Gründerväter
Diese Männer waren die Erbauer Europas, die dessen Entstehungsprozess ins Rollen gebracht haben durch die Gründung des Europarates im Jahre 1949, die Schaffung der Europäischen Gemeinschaft für Kohle und Stahl (EGKS) 1950 und der Europäischen Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft (EWG) 1957. Diese gesprächsbereiten Männer haben beide Weltkriege miterlebt und sind mit verschiedenen europäischen Kulturen in Kontakt getreten. Sie sind die Wegbereiter eines friedlichen Europas, das sich auf Menschenrechte, Demokratie und Rechtsstaatlichkeit stützt.
Winston Churchill
Premierminister des Vereinigten Königreichs
12. August 1949, Straßburg
The dangers threatening us are great but great too is our strength, and there is no reason why we should not succeed in achieving our aims and establishing the structure of this united Europe whose moral concepts will be able to win the respect and recognition of mankind, and whose physical strength will be such that no one will dare to hold up its peaceful journey towards
the future
Rede:
Beware! I am going to speak in French.
In this ancient city still scarred by the wounds of war, we are meeting to set up an assembly which we hope will one day be the parliament of Europe. We have taken the first step and it is the first step that counts. This magnificent gathering of the people of Strasbourg was summoned by the European Movement to show the world what strength lies in the idea of a united Europe, what force it has, not only in the minds of political thinkers but also in the hearts of the great mass of people in all the countries of Europe where the peoples are free to express their opinion.
I feel encouraged but also astonished by the remarkable results we have achieved in so little time. It is barely more than a year ago that, at our congress in The Hague, we asked for a European assembly to be set up. Public opinion had to be mobilised in order to persuade power¬ful governments to turn our requests into realities. Serious hesitations had to be overcome.
But we also have on our side, with us, many friends of this great cause of a united Europe, including friends who wield ministerial power. None of these friends has done more for the European Movement than Mr Spaak who, for a long time, has been the champion of a European parliament and who here today, in this city, was unanimously elected its first president.
We are meeting here in this new Assembly not as representatives of our different countries or different political parties but as Europeans marching forward, hand in hand, if necessary shoulder to shoulder, in order to revive the former glories of Europe and enable this illustrious continent to regain in a world organisation its place as an independent member, able to look after itself. That primary and sacred fidelity which everyone owes to his own country is not difficult to reconcile with this broader feeling of European camaraderie. On the contrary, it will be found that all legitimate interests tally harmoniously and that each of us will serve our countries' real interest and security better if we broaden • our feeling both of common citizenship and sovereignty. And if we encapsulate in that feeling the whole of this continent of states and nations which share the same way of living.
These principles which govern us are defined in the Constitution of the United Nations where Europe should be a vigorous and leading element ; these principles are also set out in general terms in the Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the United Nations in Geneva. Therefore we shall not only find the road to rebirth and prosperity in Europe but, at the same time, protect ourselves against any risk of being overrun, crushed by whatever form of totalitarian tyranny, be it the detested domination of the nazis whom we have swept away or any other kind of despotism.
As far as I am concerned I am the enemy of no race and no nation in the world. It is not against a race, it is not against any nation that we are meeting. It is against tyranny in all forms. Tyranny is always the same regardless of its false promises, regardless of the name it adopts, regard¬less of the disguises in which it dresses its henchmen.
But if we wish to conquer our supreme reward, we must thrust away every hindrance and become our own masters. We must rise above those passions which have ravaged Europe and turned it into ruins. We must put an end to our old quarrels; we must renounce territorial ambi¬tions ; national rivalries must become a creative emulation in every area where we can render the most genuine services to our common cause.
Furthermore, we must take all of the necessary measures and precautions in order to be certain that we will have the power and that we will have the time to achieve that transformation of Europe in which the European Assembly, now effectively meeting in Strasbourg, has such a great role to play. It will only be able to play that role if it shows that it possesses those qualities of common sense, tolerance, independence and, above all, courage without which nothing great can be achieved in this world.
