Emmanuel Macron, Angella Merkel and Bill Clinton take their seat's for Helmut Kohl's memorial

Current chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and former US president BIll Clinton were among the mourners paying their respects to the late statesman.

Theresa May and former Prime Minister John Major, who worked with Mr Kohl, are also in attendance.

Dignitaries filed past Mr Kohl's coffin, which has been draped in the European Union flag, before it was carried into the parliamentary chamber.

He will be buried in the town of Speyer later today.

It is the first time the European Union has held this kind of memorial service for a former world leader. </s> World leaders are attending a ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg to commemorate the life of Helmut Kohl, the former chancellor of Germany and the main architect of its reunification.

Kohl, who died on June 16 aged 87, is the first person to be honored with an official memorial event by the European Union.

Dignitaries have been paying respects at his coffin, which was draped in the EU flag.

During his 16-year term as Germany's leader, from 1982 to 1998, Kohl was a major driving force behind closer European integration.

"Helmut Kohl was a true European and a friend. Europe owes him a lot," said European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, the only current leader in Europe to have worked alongside him.

Junker said the ceremony at the European Parliament's seat in the French city of Strasbourg, close to the border with Germany, was the choice of Kohl himself.

Speakers at the ceremony include the current German and French leaders Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, respectively, as well as Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and former Spanish President Felipe González.

Kohl will be buried in the German town of Speyer later in the day.

Based on reporting by AP, dpa, AFP, and the BBC </s> It is the first time such a memorial for a national leader is being held at the European level. Among the speakers are EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, former US President Bill Clinton, French President Emmanuel Macron and current German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Photo: Reuters) It is the first time such a memorial for a national leader is being held at the European level. Among the speakers are EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, former US President Bill Clinton, French President Emmanuel Macron and current German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Photo: Reuters)

Current and former leaders from Europe and beyond are gathering in Strasbourg, France to bid farewell to former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died June 16 at 87. The ceremony today at the European Parliament’s seat in Strasbourg, close to the border with Germany, was deemed fitting for a chancellor whose biggest achievements included helping unite Europe.

It is the first time such a memorial for a national leader is being held at the European level. Among the speakers are EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, former US President Bill Clinton, French President Emmanuel Macron and current German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Juncker described Kohl as “a German patriot and at the same time a European patriot.” Kohl will be buried later today following a mass in the German city of Speyer.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> World leaders are attending a ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg to commemorate the life of former German chancellor Helmut Kohl - who oversaw German reunification.

Mr Kohl, who died last month, was a major driving force behind closer European integration.

Dignitaries have been paying respects at his coffin, which has been draped in the EU flag.

He will be buried in the German town of Speyer later in the day.

More than 2,000 police are on duty in Strasbourg.

Speakers include the current German and French leaders Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron as well as Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, former US president Bill Clinton and former Spanish president Felipe González.

It is the first time that the European Parliament has paid tribute to a leader in such a way.

The ceremony was proposed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who was nicknamed "Junior" by Mr Kohl and who described the German after his death as "my mentor, my friend (and) the very essence of Europe".

However Germany will not hold a state funeral for Mr Kohl in Germany at the request of his widow Maike Kohl-Richter, his second wife.

That decision has been criticised by Mr Kohl's son by his first wife, Walter Kohl, who wanted a farewell ceremony near the Brandenburg Gate in the German capital Berlin, near the site of the former Berlin Wall.

Walter Kohl has described the European Parliament commemoration as "unworthy" in an interview with German newspaper Die Zeit. </s> Leaders from the United States, Russia and across Europe paid tribute to Helmut Kohl as the architect of German reunification and a driving force for European integration at first such memorial ceremony at European parliament on Saturday.

Germany, France and U.K.’s leaders Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Theresa May were joined by their Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netnayahu, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and many others.

Also attending the ceremony was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Less than a week after Helmut Kohl’s death, Der Spiegel reported that Kohl’s second wife, Maike Kohl-Richter, had tried to prevent Merkel, his one-time protege, from speaking at his memorial service and instead proposed Orban, a vocal critic of Merkel.

The young, liberal Orban was mentored by Kohl in the early years after the 1989 collapse of East European Communism, although as prime minister of Hungary he has steered an anti-EU, authoritarian course that many say is at odds with Kohl’s legacy.

However the German Chancellor did give a speech later during the ceremony. </s> The EU will pay an unprecedented tribute Saturday to former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, one of the architects of modern Europe, in a ceremony attended by a host of leaders.

Kohl, who oversaw German reunification and was a driving force in Europe's integration, died on June 16 at age of 87.

Ceremonies at the European Parliament begin a day of commemoration and mourning, culminating in his burial in the German town of Speyer.

At his widow's request, there will be no state funeral in Germany.

