Václav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, visited the European Parliament in Strasbourg, and met Egon A. KLEPSCH, EP President. He also addressed the Members in plenary during a formal sitting. This transcription is a result of an authomatic process. Please check against delivery.

statement

Strasbourg

plenary session

HAVEL, Vaclav

formal sitting

EU - Czechia (T)

KLEPSCH, Egon A. (EPP, DE)

Address by Václav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic: formal sitting

Egon Alfred KLEPSCH, EP President, President, on behalf of all members of the European Parliament, I wish you a warm welcome here to Strasbourg. It's a great pleasure that you have taken up our invitation. Because your visit for us, the only directly elected institution in the European Union, it is a great honour.

Egon Alfred KLEPSCH, EP President, It comes at a time when we are working hard at forging the relationship between the European Union and the Czech Republic, and this is a very important point in time. The European Parliament has embraced this process since the historic upheavals of 1989 and 1990. We have supported this process every step of the way, particularly with the second agreement, which was ratified immediately thereafter.

Egon Alfred KLEPSCH, EP President, I think that we have played our part in that process, and I very much hope that that process will soon be completed in all of the member state parliaments. We regard that European agreement as an important first step in the process of developing a closer relationship between the Union and the Czech Republic. The ministers have welcomed this, and the associated countries in Central and Eastern Europe now have the prospect of joining the community.

Egon Alfred KLEPSCH, EP President, You and your neighbours have made great efforts, and I believe that you are in the process of creating the conditions for a future membership. President, you have presided over this historic development and your country. Your life and works, I think, demonstrate that that spirit of realism and idealism continue to be important processes.

Egon Alfred KLEPSCH, EP President, And as Europe grows together, you have shown tremendous energy and dedication in creating the basis for freedom, democracy and the respect of human rights. And you yourself have become a figurehead in that whole process. And we are very glad to offer you the floor.

V&agrave;clav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, I am most grateful to you for the honour of addressing the European Parliament, and I can scarcely think of a better way of using this opportunity than to try to answer three questions. First, why is the Czech Republic, which I represent here, requesting membership in the European Union? Second, why is it in the interest of all of Europe to expand the European Union? And third, what, in my opinion, are the more general challenges confronting the European Union today?

