BY BEN KERRIGAN
Her Royal highness, the Queen, has given strong indications of her support of the European Union in a speech at a state banquet in Berlin,urging Britons and Germans not to take the benefits of a peaceful continent for granted. Her speech placed high value on the unity of the European continent, contrasting it division in other parts of the world where peace has been a stranger for years. What could be clearly extrapolated from her speech was that the monarchy disapproves of any prospect of Britain leaving the European union in the event of a referendum scheduled to take place by 2017.
“The United Kingdom has always been closely involved in its continent. Even when our main focus was elsewhere in the world, our people played a key part in Europe,” she told an audience of 700 dignitaries. Prime Minister, David Cameron, who was in attendance will reveal his proposals to European leaders when they meet in Brussels tomorrow.
In a frank address to 75 year old German President, Joachim Gauck, who was hosting the occasion, she added “In our lives, Mr President, we have seen the worst, but also the best of our continent. We have witnessed how quickly things can change for the better. But we know that we must work hard to maintain the benefits of the postwar world.She made references to important events in European history and alluded to past discussions with German chancellor, Konrad Adenauer in 1958 about German neutrality.
Demonstrating a sharp knowledge of history of which her existence and monarchical role has always been notably potent. The Queen made reference to the “long, slow and interrupted process of our country’s evolution into a democracy,” as embodied in Magna Carta linking it to St Paul’s church in Frankfurt and the Frankfurt parliament- where German’s first freely elected legislature met in 1848.
The Queen seemed to be highlighting the value and benefits of immigration, when she mentioned Welsh engineer, John Hughes, who founded the mining town of Donetsk, now in Ukraine, in the Russian empire of the 19th century, and the 17th-century. She then mentioned Scottish publican Richard Cant, who moved his family to Pomerania. “His son moved further east to Memel and his grandson then moved south to Königsberg, where Richard’s great-grandson, Immanuel Kant, was born,” she said.
Expressing a strong solidarity between German and Britain, the Queen pointed to the most “enduring reminder” of the cultural cooperation between Germany and Britain- the Reichstag dome, designed by British architect Norman Foster., which she had observed earlier that day whilst in the company of the chancellor.
Earlier in the day, she had observed the dome from the terrace of Merkel’s chancellery as the chancellor had shown her the Berlin skyline. On Friday, the Queen visits Bergen-Belsen, the former Nazi concentration camp in northern Germany.
The sentiments of her moving speech was reciprocated by the German president, who placed significant importance on the role Britain had played in building democracy in Germany after the war and how grateful Germans were for that. The German president said that Britain continued to have a vital role to play in Europe and was needed by the EU. A “constructive dialogue” was necessary to address Britain’s concerns about its membership.
“A quarter of a century after the division of our continent ended, the European Union is facing major challenges,” he said. “We know that we need an effective European Union based on a stable foundation of shared values. A constructive dialogue on the reforms Britain wants to see is therefore essential.” He pledged German suport for such discussions, saying “For Britain is a part of Europe. The European Union needs Britain.”
Gauck, who was born in the northern port city of Rostock into a family of sailors, said: “There is a saying in the nautical world: ‘There is but a plank between a sailor and eternity’.” He said that while some planks in the European ship could be improved “to be frank, we in Germany would rather strengthen the planks than tear them out”. The speech of the Queen was powerful, though it is worthy of note that the Monarchy ought not to involve itself in matters of politics. We grant her exemption on this occasion, given the very important and delicate topic of the EU, which we at eye of media have always deemed important, and warned of the dangers of leaving the EU.
Exactly how some of the issues that divide Euro skeptics from those in favor of the EU will be reconciled, remains to be seen. More crucial, is how the Queen and those who don’t want to see the disintegration of Europe, will communicate this to a cynical British public who are largely misinformed about the full repercussions of leaving Europe. The referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, promised to the British people by 2017 will be a tricky issue for the government, and political dignitaries who understand the value of the EU, and the risks to the economy posed by departure from the Union.
The Queen visits Bergin Belsen tomorrow, a Nazi concentration camp in Northern Germany. We can only wonder what sort of speech she will give at the historically notorious camp.
