‘The construction of Europe after the war is unique. It is an entity […] that is based on legislation, not power. […] The dramatic changes that have taken place on our continent since 1989 confronts us with completely new tasks that may be of as great an importance as those we had before us in 1945. The key question is: how are we to manage the two difficult tasks that are at hand—the peaceful unification of East and West and the further reinforcement of the European Union. […] In Europe we therefore stand before the task of showing the advantage of having a national identity without conjuring up the dangers of nationalism and politics of power. We must beware of the mistakes of the past and focus on what makes Europe what it is; on the values and concepts that form the foundation of our civilization. The European nations that do not belong to the Union also have a share in this. We must make our way into the future together. Many are afraid of the great problems and the high costs that they expect. The creators of the European Union did not think in this way. They were aware that sometimes short term interests must yield way to higher interests of peace and working together.’