It would be a pity if we let these opportunities slip. If the countries and regions are more self-confident in Brussels today, this does not mean that we are not all of us committed Europeans.
We are committed Europeans and, to put it frankly, we owe Europe a debt of gratitude.
Never before have we been able to cooperate and create things so well over such a long peri-od. We can exchange goods and services. We can really live with each other, and one genera-tion has no need to destroy what the previous generation created. Many generations before us had to go to war again and again but we were spared. We have the opportuntiy to live in peace and freedom in a united Europe.
Who would have thought 40 or 50 years ago that a Pole would sit next to a Portuguese in the chamber of the Council of Europe, that they could work together for Europe and pursue a common foreign policy? I believe that this has much more benefits than disadvantages, even if there is at times a little too much bureaucracy or a small surplus is destroyed against our will.
Occasionally a contribution is paid out too fast or not fast enough. We must see also the posi-tive sides of Europe because this united Europe brings us many opportunities, prosperity and satisfaction.
One thing we must say: We accept the new Europe and we are proud of it. But even in the new Europe, we continue to be Viennese, North or South Tyroleans, Scottish or Sicilian.
So we believe that even in a united Europe the-re is no need to deny our own identity and our origins.
What makes Europe beautiful is its diversity.
Europe is beautiful only if every little part of it prospers, if every region preserves its characte-ristics and its identity. People have to derive joy and pride from their home country. We believe it is good for the united Europe to give us direc-tives we must follow if we want to be successful
together. It is good to have a common foreign and security policy, a common economic and – hopefully soon – also a joint social and fiscal policy. Without them, opportunities are not al-ways equal. In international transport policy as well, diversity must be considered but we need international structures all the same.
At the same time, we demand that we can con-tinue our own regional policies and the self-go-vernment of our regions and towns. In Tyrol in particular, the towns, valleys and municipalities have always played a significant role. We never used to ask Rome or Vienna what was good for us. We have always known ourselves. We have obeyed the constitution and the directives but we have adapted them to suit our specific context.
If we look at the economy, we find that Ham-burg is definitely different from the Sarntal or Pitztal valley. Agriculture in Brittany has diffe-rent tasks to fulfil from Kitzbühel or Pustertal.
We need agriculture to produce safe and sound food but also to preserve our landscapes, our rural structures and our traditions because our country can live only through them.
We know better how to look after and position schools, hospitals and other public infrastructu-res. I therefore believe that we are well advised to want to have a say and to take our share of the responsibility. We are committed Euro-peans but we also want to jointly promote and preserve our immediate environment.
I am therefore glad that the individual regions have united to form various associations, as did the towns and municipalities. They are thus present in Brussels and can take a stand when attempts are made to curtail their rights. I think they should continue to do so in future.
Talking about South Tyrol, we have minorities who need to be granted their rights in the new
Europe. Naturally minorities today have a diffe-rent, a much more European task to fulfil. To use South Tyrol as an example again, we were separated by a frontier although the same people lived north and south of Brenner Pass.
Bulgaria, Romania and other countries together have 300 different minorities randomly separa-ted by frontiers. The new Europe now enables us and even challenges us to make crossing the-se borders as easy as possible for the minorities.
This includes the passage from one language to another, from one economic area to the next. It means that common ground is emphasised and a network of European regions is created.
I hope that the regions, minorities and ethnic groups will be taken into account also in the new European Constitution. Everything else would be wrong. As representatives of the in-dividual regions, we are proud of our charac-teristics in terms of culture, produce and way of living. All this makes Europe more interes-ting and beautiful.
What if Europe were the same everywhere?
People from Hamburg, Great Britain or France don‘t just come to North or East Tyrol because they want to relax. They come because they like it here, because there is identity here and a beautiful scenery. But above all they come because they realise that the people here are rooted in their country and stand behind its tradition and history.
I am glad to be present here when two men are distinguished who have always supported this. If we look at the achievements of Mayor and Governor Dr. Häupl and Director General Meadows, we can safely say that they have supported the rights of municipalities and re-gions all their lives. In our day and age in par-ticular, it is good to emphasise role models, to say who did what and to have the courage to say thank you and to congratulate.
I know that people who stand up for the rights
of municipalities and regions do not always meet with a kind reception. We find that in Strasbourg and Brussels we are sometimes a little pityingly made out to be conservative stick-in-the-muds.
I am convinced that this is not true and I am therefore glad for you to receive this award.
I am particularly pleased that you receive an award that is linked to our joint Emperor Maxi-milian. He was a European. We know about the many things he did in Europe and where he did them. He tried to influence many things, inter-nal and exterinter-nal stability etc. He tried again and again to represent the rights of the Tyroleans.
