Germany's
ex-chancellor Helmut Kohl has reiterated his belief in Europe's quest for unity
despite its crippling debt crises. His new book places the blame largely on a
premature Greek entry into the eurozone.
The
84-year-old Kohl said during his book's presentation in Frankfurt on Monday
that it was still "not too late for Europe" but warned that crisis
between Russia and the West over Ukraine risked wasting much of what "we
had achieved."
"We
need once again more European public spirit, " Kohl said.
Literally
translated as "out of concern for Europe," the German-language book
retraces the quest for peace after two world wars in 20th century Europe.
Kohl
reasserts his belief in the common currency and describes how the euro came
about during his tenure up to 1998.
His book
blames the euro's later misfortunes on tactical electoral mistakes, including
the bending of fiscal rules by EU finance ministers in 2003 and Greece's entry
into the eurozone sought by later French and German governments.
His rival
and successor Social Democrat Gerhard Schröder led center-left coalitions from
1998 until 2005.
Words of praise for Kohl from Juncker |
'Great
European,' says Juncker
Delivering
a laudation at Monday's presentation, the European Commission's new president,
Jean-Claude Juncker, described Kohl as a "great European."
It was a
"happy coincidence" that he could spend his first working day in his
new role with Kohl, added Juncker, who was previously Luxembourg's premier and
euro expert.
Kohl had
always respected Europe's smaller countries and had always rejected resentments
directed at other nations, Juncker said.
"To
know what the other person thinks belongs to his methodological approach,"
Juncker said.
Kohl is
currently pursuing legal action against a separate book based on interviews by
his intended ghost-writer Heribert Schwan. In it, Kohl belittles his former
environment minister and current Chancellor Angela Merkel .
That book
was published last week, ahead of a series of anniversary events to mark a
quarter-century since the 1989 collapse of communist East Germany.
Kohl, who
is often dubbed the father of German reunification, claims that weakness of the
former Soviet Union, realized by its then leader Mikhail Gorbachev, contributed
to the demise of the East German regime under Erich Honecker.
ipj/kms
(AFP, dpa)
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