Toast by President of the Republic of Austria Thomas Klestil

Bled, 31 May

Dear Milan,
Dear colleagues,

Apparently I am the senior of this group of presidents assembled here tonight, and it is thus my pleasant task to thank you, dear Milan, for your invitation to convene this meeting of Central European Presidents again here in Slovenia, and for the gracious and generous hospitality which you extended to us.

If I look back at the origins of our group, I recall first and foremost the talks with you, dear Vaclav, right after my election as Federal President in 1992, and our meeting with you, Arpad Gönz and Richard von Weizecker in July 1993 in Salzburg, where we agreed to continue such encounters of Central European Presidents.

In the meantime, our group has grown from the original four to the present sixteen presidents. This increase in our number not only reflects the interest in this kind of gathering as well as the importance and the added value of our informal reflections. At the same time it went quite beyond the confines of Central Europe in its historic, cultural or geographic sense.

It is exactly this expansion of our network, which confirms my belief in the continued usefulness of our annual gatherings. They allow an exchange of views at a time when Europe is growing together again and is about to overcome for good its tragic legacy of internal division and confrontation.

We are now looking forward to the fifth enlargement of the European Union. As in the past, the enlargement will be accompanied by institutional reform and thus the widening and the deepening of European structures are taking place simultaneously. They both reinforce each other and add new momentum to the vision of a larger and more united Europe - a Europe which will be able to take up in a constructive manner the challenges of globalization and play its role in the multi-polar world of tomorrow. In such a Europe, its central region will have to play a most important role as a link between East and West as well as North and South.

A successful conclusion of the enlargement process is of paramount importance not only for the countries concerned but for the future of Europe as a whole. It is evident that our relationship will change, once we are all working together as members of the European Union, and I fully concur with the tenor of our discussions this afternoon which have emphasized the need for closer cooperation among the countries at the heart of our continent. At the same time, it is also the right moment to reinforce our relations with the future neighbors of the European Union and to give new impetus to our ties with those countries that have a European orientation and belong to the extended European family.

Let me in this context refer also to another, related meeting - the annual European Economic Summit in Salzburg - which provides a most useful platform for meetings between political leaders and the world of business and finance. The Salzburg Summit has become a very special network and an important complement to the meeting of Central European presidents as well, and has already an acknowledged record of strengthening economic relations and foreign direct investment across and beyond Europe.

It is with these thoughts in mind that I want to recall my invitation extended to you at our meeting last year in Italy to join me in 2003 in Salzburg for the tenth anniversary of this gathering of Central European presidents. I believe that next year's meeting should take stock of where we stand and to chart the course of how we want to proceed in the future.

Therefore, I would like to suggest that we devote part of our final session tomorrow to discuss this question in order to provide some guidance for the preparation of our next meeting. By then, the enlargement negotiations as well as the work of the Convention on the Future of Europe will have been concluded. You will agree that Central Europe has a major stake in both processes.

In conclusion let me add a special tribute to President Kucan and to President Havel for their outstanding commitment to Central Europe and to the process of European integration.

On behalf of all around this table I want to thank both of you most cordially for your very special contribution to the cause of the unification of Europe and also to the work of our group of Central European Presidents. I therefore think to speak for all present in wishing both of you the very best for many years to come and above all good health and personal wellbeing and happiness.

I also want to express my personal gratefulness for your friendship you have shown to me in many ways throughout the years.

Thank you, dear Milan, also for your generous hospitality. I raise my glass to your health and to a happy future of your countries and peoples!

GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MEDIA OFFICE © 2002