He was a European but also a passionate Tyrole-an. He supported regional identity and the peo-ple of Tyrol. Just look at everything he did for our administration and our country. He said, if I want law and order here, then I need peasants who can rely on their property and who will not be disowned from one year to the next.
He advocated inheritance laws, and he said that the peasants too should have a share in the beauties of life. He gave them the right to hunt, something I as a hunter wish to emphasise by all means. He was the one to say that we will be able to preserve our regions only if we grant adequate rights to the population. I am convin-ced that the Landlibell ultimately contributed to the official right of the Tyroleans to defend their native country. I find this important, and our Marksmen today should try to uphold the-se rights in the spheres of culture, history and tradition.
They should have the right to defend their beau-tiful native country and to fight its de-struction.
With this in mind, dear laureates, let me warmly congratulate you once again. I hope that we will be able to continue our joint work for Tyrolean unity and cooperation of the regions in Europe.
Many thanks and all the best!
Monsieur le Maire et Gouverneur de Vienne Michael Häupl,
Monsieur le Directeur général Graham Meadows,
Madame le Maire d‘Innsbruck,
Monsieur le Gouverneur du Tyrol van Staa, Mesdames et Messieurs les Membres du Gouvernement du Tyrol,
Mesdames et Messieurs les Représentants de la vie publique,
Mesdames et Messieurs ici présents ! Je voudrais d‘abord saluer très cordialement chacun et chacune d‘entre vous en tant que représentant de la partie sud du Tyrol. Je me réjouis du fait de pouvoir être ici au-jourd‘hui.
C‘est une ancienne coutume tyrolienne: quand il y a quelque chose à fêter, on invite des amis.
C‘est pourquoi, cher Herwig van Staa, je suis très content que tu m‘aies invité. Tu m‘as aussi offert l‘opportunité de transmettre aux lauréats les félicitations de la partie sud du Tyrol. Je me réjouis autant que toi de cette distinction car le choix est tombé sur deux personnalités qui véritablement méritent cette distinction. C‘est pourquoi j‘aimerais d’ores et déjà vous expri-mer mes félicitations, nous nous réjouissons avec vous.
Le fait de pouvoir être parmi vous aujourd‘hui est déjà en soi un signe de cette nouvelle Eu-rope. Autrefois, il n‘aurait pas été possible de coopérer de cette manière. Aujourd‘hui, les frontières ne séparent plus, bien au contrai-re, lorsqu‘on traverse le col du Brenner, on ne remarque même plus que l‘on passe dans un autre pays. C‘est devenu une évidence de pouvoir coopérer et d‘élaborer des program-mes ensemble. Il est devenu possible de faire des plans pour l‘avenir.
En 1973, je suis devenu membre du
gouver-nement régional de Trente et depuis ce temps, je suis resté actif au sein du gouvernement de la province du Tyrol du Sud. En politique, j‘ai vécu de nombreux hauts et bas. Je me sou-viens d’un jour de joie toute particulière et je ne l‘oublierai jamais: c‘était le 1er avril 1998 lorsque Wendelin Weingartner, l‘ancien gou-verneur du Tyrol, et moi avons eu l‘honneur d‘enlever la barrière symbolisant la frontière au col du Brenner. C‘est un signe extérieur que la nouvelle Europe commence à vivre vé-ritablement. Les frontières disparaissent, non seulement de manière symbolique à travers la barrière, mais aussi à travers la coopération devenue possible à condition que la popula-tion le souhaite.
Il est légitime de se demander si on a saisi cet-te opportunité dès le premier début en ce qui concerne le Tyrol septentrional, le Tyrol oriental et le Tyrol du Sud. Je le dis sans ambages: nous avons certes saisi cette opportunité, mais il est bel et bien possible d‘accélérer encore nos ef-forts. Je pense que nous avons profité de cette époque: nous avons coopéré dans le domaine de la politique des transports, il suffit de lire les journaux au nord et au sud du Brenner; il suffit de regarder les projets d‘aménagement qui existent entre le Tyrol oriental et le Tyrol du Sud.
Nous avons profité des opportunités pour fon-der des sociétés communes pour la gestion du transport des biens. Nous avons coopéré dans le domaine de l‘environnement, la sauvegarde des paysages, au sein de différentes associations et institutions, dans le domaine de la recherche et des sciences, de la culture et du système bancaire. Nous avons appris à nous engager conjointement à Bruxelles en faveur de l‘espace alpin à ce qu‘il soit protégé comme il le faut.
Nous élaborons des programmes et nous nous