Finally I ask for the help of this great gathering of the citizens of Strasbourg; you are part of these enormous masses of people whom we claim to represent and whose rights and interests it is our duty to defend; there are in Europe on both sides of the iron curtain millions of simple homes whose hearts are with us. Will they ever be given a chance to prosper and flourish ? Will they ever live in security ? Will they ever be able to enjoy the simple joys and freedoms that God and nature have granted them ? Will the man honestly earning his bread ever be able to raise healthy and happy children in the hope of better days to come? Will he ever be free from fear, the fear of foreign invasion, the fear of the explosion of bombs and shells, the fear of the loud marching of enemy patrols and above all - and this is the worst of all - the fear of a knock at the door by the political police, coming to take away a father or brother from the normal protection of law and justice - whereas every day through a single spontaneous effort of his will that man, that European, could awake from that nightmare and stand up free and virile in the light of day?
In our long history we have triumphed over the dangers of religious and dynastic wars; after thirty years of fighting I am confident that we have reached the end of nationalist wars. After all our victories and all our suffering are we now going to slide into a final chaos, in the ideological wars unleashed among us by barbaric, criminal oligarchies, prepared by the agitators of the fifth column infiltrating and conspiring in so many countries?
No, I am certain that it is within our powers to overcome the dangers still before us, if we so wish. Our hopes and our work point to an era of peace, prosperity and abundance and the inexhaustible wealth and genius of Europe will turn it once again into the very source and inspi¬ration of the world's life. In all of this we advance with the support of the powerful republic across the Atlantic and the sovereign states which are members of the empire and commonwealth of Britannic nations.
The dangers threatening us are great but great too is our strength, and there is no reason why we should not succeed in achieving our aims and establishing the structure of this united Europe whose moral concepts will be able to win the respect and recognition of mankind, and whose physical strength will be such that no one will dare to hold up its peaceful journey towards the future.
Konrad Adenauer
Kanzler und Außenminister der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
10. Dezember 1951
Es bedeutet viel, daß hier eine Stätte ist, an der nahezu das ganze Europa sich zusammenfindet.
Rede:
Es bedeutet viel für die politische Entwicklung Europas, daß wir hier in den Organen des Europarats eine Plattform haben, auf der sich die Repräsentanten Europas regelmäßig begegnen, ihre Sorgen und Nöte, ihre Wünsche und Hoffnungen austauschen, und zwar in einem Geiste der Fairness und der guten Nachbarschaft. Mit anderen Worten, wir haben hier das europäische Gewissen. Es bedeutet viel, daß hier eine Stätte ist, an der nahezu das ganze Europa sich zusammenfindet, ungeachtet all der Differenzierungen, die sonst bei unseren Bemühungen um einen engeren organisatorischen Zusammenschluss auftreten.
Ihre letzten Impulse wird die europäische Politik in jedem Lande aus dem gemeinsamen Willen der europäischen Völker empfangen. Nirgends aber drückt sich dieser Wille als ein gemeinsamer Wille so sichtbar aus wie im Europarat.
Robert Schuman
Außenminister der Französischen Republik
10. Dezember 1951
The
Council of Europe is, to be sure, the laboratory in which
experiments in European co-operation are conducted
Rede:
The Council of Europe is, to be
sure, the laboratory in which experiments in European
co-operation are conducted, until such time as it is
transformed into an organic institution of European unity.
We are still at the stage of early disappointments and
apparent failures, but they are never sufficient
justification for discouragement, through they may sometimes
justify a salutary impatience. Like the laws of nature, true
ideas come to be recognised and applied in the end. It is
our inadequacies, our lack of courage and our passions that
are responsible for the delay in their discovery and
execution.
