EUROPE, A MATTER FOR THE HEART.

INTERVIEW OF HELMUT KOHL

by Steve Crawshaw

(excerpt from The Independent, 30 September 1994)

- With regard to recent proposals for a "core Europe", you said: "We do not wish to let the slowest ship in the convoy determine the speed of European development. " Does that mean you are ready to let the European convoy sail in several groups, on the open seas ?

My government has always been the motor of European unity. That will remain the case. But Germany does not wish to exclude anybody from this integration process, nor to push anybody into the second row. During this difficult phase, Europe needs continuity more than ever before. Our task is, above all, to create a future Europe of 10 or more countries that is efficient, effective and close to the people, so that the road to political is irreversible.

We all need Europe, but Germans need it most of all. A Europe

which is just a glorified free trade zone cannot be our goal.

For us Germans, the question of continuing the process of European unity is of crucial importance. We have more neighbours than any other country in Europe. Germany is not an island, but lies at the heart of the Continent. The good and bad experiences of history teach us to draw the right conclusions from this special geographic position.

I do not think that the evil spirits of the past have been dispelled for ever; witness, for example, the current situation in the Balkans. Of course history does not simply repeat itself. But one should have no illusions. Think of the Locarno Treaty in 1925 and the Nobel peace prize for Aristide Briand and Gustav Streseman. Many believed a new period of eternal peace was beginning. Mussolini was already in power, Hitler came along eight years after that, and six years later came the Second World War.

We would have failed before history if we Germans concerned ourselves only with German unity, and did not do everything in our power to ensure that this united Germany is built into a stormproof European house.

- And are you ready to accept multispeed Europe ?

If some member states states cannot participate in everything, for whatever reason, then we must think about overcoming problems with transitional periods and temporary exceptions, without bringing the convoy to a halt. I can also imagine that there would be areas in which all member states that wished to would go further forward than others. But that does not mean we want to break up the convoy. There will be no Europe à la carte.

It would, for example, be foolish to seek to marginalise Britain. I believe we should have more understanding for the different historical experiences of each individual state. I can understand why Britons find it difficult to give up parts of their sovereignty.

- Your relationship with John Major seems better than the one you had with his predecessor. Politically, however, Britain and Germany often seem far apart. Do you think that you fail to understand the concerns of the British - or, on the contrary, do you feel misunderstood ?

My good relationship with John Major makes it easier to get over the differences in the way that Germany and Britains see Europe, and to find solutions. All of us - Germans and Britons, but also French, Spanish and Italians - represent our own convictions. I am convinced that John Major, too, wants European unity. Sometimes there are difficult conversations, but they have always ended in a solution acceptable to both sides.

- What are your priorities for the intergovernmental "Maastricht Two" conference of 1996 ?

The current institutional structure of the Union is based on the Europe of Six. A future Union with probably 16 or more member states can no longer function on the same basis. This institutional reform will be an important task of the conference.

- And would you be in favour of abolishing the right of veto?

For a long transition period there must be a right to veto on certain issues. But one must begin to dismantle the rules on unanimity, step by step.

It is a question of practical politics, a process of give and take. But we - in other words, governments - should avoid giving the impression that European unity is about technical issues. It must always be clear that it is also a matter for the heart.

- Many doubts have been expressed about the prospects for monetary union. If progress towards political union goes more slowly than you would like, will monetary union still take place ?

The Maastricht treaty laid down a clear timetable for economic and monetary union. I see no reason to deviate from those conditions. Germany will not agree to a softening of the criteria, nor is the timetable basically up for discussion.

- Do you consider 2000 to be a realistic date for central and east European countries to join the European Union, as suggested in the Christian Democrats'paper on a core Europe ?

It is too early to name firm dates. But the integration of these states is a task of enormous importance. There can be no Iron Curtain separating rich and poor. For us Germans it is unimaginable that Poland's western border should, in the long term, remain the eastern border of the EU.

- You talk of Russia as "Germany's great neighbour", and Russia has made clear that it is eager to have close links with Germany. Can you understand that the central European countries feel uneasy ?

I can understand that, because of history, some central and east European countries have ambivalent feelings about a close Russo-German relationship. But it is a key aspect of German foreign policy today that our partners must never be hurt by a good relationship between Germany and Russia.

- You no longer speak of the United States of Europe. Now you speak of the "chord of the future: Heimat [homeland], fatherland, Europe". Why homeland and fatherland ?

I still like the phrase United States of Europe, which was used by Churchill in his famous speech in Zurich in 1946. But too many people misunderstand the concept. They think that we want to create a kind of European version of the USA. That was not, and is not, my goal. No sane person wants regional and national differences to disappear in a European melting pot. Each of us has his roots in a certain region - the Heimat. At the same time - as Germans, Spaniards, French, Italians and British - we belong to different nation-states. That is what I mean by fatherland. And finally we are all Europeans, belonging to a great cultural community.

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