German president urges European 'self-confidence' on UK state visit / Photo: © AFP
German president urges European 'self-confidence' on UK state visit
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier made a rallying cry for Europe's future global competitiveness at a City of London banquet Thursday, as he wrapped up the second day of his UK state visit.
Addressing guests inside the historic Guildhall in the British capital's financial district, Steinmeier urged the continent to adopt some of the so-called Square Mile's innovative "spirit" to counter a narrative of decline.
"In future, we Europeans can only be strong if we redefine our role and discover a new self-confidence," the German head of state, accompanied by his wife Elke Budenbender, told the gilded audience of business leaders and others.
Lauding Europe's "capital, talent, infrastructure... legal certainty", he urged the continent to "catch up in the digital economy" and regain its self-belief, insisting the City of London "can show us how to do it!"
Steinmeier, whose role is largely ceremonial, is making a three-day state visit to the UK -- the first by a German president in 27 years.
Germany's foreign minister when the 2016 Brexit referendum occurred, and a critic of Britons' decision to leave the EU, Steinmeier has embraced the warming ties between London and European capitals.
Earlier, during a day of diplomacy taking him from parliament to the Victoria and Albert Museum's east London outpost, he argued that must continue, drawing a parallel with the famously warring Oasis brothers.
Speaking in parliament's royal gallery, Steinmeier said after Brexit, people were "disappointed and sometimes unable to understand the decision" but that both sides had decided "not to stay stuck in these feelings".
"Don't look back in anger, as one of the most famous songs by Oasis puts it so well," he told MPs.
- 'Cool Britannia' -
Returning to the metaphor, Steinmeier noted that Liam and Noel Gallagher's reunion this year after 16 years apart and their sold-out Oasis tour had created "the greatest pop event of the past decade".
"Cool Britannia is alive! Our relations may have changed, but, my dear Britons, our love remains," he said. "So let us look not to the past, but rather together to the future."
Steinmeier hailed the Kensington Treaty signed between Germany and the UK in July, marking closer security and defence cooperation, and the first EU-UK summit since Brexit in May, which aimed to reduce trade barriers.
Concrete projects include a German-British electricity interconnector due in 2028 and plans for youth mobility agreements to ease obstacles for students, he noted.
The renewed focus on UK-European ties comes after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which sparked the continent's largest land war since World War II.
Steinmeier's state visit follows his British counterpart King Charles III's to Germany in March 2023, his first overseas trip as monarch and the first by a British monarch in over a decade.
On Wednesday, Charles hosted Steinmeier at a banquet at Windsor Castle, where both hailed their countries' deep ties.
The visit will continue on Friday in Coventry, which was heavily bombed in World War II, where both British and German air force personnel will participate in a remembrance ceremony.
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(O.Zhukova--DTZ)
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