WELCOMING WORDS BY LLUÍS MARIA DE PUIG,

PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE,

TO THE ATTENTION OF GERMAN CHANCELLOR, MRS ANGELA MERKEL

(Strasbourg, 15 April 2008)

Dear Chancellor,

The Council of Europe is the home of democracy – so, as a leader of one of the countries amongst the strongest defenders of democracy and human rights in the world, you are very much at home here.

At the origin of the Council of Europe there was an ambition and a dream: to overcome the differences of the past and build a common future.

As you know, we are based in Strasbourg because it was believed that Germany and France could give an example.

And so it happened. Nearly 60 years later, we have achieved what was unthinkable at that time: we have brought all the countries of the Continent under the same roof.

This has been possible mainly because we share the same values: democracy, human rights and the rule of law. These values are universal and just as important for human development as economic prosperity.

This Assembly, thanks to the double mandate of its members, represents all the nations, cultures and political trends in Europe. We are the moral authority of Europe and we strive to spread our values in every other part of the world.

Germany has been one of the major driving forces of European integration, and not only at the level of the European Union. Your country has been amongst those which have worked hardest to erase all remaining dividing lines between the former opposing blocs in Europe.

Your own itinerary, Chancellor, is the perfect illustration of this. I would like to pay tribute to your strong personal engagement in defending human rights.

Your presence here today is an honour and a powerful signal. It shows the importance that European and world leaders should attach to human rights.

Dear Chancellor, I am sure that you are accustomed to parliamentary scrutiny in your country. But today, you have kindly accepted to subject yourself to the same exercise in the presence of parliamentarians from 47 European states. This is a great moment for practical exercise of democracy at European level. Thank you very much for this. You have the floor.