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, Europe is a continent of extraordinary variety and diversity. Geographically, ethnically, nationally, culturally, economically and politically. Yet at the same time, all its parts are and always have been so deeply linked that this continent can accurately be described as a single, albeit complex, political entity. Anything crucial in any area of human endeavour occurring anywhere in Europe: all of us have had both direct and indirect consequences for our continent as a whole.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, The history of Europe is, in fact, the history of a constant searching and reshaping of its internal structures and the relationships of its parts. Today, if we talk about a single European civilisation or about common European values, history, traditions and destiny, then what we are referring to is the fruit of this tendency towards integration, rather than its cause.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, From time immemorial, Europe has had something that can be called an inner order consisting of a specific system of political relations that circumscribed it and tried in one way or another to institutionalise its natural interconnectedness. This European order, however, usually was established by violence. The more powerful simply forced it upon those less powerful.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, In this sense, the endless series of wars in Europe can be understood as an expression of the constant effort to alter the status quo and replace one order with another. From the ancient Roman Empire through the Holy Roman Empire and down to the power systems created by the Congress of Vienna, the Treaty of Versailles and finally by Yalta. All these were merely historical attempts to give European coexistence a certain set of rules.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, A thousand times in its history, Europe has been unified or divided in various ways. A thousand times, one group has subjected another, forced its version of civilisation on another and established self-serving political relations. A thousand times, Europe's internal balance has been dramatically sought, found, transformed and torn down. And a thousand times the French, the Swedes, the Germans or the Czechs have dealt with what were apparently internal matters, only to have their actions affect the rest of Europe as well.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, I do not believe, therefore, that the idea of a European Union simply fell out of the sky or was born in a laboratory of political theoreticians or on the drawing boards of political engineers. It grew quite naturally out of an understanding that European integrity was a fact of life and from the efforts of many generations of Europeans to project the idea of unity into a specific, supranational European structure.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, We may all be different, but we are all in the same boat. We can fight for our place and means of coexistence on this boat, but we also can agree on them peacefully. I understand European unity as a magnanimous attempt to choose the second of these possibilities and to give Europe for the first time in its history the kind of order that would grow out of the free will of everyone and be based on mutual agreement and a common longing for peace and cooperation.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, It should be a stable and solid order, one based not merely on military and political treaties, which anyone can break or ignore at will, but on such a close cooperation between European nations and citizens that it would limit, if not exclude, the possibility of new conflicts. This is not a mere dream. Soon, half a century will separate us from the end of the Second World War. During that time, all of Western Europe has successfully averted the threat of many potential conflicts precisely by building step by step such an integrating system.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, This alone is enough to demonstrate that this youngest type of European order is not or need not be a mere utopia, but that it can work in real terms. I do not perceive the European Union as a monstrous superstate in which the autonomy of all the various nations, states, ethnic groups, cultures and traditions of Europe gradually would be dissolved.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, On the contrary, I see it as this systematic creation of a space that allows the autonomous components of Europe to develop freely and in their own way in an environment of lasting security and mutually beneficial cooperation based on principles of democracy, respect for human rights, civil society and an open market economy. The Czech lands lie at the very centre of Europe and sometimes even think of themselves as its very heart.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, For this reason. They have always been particularly exposed place unable to avoid any European conflict. In fact, many European conflicts began or ended there. Like some other central European countries, we have always been a dramatic crossroads of all kinds of Europeans, spiritual currents and geopolitical interests. This makes us particularly sensitive to the fact that everything that happens in Europe intrinsically concerns us and that everything that happens to us intrinsically concerns all of Europe.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, We are amongst the expert witnesses of the political reality of Europe's interconnectedness. That is why our sense of responsibility for what happens in Europe is especially strong and also why we are intensely aware that the idea of European integration is an enormous historic opportunity for Europe as a whole and for us.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, I think I have essentially answered my first question. That is why the Czech Republic wants to become a member of the European Union. Yes, we are able and shall be happy to surrender a portion of our sovereignty in favour of the commonly administered sovereignty of the European Union. Because we know it will repay us many times over as it will all Europeans.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, The part of the world where we live can hope for a gradual transformation from an arena of eternally warring powers, nations, social classes and religious doctrines competing for territories of influence or hegemony; into a forum of down-to-earth dialogue and effective cooperation between all its inhabitants in a commonly shared, commonly administered and commonly cultivated space dedicated to their coexistence and solidarity.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, I believe my thoughts about the interconnectedness of Europe have to a considerable degree answered the second question as well. Why the European Union should gradually expand. Europe was divided artificially by force and for that very reason, its division had to collapse sooner or later. History has thrown down the gauntlet we can, if we wish, pick up.