The former chancellor's coffin will be brought to the parliament chamber in the French city of Strasbourg where his successor, Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and former US president Bill Clinton will give speeches.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will represent Russia at the ceremony, which will also be attended by British Prime Minister Theresa May and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The speeches and a short film to be played to the chamber will focus on Kohl's role in German unification after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and on his close cooperation with France's Francois Mitterrand in shaping the European Union.

It is the first time that the European Parliament has paid tribute to a leader in such a way.

The idea for a ceremony was proposed by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, whom Kohl affectionately called "junior" when the Luxemburger became prime minister at the age of 41.

On Kohl's death, Juncker described him as "my mentor, my friend (and) the very essence of Europe".

The parliament building in the city on the Franco-German border will be ringed by steel. More than 2,000 police will be on duty to protect the visiting dignitaries.

After the ceremony in Strasbourg, Kohl's coffin will be taken by helicopter to the German city of Ludwigshafen where it will be transferred to a boat and taken down the Rhine to the southwest town of Speyer for his funeral service.

The arrangements have been clouded by criticism from Kohl's elder son. In an interview with Die Zeit weekly he called the plans "unworthy" of his father's role in Germany's history.

Walter Kohl, whose mother was the late chancellor's first wife Hannelore Kohl, criticised the lack of a state funeral, which was refused by Kohl's second wife Maike Kohl-Richter.

Kohl married Kohl-Richter, 34 years her husband's junior, when he was 78.

One of the reasons for her refusal was lingering anger at Merkel's treatment of her former mentor.

Merkel ousted Kohl from the leadership of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and urged the party to drop him when he became embroiled in a party funding scandal.

Walter Kohl wants his father's coffin to be taken to the German capital for "a national homage, an ecumenical requiem and a military farewell ceremony" near the Brandenburg Gate, where the German leader witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Because of a long-running feud with his stepmother, who jealously guards her husband's political legacy, Walter Kohl had not had contact with his father for many years and said he learned of his death from a radio report.

He says he will not take part in the burial in Speyer. </s> World leaders have gathered to pay tribute to the “architect of the world order” Helmut Kohl at the first ever memorial of its kind for a European politician.

Draped in an EU flag, the former German Chancellor’s coffin sat in the centre of the European Parliament as more than 800 dignitaries including Bill Clinton, Dmitry Medvedev and Angela Merkel paid emotional tributes.

“Helmut Kohl gave us the chance to be involved in something bigger than ourselves, bigger than our terms in office and bigger than our fleeting careers,” Mr Clinton said, fondly remembering their frequent visits to each other during his time as US President.

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“He wanted to create a world where nobody dominated over anybody else.

“You did well to achieve that during your lifetime and those of us who experienced it love you for it.”

Mr Kohl, who served as Chancellor from 1982 to 1998, oversaw the end of the Cold War and is widely regarded as the mastermind of German reunification.

He skillfully negotiated the dissolution communist East Germany with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and relocated the capital to Berlin.

Together with French counterpart Francois Mitterand, he was the architect of the 1992 Maastrict Treaty, which established the euro and EU, which he ardently supported.

Medvedev, the Russian Prime Minister, described Mr Kohl as the “the architect of the world order”, adding: “In Russia, we'll remember him as our friend – a wise and sincere person.”

“Helmut Kohl was a German patriot and a European patriot,” said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, a close friend. “We've lost a giant of the post-war era.”

Ms Merkel, who served as a minister under Mr Kohl in the 1990s but later had a falling out over his role in receiving $1 million in illegal campaign cash donations, remembered her predecessor as a sometimes controversial figure with numerous enemies.

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“I could tell you stories as well,” she said. “But all that paled in comparison to his life's achievements.”

Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, said Mr Kohl deserved “a place of honour in the European pantheon” for unhesitatingly extending the hand of friendship to fledgling democracies in Eastern Europe following the fall of the Iron Curtain.

The two-hour ceremony was attended by leaders including Theresa May, Emmanuel Macron, Donald Tusk and Petro Poroshenko, in a show of unity amid continuing divisions over Brexit and the Ukrainian war.

It concluded with the German national anthem and excerpts from Beethoven's 9th symphony “Ode to Joy”, which is used as the EU anthem.

Mr Kohl, who died on 16 June at the age of 87, was to be buried at a funeral in Germany later on Saturday.

His coffin had been transported from the home he shared with his second wife Maike in Oggersheim to Strasbourg for the memorial service.

It was taken by helicopter on to his birthplace in Ludwigshafen, being carried in a procession and then transported to Speyer Cathedral along the Rhine for a Catholic requiem to be attended by 1,500 mourners.

The resting place of many rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, the cathedral was seen by Mr Kohl as a symbol of European unity – a place he showed to contemporary leaders including Mr Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher.

