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President of the Republic on the Festive Dinner in Honour of Gerhard Schröder, the Federal Chancellor of Germany The House of Blackheads June 5, 2000
05.06.2000

Honourable Federal Chancellor,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is my pleasure to welcome the Federal Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schröder in Estonia. His meetings here, as well as his speech in the Riigikogu tomorrow, bespeak of the ever-tightening bonds between our two countries.

Mr. Federal Chancellor,

Welcome to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The German word Reval derives from the old Estonian name Rävala, which denoted the whole area surrounding the city. You are now in the House of Blackheads, a building that dates back to the Hanseatic period, thus symbolising the close historical relations between Germany and Estonia. At that time, the Baltic Sea was the internal sea of the Hansa League, and soon it will be an internal sea again - the internal sea of the European Union. We have set the date of January 1, 2003, for our readiness to accede to the European Union. I am convinced that with the political support of Germany, this goal can be reached, just as I am convinced that your visit and the business negotiations that took place simultaneously with our talks, will strengthen the economic relations between our countries.

Therefore, allow me to raise my glass to the shared historical legacy and the common future of Estonia and Germany.

To your health, Mr. Federal Chancellor.

 

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