CEO of Giesecke & Devrient
Europe is our future. Without a united Europe, our region will not be able to keep up with the rest of the world in the coming years. At the same time, Europe entails a commitment. It is a community of solidarity, where the stronger members must support the weaker members. Not just with money, but also by helping these countries find their way to economically sound structures.
I am very optimistic that Europe, together with North America and Asia, will remain one of the three strong regions of the world.We are good, and we have the great advantage of a solid, well-developed infrastructure. This doesn’t just concern streets, buildings and industry, but also well educated people, well established state and political institutions as well as a common understanding of culture.
The other day, I heard an interesting conversation between a Russian and a Chinese. The Chinese congratulated the Russian for Russia having achieved the transition from communism to a non-communist state though capitalist methods in today’s Russia left something to be desired. Do you know what the Russian answered? Our problem is, he said, that we only have decades to catch up with what the West has built in centuries.
This is precisely the situation. In Europa we have come one step further than Rusia, and it is a very important step. In comparison with China, we are even two steps further along. That is a great advantage that we should make use of for Europe as whole.