Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

Your Excellency, the President,
Ms Eva Köhler,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Mr President, thank you for your kind words that have touched me and for your warm welcome to my wife, myself and our committee.

This visit takes place 20 years after the fall of the Wall that divided this city, Germany and our continent. For the Portuguese this was one more statement of the victory of Freedom and Democracy. And the Country that tore down this Wall was the very same to whom Portugal owed the solid support in its journey to Freedom and full Democracy.

I was in Berlin in the quality of Prime Minister when the fall of the Wall seemed like a distant dream. I took part in the first Council of Europe which assessed the consequences of the event. It is therefore easy to understand how my return to this city has moved me so; a city which is the symbol of all hope, particularly at a time when we are called to fight difficult battles and to not surrender to the adversities.

Mr President,

Current hardships unveil the advantages of the European project, whilst demanding more and better Europe.

Our joint commitment to the construction of a stronger and more coherent European Union was visible in the joint efforts of the Portuguese and German Presidencies of 2007, which achieved many good results.

The current economic and financial crises have put the European Union to the test. To pass it entails acting in one accord, preserving the wins of a single market, resisting to the temptations of protectionism, enhancing the mechanisms of economic and social cohesion and focusing on a future vision. Only in doing so can we safeguard our citizens’ trust, which is essential for any form of recovery.

A vision for the future entails fighting the crisis without ignoring the challenges of an aging population and climate change, the shortcomings of our energy schemes, the competitiveness of our enterprises, the training of our staff, scientific and technological research.

A vision of the future also calls for the ability to fight poverty, for humanitarian reasons, and in behalf of equality and public interest. Misery and despair are sources of conflict and instability and, consequently, the enemies of safety and economic and social development.

On this note I wish to congratulate President Köhler on his Initiative for Africa. Portugal is particularly close to the African continent, where five of the eight members of the CPLP-Community of Portuguese-speaking countries-are located.
Only by focusing on a vision of the future may we come to the conclusion that, after the storm has blown away, a stronger Europe - more credible to its own citizens and the international scene - has arisen, a Europe that has drawn lessons from the hardships and has learnt to seize opportunities.

There is, therefore, an urgent need to overcome the current institutional drawback, which is why rapidly surmounting the obstacles to the speedy implementation of the Lisbon Treaty is paramount.

Mr President,

Portugal and Germany know each other well. The history of our relations is rich and centuries old. Lisbon was conquered with the help of the Germans; two Empresses of Germany were from Portugal, as one of our Sovereigns was German. During our era of the Discoveries the trade of goods and ideas was widespread. During the wars that afflicted Europe in the last century, many Germans found refuge in Portugal, some of whom remained and contributed to the enhancement of the ties between the two countries.

Today we are allies and partners. Germany is Portugal’s second largest customer and supplier. Some of the largest foreign investments in Portugal bear the German seal. Recent surveys outline the extremely favourable assessment that German entrepreneurs make of our market.

Today we are a Country investing abroad (including in Germany) that favours education, that designs, invents and disseminates new technologies. A Country that has inherited from history a legacy of relations with other countries and peoples, which makes us the natural partner in the penetration of distinct markets.

Mr President,

The dynamics of inter-nation relations feeds, largely, on the contacts between its Peoples.

Tomorrow I will be participating in two events announcing a new campaign for the promotion of tourism in Portugal at world level. Germany is already the fourth country generating the most tourism in Portugal, but there is still room for improvement. We will work on it.

Culture is yet another undeniable value that draws people closer. Portugal brings to Berlin two exhibits, respectively on the cinematographic work of the film producer Manoel de Oliveira, whom the Berlin Film Festival acclaimed, and on modern Portuguese architecture in the World, which has earned many awards and merits.

Portugal has in its vast community of Portuguese residents living in Germany a valuable promoter of relations between our two countries. It is a well integrated community that contributes to the development of the host country whilst keeping the traditions and culture of the country of origin alive.

Mr President,

I am convinced that our two countries will continue cherishing the long friendship that unites us and keeping it alight through concrete achievements in the present and future. It is in this spirit that I ask you to join me in a toast to President Horst Köhler and his wife, to the friendly people of Germany and to prosper relations between our two countries.