President Lennart Meri received Dr. Gerhard Enver Schrömbgens, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Estonia, who came to present his credentials, in Kadriorg today.

On the ceremony of presenting the credentials, the new Ambassador said that Germany would use her resources to support Estonia in further integration to the European and Atlantic structures. Speaking of Estonia's access to the EU, Mr. Schrömbgens said: ''Estonia's full membership in the EU is possible already in the near future''.

Mr. Schrömbgens also mentioned that for Germany, relations to Estonia are of special significance. ''The brave Estonian people's will of freedom was not the least to contribute to our overcoming of the severed Europe'', he said. The main areas of co-operation, where a lot of bilateral work still remains to be done, as the Ambassador said, are economy and culture.

President of the Republic mentioned his excellent substantial co-operation with the previous Ambassadors who have represented Germany in Estonia, and hoped that the starting co-operation would be just as fruitful. ''You are already feeling at home,'' President Meri said to the newly arrived Ambassador. The President and the Ambassador agreed that both Estonia and Germany have the aim to restore and preserve the old unity of the Baltic Sea – mare nostrum.


The fact that the German Minister of Foreign Affairs is going to visit Estonia in September, as well as the Federal Chancellor Schröder's visit in November and other high-level visits also speak of intensive relations between the two countries.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, August 23, 1999

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