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, If we do not do so, a great opportunity to create a continent of free and peaceful cooperation may be lost. Only a fool who has learnt nothing from the millennia of European history can believe that tranquillity, peace and prosperity can flourish forever in one part of Europe without regard for what is happening in the other.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, We must all accept that the world is radically different today than it was five years ago. The vision of Europe as a stabilising factor in the contemporary international environment, one that does not export wars to the world but rather radiates the idea of peaceful coexistence, cannot become reality if Europe as a whole is not transformed. The gauntlet simply must be taken up.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, What is going on in the former Yugoslavia should be a grave reminder to any of us who think that in Europe, we can ignore with impunity what is going on next door. Unrest, chaos and violence are infectious and expansive. We central Europeans have directly felt the truth of this countless times, and I think it is our responsibility to repeatedly draw others' attention to this experience, especially those fortunate enough not to have undergone it as often as we have.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, Western Europe has been moving towards its present degree of integration for nearly 50 years. It is clear that new members, particularly those attempting to shed the consequences of communist rule, cannot be accepted overnight into the European Union without seriously threatening to tear the delicate threads from which it is evolving. Nevertheless, the prospect of its expansion and of the expansion of its influence and spirit is in its intrinsic interest and in the intrinsic interest of Europe as a whole.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, There simply is no meaningful alternative to this trend. Anything else would be a return to the times when European order was not a work of consensus, but of violence, and the evil demons are lying in wait. A vacuum, the decay of values, the fear of freedom, suffering and poverty chaos; these are the environments in which they flourish. They must not be given that opportunity.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, If the future european order does not emerge from a broadening European Union, based on the best European values and willing to defend and transmit them, it could well happen that the organisation of this future will fall into the hands of a cast of fools, fanatics, populists and demagogues waiting for the chance and determined to promote divorced European traditions. And there are unfortunately more than enough of those.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, Members of Parliament, allow me now to turn to the first question I have posed. That is, the question of the tasks with which, in my opinion, the European Union is now confronted. There are certainly many of them and all of them are difficult. One, however, appears to me especially important, and it is this task I would like to talk about. I confess that when I studied the Maastricht Treaty and the other documents on which the European Union is based, I had a somewhat ambiguous response.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, On the one hand, it is undoubtedly a respectable piece of work. It is costly possible to believe that a common framework could be given to such a complex and to diverse legal and economic order involving so many different European countries. It is amazing that common rules of the game have been created. That all the legislative, administrative and institutional mechanisms that enable, or will enable, the smooth running of this great body have been invented. And that, in so colourful a political environment, agreement on an enormous number of concrete matters was reached and many different interests harmonised in such a way that everyone will benefit.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, If this, I repeat, a remarkable labour of the human spirit and its rational capacities. However, into my admiration, which initially verged on enthusiasm there begin to intrude a disturbing, less exuberant feeling. I felt I was looking into the inner workings of an absolutely perfect and immensely ingenious modern machine. To study such a machine must be a great joy to an admirer of technical inventions. But for me, a human, whose interest in the world is not satisfied by admiration for well oiled machines only, something was seriously missing.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, Perhaps it could be called in a rather simplified way a spiritual or moral or emotional dimension. My reason had been spoken to, but not my heart. Naturally, I am not claiming that an affirmation of the European Union can be sought in a reading of its documents and norms alone. They are only a form of framework to define the living realities that are its primary concern, and the positive aspects of those realities far outweigh whatever dry official texts can offer.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, Still, I cannot shake the impression that my feeling of being confronted with nothing more than a perfect machine is somehow significant, that this feeling does indicate something or challenges us in some way. The large empires, complex supranational entities or confederations of states we know from history, those that in their time contributed something of value to humanity. They are remarkable not only because of how they are administered or organised, but also because they were always buoyed by a spirit, an idea, an ethos. I would even say by charismatic quality out of which their structure ultimately grew.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, For such entities to work and be vital, they always had to offer, and indeed did offer, some key to emotional identification; an ideal that would speak to people or inspire them a set of generally understandable values that everyone could share. These values made it worthwhile for people to make sacrifices for the entity that embodies them, even in extreme circumstances, sacrificing their very lives.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, The European Union is based on a large set of values with roots in antiquity and in Christianity, which over 2000 years evolved into what we recognise today as the foundations of modern democracy, the rule of law and civil society. This set of values has its own clear moral foundation, and it's obvious metaphysical roots, regardless of whether Modern Man admits it or not. Thus, it cannot be said that the European Union lacks its own spirit from which all the concrete principles on which it is founded grow.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, It appears still that this spirit is rather difficult to see. It seems to hidden behind the mountains of systemic technical, administrative, economic, monetary and other measures that contain it. Thus, in the end, many people might be left with the understandable impression that the European Union, to put it a bit crudely, is no more than endless arguments over how many carrots can be exported from somewhere. Who sets the amount? Who checks tit? And who eventually punishes the delinquent who contravenes the regulations?

