P
rince
of
A
sturias
A
wards
1981-2014. S
peeches
11
German chancellor Helmut Kohl, Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation. His
untiring labour in favour of the European Union, his profound interest in providing his country
with a new political and economic dimension and his intelligent contribution towards the difficult
task of reunifying Germany make him an essential reference point in this historic process.
In you, Mr Chancellor, we salute someone who has dedicated —and continues to dedicate— so
much effort towards a new Europe, the heir of Charlemagne and Charles V, who loves his roots
and traditions, who extracts from its linguistic and cultural diversity and from the incomparable
treasure of its artistic expressions, the necessary energy to construct a common home and a
meeting place which leads us to overcome barriers and the inertia of the clichés which have so
often separated us.
Europe is a conviction in which we share and a hope for which we work. To make it reality is an
honourable task, to which your example, Mr Chancellor, invites and stimulates us.
The pro-European feeling of the Spanish peoples, which have been forged over time, and in
which Asturias has played its part, finds continuity in our finest intellectuals of this century. They
all think and write about a Europe united in its diversity, respectful of plurality of the elements
which form it and close to the real worries of its citizens about life. Some ideas, Mr Chancellor,
which have many points in common with those that you defend.
The Astur kingdom also enriched its perspective, way back in its beginnings, with European
accents, as is shown by its relations with the Carolingian Empire. It was also its monarchs who
promoted the cult of the sepulchre of St James, whose name is borne by the Way which germinated
the most ancient ties of solidarity between the nations of our continent.
Asturias, which has felt proud of its participation in this adventure from its start, when it
planted its shield under the protection of the Picos de Europa and Mount Covadonga in
defence of the values in whose shade we still take refuge today, hopes to find the solution through
its own efforts and with the support, solidarity and understanding of everybody to the problems
that the new times present, as it has done throughout history. On this path, Asturias will always
count on my encouragement and my constant enthusiasm.
Salvador de Madariaga, who was European by both vocation and practice, defined with wise
and beautiful words the essence of Europe and the sense of the common path of its nations:
“Europe,” he wrote, “is born of the confluence of two great traditions: the Socratic, which
demands freedom of speech, and the Christian, which demands respect for the individual (...)
Europe is not just a common market; it is also and above all a common faith in the worth of man
and of liberty.”
Thank you very much.