But the mass will be boycotted by Mr Kohl’s sons, since their father will not be laid to rest alongside his first wife and their mother, Hannelore Kohl.

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Current and former world leaders gathered Saturday to bid farewell to former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, recalling him as a man who was instrumental in uniting Europe and bringing about reconciliation between former adversaries on the continent.

Kohl, who died June 16 at age 87, is the first person to be honored with an official memorial event by the European Union.

The ceremony at the European Parliament's seat in the French city of Strasbourg, close to the border with Germany, was the choice of Kohl himself, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said. Juncker describing Kohl as "a German patriot and at the same time a European patriot."

During his 16-year term as Germany's leader, from 1982 to 1998, Kohl spearheaded his country's reunification in 1990 and was an architect of the continent's common currency, the euro.

"Helmut Kohl gave us the chance to be involved in something bigger than ourselves," former U.S. President Bill Clinton said, citing Kohl's willingness to put international cooperation before national interests.

EU Parliament President Antonio Tajani said Kohl deserved "a place of honor in the European pantheon" for unhesitatingly extending the hand of friendship to fledgling democracies in Eastern Europe following the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Others scheduled to speak at the event are French President Emmanuel Macron and current German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Following the ceremony in Strasbourg, which was attended by over 800 guests, Kohl's coffin was to be taken to the German city of Speyer for a requiem Mass and military honors. </s> British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron visit the World War I French-British memorial of Thiepval, France Friday. Ludovic Marin, Pool via Reuters

PARIS - World leaders gathered in Paris will lead global commemorations on Sunday to mark 100 years since the end of World War I at a time of growing nationalism and diplomatic tensions.

Around 70 leaders including US and Russian Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will mark the centenary of the 1918 Armistice in the French capital.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth will attend a separate event in London, while New Zealand and Australia are holding their own ceremonies.

The Paris commemorations, centered on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe, are set to feature warnings about the modern-day danger of nationalism.

"This day is not just about remembering, but should be about a call to action," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday after visiting the forest clearing in eastern France where the Armistice was signed.

Merkel will give the opening address alongside UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at a conference called the Paris Peace Forum which will take place after a memorial service on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday morning.

Conceived by French President Emmanuel Macron, the Forum is intended to highlight the importance of international institutions in helping resolve conflicts, avert wars and spread prosperity.

TENSIONS LURK

But despite the show of unity at the Arc de Triomphe, where school children will read out messages written by soldiers in eight languages, tensions are expected to lurk beneath the surface.

US President Donald Trump, whose hardline nationalism has badly shaken the Western alliance, arrived in Paris on Friday criticizing host Macron for being "insulting."

Trump took umbrage at a recent interview in which Macron talked about the need for a European army and listed the US along with Russia and China as a threat to national security.

The "America First" leader, who faced criticism on Saturday for cancelling a trip to an American cemetery because of the rainy weather, will snub the Paris Peace Forum.



Other attendees of the memorial service and Forum include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Canadian premier Justin Trudeau and Israel's Benyamin Netanyahu, as well as Putin.

With far-right nationalist politicians coming to power from Brazil to Italy to Austria, 40-year-old centrist Macron is set to invoke the war to make the case for international cooperation.

"We want to make these commemorations a time to reflect on the present, not just the past, so that they have a meaning for us today," an aide to Macron said earlier this week.

He will deliver a short speech during Sunday's ceremony, which organizers have made deliberately international and cross-cultural.

The French-born Chinese-American cellist Yo-yo Ma will perform, as will West African singer Angelique Kidjo, and a European youth orchestra with a Russian conductor.

Some 10,000 police have been drafted in to ensure maximum security in a city repeatedly targeted by jihadists since 2015.

Macron is also set to speak later at UN cultural body UNESCO and at the Peace Forum.

The Forum is part of the "fightback" against nationalism worldwide, chief organizer Justin Vaisse told AFP as he played down the significance of Trump's decision not to attend.

"The aim of the forum is to show that there are lots of forces in the international system -- states, NGOs, foundations, intellectuals, companies -- who believe we need a world of rules, an open world and a multilateral world," he said.

OTHER CEREMONIES

About 70 current-day nations were involved in the conflict that had six empires and colonial powers at its heart: Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the Ottoman Empire.

Around 10 million soldiers are generally estimated to have been killed during the fighting and more than double that number wounded overall.

Between five and 10 million civilians are estimated to have been killed.

In Britain, church bells are set to ring out across the country at 11 am, at the same time as a national remembrance service at the Cenotaph in London.

In Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will address crowds at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on Sunday morning.
World leaders such as Bill Clinton, Emmanuel Macron, Theresa May, Dmitry Medvedev and Angela Merkel attend the memorial service for the former West German leader Helmut Kohl.