ON 14 OCTOBER 1992 IN STRASBOURG

A D D R E S S

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

DR EGON KLEPSCH

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We are here to mourn Willy Brandt, holder of the Nobel Peace Prize and Member of the first directly elected European Parliament from 1979 to 1983. We are here to remember a statesman who contributed perhaps more than any other to peace and understanding, to reconciliation and solidarity in Europe and throughout the world.

He was held in high international esteem. He brought to our Parliament personal historical experience and political vision.

In our Parliament, Willy Brandt's voice was heard above all in the major debates on the Helsinki process and on development policy.

He had recognized at an early stage that, alongside the resolution of the East-West conflict, achieving a balance between North and South was one of the crucial issues of our time. With Willy Brandt, we have lost a great champion of rights and freedoms throughout the world. The regard in which he is held goes beyond all party lines.

As Mayor of Berlin, as Foreign Minister and as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany he took decisive initiatives, which led the way out of the Cold War, restored a united Germany and ultimately broke down the division of Europe.

Happily he lived to see these fruits of his efforts.

Willy Brandt personified German and European history in equal measure.

The threads of German and European experience were closely interwoven throughout his life. While he was in exile in Norway he formulated his ideas for a European Federation to overcome national socialism. Later as Foreign Minister and Federal Chancellor his major work was reconciliation with our neighbours in Eastern European but at the same time he gave vital momentum to the European Community. The Hague Summit in 1969 was an important stage in giving a new impetus to the process of integration.

The call for a European social union came from the European statesman Brandt in 1972, long before the Community adopted its Social Charter.

When, in 1979, Willy Brandt became a member of our Parliament he met once again many European friends and former companions from our Member States. Brandt was a polyglot - not only in the languages he spoke, but in what he said, which always took account of the points of view, preoccupations and concerns of Members of different nationalities.

Willy Brandt did not have to become a European member of Parliament, he was one by the very nature of his character.

Towards the end of his life, Brandt was an elder statesman internationally renowned beyond party or national borders. Many turned to him for advice, young Members of the European Parliament alongside mature heads of state facing crucial decisions. Willy Brandt's life's work provides us with a legacy and a blueprint for the challenges facing Europe today:

-greater democracy within the European Community, and reforms for its citizens;

-responsibility for peace in the Balkans and elsewhere;

-combatting the rise in nationalism, racism and xenophobia;

-aid for the emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe;

-dialogue with the developing countries.

In the future, Europe must continue to be a symbol of peace and freedom, humanity and diversity, democracy and openness. This is what the European Parliament stands for and Willy Brandt was a Member of this Parliament. We honour his memory.

We mourn Wily Brandt but his life's work gives us courage for the future. Willy Brandt rendered great service to Europe.