expected that we wouldn't achieve all goals immediately, that we wouldn't be happy with all the reduction targets. But the deep resentment and major hardship we experienced when we wanted to make a binding international commitment to certain targets made me – if it doesn't sound too emotional – quite sad because I am absolutely convinced that the world can only work together if we are prepared to give up some of our own sovereignty and make inter-national commitments. I think this is something the globalized world needs to learn. That is why I will keep making this point in the years to come.
 
National commitments are good but internationally binding cooperation is, I for one believe, a sine qua non. I also believe the United Nations provides the right framework here. Working with many countries is a complicated business. It isn't easy to avoid someone saying right at the end: I don't like it. It is a laborious process but one to which Germany is committed. The United Nations remains the central forum for the international community. But it will only work if all member states are prepared to really make a compromise on this point and get a bit more involved.
 
You know that we have registered our candidature for a non-permanent seat on the UN Secu­rity Council for the period 2011/2012. I would like to thank the states that are already supporting us. Perhaps some others will follow suit.
 
I would like to say once more: The institutional reform of the United Nations, too, is not exactly an example of particularly rapid global cooperation. We will have to keep working here.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen, we advocate the implementation of the human rights convention so these rights are respected. This is one of the cornerstones of the United Nations. For us, human rights are universal rights. That is why it is important for us to bear in mind each and every one of these rights. This can mean we have occasional differences of opinion on certain questions but that is something we should discuss openly with one another. But I believe all people – or that is certainly what is in our Basic Law, our Constitution – have the same dig­nity. "Human dignity shall be inviolable” – that is the pivotal sentence of our Constitution.
 
This is the basis on which we work to ensure the development goals are implemented. Development cooperation will remain an essential point of our government work. This includes, for example, the Millennium Development Goals. We will ensure we do not neglect this sphere despite the international economic crisis and the looming difficulties in the budget. After all, we have to realize that the poorest countries which had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the causes of the crisis on the international financial markets are amongst those suffering most. This, too, makes it so important for us to agree on a reform of international financial markets.
 
We will have two more G20 meetings in Canada and South Korea. We have to do all we can to ensure we get clearer rules here. A few days ago, the US President made very interesting, far-reaching proposals which I think are certainly going in the right direction. I said at the outset that we need a rethink. Things can't go on the way they were. If there are excesses in the economy, then politics has to do something to ensure such excesses don't happen again.
 
I personally will continue to advocate us talking not about individual rules in the G20 but providing a foundation for cooperation in the form of a charter for sustainable economics in which we formulate the goals and principles of our cooperation. We need the market but we need just as much the primacy of politics that measures and determines the limits of action on markets.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, for the Federal Republic of Germany, cooperation for freedom, peace and security takes place in Nato and in the European Security and Defence Policy. We had a Nato Summit in Baden-Baden and Strasbourg. This was the first time that two countries were joint hosts. It took place on a bridge over the Rhine, a bridge that had seen much suffering and much misery, over a river which has been the backdrop to many battles between our countries. It was very moving to stage a Summit there together.
 
More importance attaches once again to questions of disarmament, arms control and non-pro­liferation, not least thanks to the US President's initiative. Needless to say, we attach some hopes to this question. We hope for a rapid conclusion of the bilateral negotiations between the United States and Russia on reducing their strategic nuclear weapons and also on further-reaching disarmament efforts. We hope for a successful NPT Review Conference as a central pillar of the international security and disarmament architecture.
 
Let me say quite clearly: We are continuing to work to find a diplomatic solution with Iran to the nuclear conflict. That is why I repeat now what I have often said in the past. It is up to the Iranian leadership – the call goes out to Iran – to meet its obligations to the international community. Time is running out. Otherwise we will agree further sanctions. It would be truly tragic for the people in Iran were it to come so far. That is why we have kept stretching out our hand to cooperate better with Iran on fulfilling the basics of international cooperation.
 
Of course, we look in many places – and unfortunately Iran was also an example last year – at how freedom of opinion and the press is respected or repressed. We will continue to voice our concern if security forces use violence against peaceful demonstrators or if the right to free expression is not granted.
 
We remain highly concerned and threatened by Islamist terrorism which has unfortunately not waned. Over Christmas we were reminded of this once more with the attempted attack on a US aeroplane. Failed states and a lack of state order continue to mean countries become safe havens for terrorists.
 
You can be sure that Germany is a partner in the fight against terrorism. Afghanistan will remain one of the central and – let me say quite openly – difficult challenges. In 2010 it is time to create the political conditions so that the responsibility for security and development in the country can be gradually transferred. Our Federal Foreign Minister will present the German position at the international conference in London on Thursday which we are draw­ing up and will then present to Parliament.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, the world is drawing closer together but it cannot be said that the world is becoming more straightforward. On the contrary there are countless different interconnec­tions and interactions. That is why we follow developments in the various regions so care­fully.
 
Unfortunately I also have to say this year that the news from the Middle East was not a source of comfort. I told Prime Minister Netanyahu and I will tell the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Abbas, in early February: We will work with all our determination for a two-state solution – for a Jewish state Israel and for a Palestinian state. What Germany can do, we will do. Just a few days ago we had our second intergovernmental consultations with Israel in Germany. This was a good opportunity to talk about these issues. As I said, talks with Presi­dent Abbas will follow in early February.
 
This year, we want to use a Federal Government strategy on Africa to highlight more the many different opportunities for cooperation with the African continent and also carry this over to the EU strategies for cooperation with Africa.
 
The same holds true for Latin America. That is surely a continent to which we should devote more attention. The Federal Foreign Minister will travel there. I plan to go next year to make plain once again how many interests we share with Latin America. Alexander von Humboldt is present on that continent to this day. But ask German pupils how much they know about Alexander von Humboldt. A trip to Peru or another Latin American country would do good as they would come back a little embarrassed and a lot more curious.
 
Asia is the great dynamic continent. We of course want to further intensify cooperation with Japan, China, India and our other partners. If I now fail to mention one country or another, I know I will see accusing faces around me; I could cite Viet Nam and many others. For us, Asia will mean ever closer cooperation in mutual interest.
 
But I say also: Asia's greater economic strength will also go hand in hand with more respon­sibility. As for example China challenges us as the world's leading exporter and as Asia chalks up huge growth rates, it will become clear that responsibility for climate change, for the sustainable use of resources, for economic and financial questions no longer lies solely with industrialized countries and can no longer be solved by them alone but that everyone has to take on part of the responsibility – depending on the level of prosperity a larger or smaller part, but certainly a part of this shared responsibility.
 
I know you agree with me that we want to cooperate well. I urge you: Do what you can so we can move forward in this world – for the sake of the people, for the many who hunger on our planet, who have no access to education, who have no way of getting decent healthcare. If we are serious that human rights are universal rights, we have a responsibility that what we live every day in richer countries is shared with others. That is why you are welcome to voice your concerns to us from time to time so that we look past the end of our noses and take off the blinkers. That is what we want to do. This is something to which the new Federal Government feels committed.
 
We welcome you all here most warmly today and wish you and your people good health and every happiness.
 
Thank you very much.