Times Letters: ‘German friends’ urge Britain to stay in EU

 

Gemeinsam mit Norbert Röttgen, Vorsitzender des Auswärtigen Ausschusses (CDU), habe ich einen Brief in der britischen Times veröffentlicht und zahlreiche Unterstützer aus der deutschen Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft gewinnen können. Der Text ist online hier erschienen. Ihr könnt ihn auch hier unten nachlesen:

 

Sir, Without your great nation, this Continent would not be, what it is today: a community defined by freedom and prosperity. After the horrors of the Second World War, Britain did not give up on us. It has  welcomed Germany back as a sovereign nation and a European power. This we, as Germans, have not forgotten and we are grateful.

 

Because we realise that the freedom we enjoy as Europeans today has in many ways been built and defended by the British people, we want Britons to know that  we respect their choice. It is theirs, not ours. And should Britain wish to leave the European Union for good, it  will always have friends in Germany and Europe. But Britons should equally know that we believe that no choice is irreversible. Our door will always remain open: Europe is home.

 

Britain has become part of who we are as Europeans. And therefore we would miss Britain. We would miss the legendary British black humour and going to the pub after work hours to drink an ale. We would miss tea with milk and driving on the left-hand side of the road. And we would miss seeing the panto at Christmas. There are many more things that we would miss. But more than anything else, we would miss the British people — our friends across the Channel. We would miss Britain as part of the European Union, especially in these troubled times.  Therefore Britons should know: from the bottom of our hearts, we want them to stay.

 

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Unterzeichner

 

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer – Party Leader, Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)

 

Andrea Nahles – Party and Parliamentary Group Leader, Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)

 

Annalena Baerbock – Party Leader, Alliance 90/The Greens

 

Robert Habeck – Party Leader, Alliance 90/The Greens

 

Norbert Röttgen – Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the German Bundestag, Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)

 

Franziska Brantner – Spokesperson for European Affairs, Alliance 90/The Greens

 

Achim Post – Deputy Chairman of the SPD Parliamentary Group

 

Cem Özdemir – Chairman of the Committee on Transport and Digital Infrastructure of the German Bundestag, Alliance 90/The Greens

 

Reiner Hoffmann – President, German Trade Union Confederation (DGB)

 

Dieter Kempf – President, Federation of German Industries (BDI)

 

Ingo Kramer – President, Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA)

 

Eric Schweitzer – President, Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK)

 

Hans Peter Wollseifer – President, German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH)

 

Dieter Zetsche – Chairman of the Board of Management, Daimler AG

 

Thomas Enders – Chief Executive Officer, Airbus

 

Frank Bsirske – Chairman, ver.di (United Services Union)

 

Dieter Schwarz – Merchant

 

Heinrich Bedford-Strohm – Chairman, Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD)

 

Hans-Henning Horstmannn – Chairman, German-British Society

 

Margret Wintermantel – President, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

 

Hans-Christian Pape – President, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

 

Klaus-Dieter Lehmann – President, Goethe-Institut

 

Norbert Lammert – Chairman, Konrad Adenauer Foundation

 

Kurt Beck – Chairman, Friedrich Ebert Foundation

 

Ellen Ueberschär – President, Heinrich Böll Foundation

 

Karl-Heinz Paqué – Chairman, Friedrich Naumann Foundation

 

Aart De Geus – Chairman and CEO, Bertelsmann Stiftung

 

Jens Lehmann – Former Goalkeeper, German National Football Team

 

Campino – Lead Vocalist “Die Toten Hosen”

 

Igor Levit – Pianist

 

Carolin Emcke – Writer

 

Florian Hoffmann – Founder and Managing Director, Berlin DO School