It would be wrong, as well as dangerous to underestimate the
difficulties of achieving the integration of Europe. To
achieve success we shall need a great deal of tenacity and
patience, both within our own countries and in negotiations
between the Governments themselves. But, whatever the result
we achieve, the problem of the unification of Europe has
been raised, and it can no longer be eluded. Should we show
ourselves powerless to solve it as a result of our
hesitancy, events and the aspirations of the peoples would
take it upon themselves to force us to make the necessary
decisions. If we do not make up our minds in time, Ladies
and Gentlemen, we shall run the risk of letting slip the
last chance of salvation for Europe and for our countries.
Paul-Henri Spaak
Belgischer Premierminister und Außenminister in den 1940ern und 1950ern
15. Mai 1962
Because
it is here that all of Europe comes together, and because
there are occasions like today's when problems arise [...]
and need to be examined by all the countries of Europe
Rede:
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,
perhaps I may begin by saying how gratified I am to return
to this rostrum. My gratification is tinged with a little
emotion, as I think about all that has happened in this
Assembly, about all the debates in which I have taken part
and about our successes and failures. It is a long time
since I was here, and I have been told that the Assembly has
sometimes been a little disheartened and felt doubts as to
its own usefulness.
It might be immodest of me to say that my presence here
today at least proves that a number of ministers remain
confident in this organisation and consider that more and
better use than in the past ought to be made of the
Assembly. For my part, I could in fact have opted for any
one of several organisations and spoken in another assembly.
Why did I opt for this one? Because it has its own vocation,
because it is here that all of Europe comes together, and
because there are occasions like today's when problems arise
which go beyond the framework of the six countries, and need
to be examined by all the countries of Europe.
Alcide de Gasperi
Premierminister der Republik Italien
10. Dezember 1951
While
we are building it our action must always be such that the
goal remains clear, definite, and generally agreed
Rede:
If we do no more than set up common
administrations, without any higher political will, drawing
life from a central organisation, in which the wills of the
various nations can come together, to gain fresh decision
and warmth in a higher union, there will be a danger that
this European activity may prove, in comparison with the
dynamic force of the individual nations, to lack warmth and
spiritual vitality; it might even seem, at times, to be mere
superfluous and burdensome trappings, comparable to what
over-burdened the Holy Roman Empire at certain period of
decline.
In that case, the young people of Europe, harkening to the
clearer call of their blood and their homeland, would regard
the European entity, if thus constructed, as an obstacle or
as an incubus. In that case there would be an obvious danger
of degeneration.
That is why, despite our clear awareness of the need to
build this construction by gradual stages, we consider that
while we are building it our action must always be such that
the goal remains clear, definite, and generally agreed.
I am well aware that this European ideal has not yet taken a
sufficiently strong hold on the public mind: there is only a
group of politicians, intellectuals and idealists who are
ready to turn aside from their constant preoccupation with
the problems of their countries' reconstruction, in order to
devote their efforts to the preparation of a common future.
You, the members of this Assembly, are among their number,
through the trust that has been laid upon you by your
colleagues, who, like yourselves, were elected by the
people.
Ernest Bevin
Britischer Außenminister
5. Mai 1949
We
are witnessing today the establishment of a common
democratic institution on this ancient continent of Europe
Rede:
Gentlemen, We have met together now
for the ceremony of signature of the Statute of the Council
of Europe, and of the agreement concerning the establishment
of the preparatory commission.
Like the rest of my colleagues I want to express my feeling
that this is a truly historic occasion. This Statute which
we are signing today is the result of many months of
friendly negotiations between ten of the principal countries
of Western Europe. It took shape in Paris during the
discussions at the end of last year under the chairmanship
of that distinguished French statesman Monsieur Herriot, and
it has been continued in London by the diplomatic
representatives of the ten countries. Now it has been put
into final shape in this treaty. This agreement lays the
foundations of something new and hopeful in European life.
We are witnessing today the establishment of a common
democratic institution on this ancient continent of Europe.