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Germany and Denmark: Strong partners for a Europe United
Heiko Maas meets Anders Samuelsen, © Florian Gaertner/photothek.net
Foreign Minister Maas stresses the need for action in the EU during the visit by his Danish counterpart Anders Samuelsen.
Reacting to the ideas put forward by France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stepped into the debate on Europe’s future during his meeting with Anders Samuelsen:
Despite all the progress that has been made, we still see need for action. The EU must become more effective. We would do well to conduct a lively debate on how we envisage the EU’s future. We should not shy away from a passionate and controversial debate on this.
The main thing, continued Maas, was to ensure that the discussion was constructive and focused on finding solutions. He said it was vital not to leave the way free for those who wanted to fuel people’s fears about Europe. The aim was to develop reform ideas to strengthen the EU which appeal to citizens. Among other things, Maas and Samuelsen discussed an initiative on more rule of law in the EU during their talks.
Denmark: Strong partner and friend
Denmark and Germany have a special year ahead: in November the two countries will open the exhibition “Germany – Memories of a Nation” at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. The two Foreign Ministers will act as patrons. It kicks off the German-Danish Cultural Year of Friendship in 2020. This anniversary year with many additional cultural and exchange programmes is intended to recall the referendums on the drawing of today’s border between the two countries. Today, Denmark and Germany share many key fundamental values when it comes to their understanding of democracy, freedom of opinion and of religion as well as the protection of minorities. “Both at bilateral and European level, we are strong partners and friends who are pursuing the same goals”, emphasised Maas today.