christine lagarde : laudatory speech for dr wolfgang schauble laudatory speech by ms christine lagarde, president of the european central bank, for dr wolfgang schauble, at the vdz publishers ’ night, berlin, 4 november 2019. * * * the english philosopher john stuart mill once observed that “ a great statesman is he who knows when to depart from traditions, as well as when to adhere to them. ” it is with these words in mind that i would like to celebrate wolfgang ’ s contribution to public life. you embody what i see as the model of “ germany in europe ” : the germany that is an implacable defender of its values and a beacon of liberalism and democracy ; but also the germany that is ready to move when needed to uphold the european idea. this event is not about the ecb. it ’ s not about monetary policy or other economic policies. it ’ s about you, wolfgang. so i will not talk about monetary policy or anything related to it. i was asked to speak this evening when i was still managing director of the imf, and i was honoured to do so in recognition of our long shared history as colleagues and friends. but the occasion has taken on added meaning in the light of my new role working for europe. there are few who have done so much for europe, over so long a period, as you, wolfgang. i do not intend to use my remarks this evening to recall our many private conversations – they shall remain private – nor your many achievements : we all know what they are. i would like instead to focus on three of the qualities that i have personally witnessed, and that have marked you out as one of the pre - eminent leaders of your generation : your commitment, your rigour and your statesmanship. wolfgang is receiving this award tonight in recognition of his commitment to a unified europe and stable democracy in germany. commitment is a quality that has run like a thread throughout your public life. on this very day 30 years ago, only a few blocks from here, a million people demanded reform, democracy and freedom in the largest demonstration east germany had ever seen. the fall of the berlin wall ushered in a profound transformation of german and european history, and you, as minister of the interior, were at the heart of this process. your commitment to your own country was always matched by a commitment to europe – and you understood that each made the other stronger. you saw immediately

not a simple task. it is not something which can or should be imposed from above, but it can, to a certain extent, be guided. it is a process which must be both evolutionary and spontaneous. its pace cannot be forced. this would be counterproductive. in the end it is a matter of clarifying and further developing elements of a common european culture. this implies articulating and emphasising the many things which europeans already have in common, but also building up more common experiences. such experiences can serve to cement intra - european relations. having a single currency will automatically contribute to this process, not only because of the common banknotes and coins, but also because it will mean dealing with identical issues in all european countries. there are many other areas in addition to politics and economics where this can be done, such as the sciences, the arts, the press, television and so on. we should try to develop debate on european issues at a european level. i attach great importance to explaining our monetary policies at the hearings in the european parliament. monetary policy is conducted from a european perspective and should therefore primarily be explained at a european level. more attention should be paid to european issues. the objectives of european integration should be explained more often and more clearly. the fear that europe is something abstract, remote and threatening to local culture should be taken seriously. however, i do not believe that there necessarily has to be a contradiction between preserving local culture and at the same time further developing a common european culture. on the contrary, they can complement and enrich one another. it is necessary and inevitable that an increasing number of issues be decided at a european level. quite apart from issues relating to the euro, other issues such as those relating to the environment, crime, defence and migration can no longer be considered to be purely national issues. in deciding on what should and should not be discussed on a european level, the principle of subsidiarity should continue to play a guiding role. what can be decided at a lower level should be decided at a lower level. i do not close my eyes to the existence of substantial obstacles to further integration in this broad sense. perhaps the fact that the european union has 11 official languages is the most important one. in a sense it also poses a dilemma in our communications policy. on the one hand, it is very important to reach all european citizens in their own language ; on the other, should we not encourage a situation in which as many europeans