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, That is why it seems to me that perhaps the most important task facing the European Union today is coming up with a new and genuinely clear reflection of what might be called European identity. A new and genuinely clear articulation of European responsibility and intensified interest in the very meaning of European integration in all its wider implications for the contemporary world and a recreation of its ethos or, if you like, its charisma.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, Simply reading the Maastricht Treaty, despite its historical importance, will hardly been enthusiastic supporters for the European Union, nor will it win patriots; people who were genuinely experience this complex organism as their native land or their home, or as one aspect of their home. If this great administrative work, which obviously should simplify life for all Europeans, is to hold together and stand the various tests of time, then it must be much more visibly bonded by more than a set of rules and regulations.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, It must embody far more clearly than it has so far a particular relationship to the vault, to human life and ultimately to the world order. Far more clearly than before, it must impress upon millions of European souls an idea, a historical mission and a momentum. It must clearly articulate the values on which it is founded and which it intends to defend and cultivate. It also must take care of all its emblems and symbols, which are visible bearers of its significance.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, It would be perfectly clear to everyone that this is not just a conglomerate of states that has been brought into existence for purely utilitarian reasons, but an entity that in, an original way, fulfils the longings of many generations of enlightened Europeans who knew that European universalism can become when projected into political reality, the framework for a more responsible human existence on our continent.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, More than that, it is the way to achieve the genuine inclusion of our continent as a partner in the multicultural environment of contemporary global civilisation. Naturally, my intention is not to advise the European Union on what it should do. I can only say what I as a European would welcome. I would welcome it, for instance, if the European Union would establish a charter of its own that would clearly define the ideas on which it is founded, its meaning and the values it intends to embody.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, Clearly, the basis of such a charter could be nothing other than a definitive model code for European citizens. All those hundreds of pages of agreements on which the European Union is founded would thus be brought under the umbrella of a single, crystal clear and universally understandable political document that would immediately make it evident what the European Union really is.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, At the same time, it would be to its advantage if it were made even more obvious which particular personalities represented and embody and guarantee its values. If the citizens of Europe understand that this is not just an anonymous bureaucratic monster that wants to limit or even denied their autonomy, but simply a new type of human community that actually broadens their freedom significantly, then the European Union need not fear for its future.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, You will suddenly understand that at this moment, my concern is not so much any particular suggestion, but something deeper. That is, how to make the spirit of the European Union more vivid and compelling, more accessible to all. For it seems to me that this is a project of such historical importance that it would be an unforgivable sin if were to languish and ultimately disappoint the hopes placed on it, only because it's very meaning were drowned in disputes over the technical details of its existence.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, Ladies and gentlemen, I have come from a country that for almost 60 years, except for a brief period, did not enjoy freedom and democracy. You will perhaps believe me when I say that this is precisely this historical experience that has allowed me to respond, at the deepest level, to the revolutionary meaning of today's European integration. And perhaps you will believe me when I say that the very depths of that experience compels me to express concern for the proper outcome of this process and to consider ways to strengthen it and make it irreversible.

Vàclav HAVEL, President of the Czech Republic, Allow me, in conclusion, to thank you for approving the Europe agreement on the Association of the Czech Republic with the European Union two weeks after it was signed. In doing so, you have shown that you are not indifferent to the fate of my country. Thank you for your attention.

Egon Alfred KLEPSCH, EP President, President, on behalf of the House, I'd like to thank you warmly for that very comprehensive and convincing analysis. I think that the objectives which you have set your country and which you have discerned for us are now very much in the forefront. We are conscious that the people of the Czech Republic will do everything in their power to complete this difficult transition from a command economy to the free market and from tyranny to democracy.

Egon Alfred KLEPSCH, EP President, We, on our side, will do everything in our power to enhance these new forms of cooperation in the various sectors. With the advent, with entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty, we now have a union with its members, all of whom with a strong sense of their responsibilities towards the continent in its entirety. We want to see Europe, which has the hallmark of democracy in the service of the citizens. The European Parliament remains prepared to play an active role to getting greater economic stability and political security and we want this to be built on firm values.

Egon Alfred KLEPSCH, EP President, President, your visit here has been a great honour to us. I thank you on behalf of the European Parliament and I declare this solemn session closed, thank you.