Sixth: The development of inter-German relations remains embedded in the pan-European process, that is, within the framework of East-West relations. The future architecture of Germany must fit into the future architecture of Europe as a whole. In this regard, the West has served as a pacesetter with its conception of a lasting and just European order of peace.
In the joint declaration from June of this year, which I have already cited, General Secretary Gorbachev and I spoke of the building blocks of a "common European house." As an example, I should like to mention absolute respect for the integrity and security of every state. Every state has the right to choose freely its own political and social system. I should like to mention absolute respect for the principles and norms of international law, especially respect for the right of national self-determination. I should like to mention the realization of human rights. I should like to mention respect for, and cultivation of, the historically rooted cultures of the nations of Europe. With all of this – as General Secretary Gorbachev and I declared – we want to carry on historically rooted European traditions and contribute toward overcoming the division of Europe.
Seventh: The attraction and appeal of the European Community is, and shall remain, a decisive constant of the pan-European development. We want to, and must, strengthen it further. The European Community now faces the challenge of reaching out with openness and flexibility to the reform-oriented states of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Recently, the heads of state and government of the EC member states also came to this conclusion at their meeting in Paris.
In this regard, the GDR is obviously included. The federal government, therefore, advocates the rapid conclusion of a trade and cooperation treaty with the GDR that broadens the GDR's access to the Common Market, also as far as prospects for 1992 are concerned. For the future we can very well imagine certain forms of association that introduce the economies of the reform-oriented states of Central and Southeastern Europe to the EC and thereby help to eradicate the economic and social differences on our continent. This is one of the most important questions if the Europe of tomorrow is to be a common Europe.
Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, we continue to understand the process of regaining German unity as something that is also a European concern. It must, therefore, also be seen in connection with European integration. I want to formulate this very simply: the EC must not end at the Elbe; rather, it must also maintain openness towards the East. Only in this sense – for we have always understood the Europe of twelve to be only a part and not the whole – can the European Community serve as the foundation for a truly comprehensive European unification. Only in this sense is the identity of all Europeans maintained, asserted, and developed. This identity, ladies and gentlemen, is based not only in the cultural diversity of Europe, but also, and above all, in the basic rights of freedom, democracy, human rights, and self-determination. In so far as the states of Central and Southeastern Europe fulfill the necessary preconditions, we would also welcome it if they were to join the European Council and especially the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
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