Speech at the Commemoration of late Greek President Karamanlis
Commissioner Damanaki attended the Commemoration Ceremony in honour of late President of Greece Constantinos Karamanlis, organised today in the European Parliament. The Commemoration took place in the presence of Prime Minister of Greece, Mr Antonis Samaras.
On this occasion entitled "The necessity of Europe", Commissioner Damanaki delivered a speech.
Allocution of commissioner Damanaki on the occasion of the Special Ceremony in the European Parliament organized by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Konstantinos Karamanlis Foundation
Mr President of the European Parliament
Mr Prime Minister of Greece
Dear colleague Commissioner Lewandowski
Dear Members of the Parliament and distinguished guests,
I would like to sincerely thank the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Konstantinos Karamanlis Foundation, who organised this commemorative ceremony. It is with great honour that I am addressing today's event. This event is dedicated to the memory of an outstanding European politician. The instigator of Greece's European perspective, the former President of the Hellenic Republic, Konstantinos Karamanlis.
I was so fortunate, as to have had, the rare opportunity to know the late President Konstantinos Karamanlis personally. Many of you might be familiar with the fact that during my political journey we have been in opposite political parties. On several occasions we debated fiercely, however always with deep respect to the rules of democratic debate and political fair-play. I also had the honour to collaborate with him during his term as President of the Hellenic Republic on various issues of the Greek political agenda, mainly on foreign policy affairs.
Until this day, I carry the vivid memories of our meetings. I consider the experience from my contacts with him, as a special advantage, that helped my political thinking; in particular my European perception, my understanding of the non-negotiable necessity of the European Union and the European Orientation of Greece.
Our collaboration but also political debate have left me with two special characteristics of his personality:
- His dedication to parliamentary democracy, through a tough period in Greece. When the recent experience of the fascist military junta and the post-war National Division were still fresh in memories.
- His dedication to the tough – and sometimes solitary – struggle towards the European perspective of Greece; this was a historical effort that achieved posthumous recognition and broad acknowledgement by the vast majority of his political opponents.
Today, 15 years after the passing of Konstantinos Karamanlis, his legacy is still alive and more topical than ever.
Greece's commitment to walk the EU path for democracy and institutional normality is here, in the reply of the government and of almost the whole political system to the recently revealed horrible actions of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn criminal gang.
Konstantinos Karamanlis was the first to show that path in 1974. Then, through hard work and a forward-looking political vision, he restored a strong democracy in Greece and set up a modern constitutional legality in the template of all advanced European democracies.
Today, the necessity for Europe to evolve as a single entity, overcoming the on-going financial crisis, moving towards a deeper banking, economic and political union, is among the great challenges we are facing. The future and sustainability of the European model is highly dependent on our own commitment and ambitions. This is the kind of European model that was inspired by the visionary European political personalities of the past decades. Konstantinos Karamanlis is for sure one of them. It is our duty to carry it forward.
Many have distinguished two periods that have characterised Karamanlis' personality: the period before the Colonels' dictatorship of 1967 and the period after the restoration of Democracy in 1974. He, himself, used to say: "People do not change effortlessly. It is the circumstances that change. People have to adapt to the new realities. The experience of the past simply helps them throughout the adaptation". As he put it: "Experience is mainly the word that people use to call their mistakes".
Let's hope that using our experience we can adapt to the new challenges.
