European Security in the 21st Century - New Tasks for the Bundeswehr

Abstract

I greatly appreciate this opportunity to be here today as your guest and to speak to you on European security and the Bundeswehr. The political environment has undergone a tremendous transformation in recent years. Although the radical changes the armed forces of our countries have had to contend with have been different, the challenges we are facing at present and had to face in the past have a wide range of features in common.

One of the things we have in common is the realization that history does not unfold slowly and always predictably. But we were prepared neither for the speed at which it has confronted us nor for the unforeseeable turn it has taken. There are days when you feel that the world has changed. 10 May 1994, the day of the inauguration of your president, Nelson Mandela, was such a day. I can still recall the sense of joy and hope that this fact evoked within the international community at the time. It was a profoundly stirring moment for all.