Ambasada Republicii Federale Germania în România a participat pe 12 martie 2024, la invitaţia Familiei Regale a României, la festivitățile de la Castelul Peleș din Sinaia, pentru a marca stabilirea relațiilor diplomatice dintre România și Germania, precum și cele dintre România și Franța, la data de 20 februarie 1880, sub domnia Regelui Carol I.

Alături de Majestatea Sa Margareta, Custodele Coroanei au participat și Altețele Lor Regale Principele Radu și Principesa Sofia. La eveniment au fost prezenți aproximativ 100 de oaspeţi, printre care și reprezentanţi la nivel înalt ai Guvernului și ai Parlamentului României, ai Curții Constituționale, personalități din domeniul diplomației, economiei și culturii, precum și reprezentanți ai societății civile.

Ambasadorul dr. Peer Gebauer a mulțumit Familiei Regale a României pentru această onoare. În discursul său, el a subliniat că Germania și România au un parteneriat și o prietenie impresionant de îndelungate, Casa Regală a României fiind încă de la început deopotrivă un simbol deosebit și un actor central în formarea acestei prietenii.

Discursul ambasadorului dr. Peer Gebauer (în engleză):

Your Majesty, Your Royal Highnesses,

Representatives of the Romanian government, of the Romanian Parliament and the Romanian Justice System,

Excellencies, cher Nicolas,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a very special and at the same time wonderful occasion that brings us together today. 144 years of diplomatic relations between Germany and Romania, almost a century and a half of close ties and deep friendship between our two nations. Allow me, Your Majesty and Your Royal Highnesses, to thank you most sincerely for the special honor of celebrating this special occasion with you and our guests today.

It is a unique privilege that you have invited us here, that you have given us the opportunity to celebrate this occasion here at Peleş Castle, where our shared past still resonates today. On behalf of everyone present, I would like to thank you for your extraordinary hospitality.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Germany and Romania can indeed look back on an impressively long partnership and friendship. And it was the Romanian royal family that has been the outstanding symbol and at the same time a central shaper of this friendship from the very beginning. When the young German Prince Karl from the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was elected as the new ruler of Romania in 1866, it was also an expression of the special trust between our two peoples. And to this day, the German ancestry of the Romanian royal family is a cause for joy and a feeling of special bond. It is therefore more than fitting that diplomatic relations between our two countries, between Germany and Romania, were established on February 20, 1880, during the reign of Karl I.

Today, 144 years later, our relations are closer than ever. Whether politically, economically or culturally, our two countries are partners and allies who value and trust each other.

The German minority in Romania has undoubtedly made, and continues to make, a key contribution to this. I am therefore particularly pleased that high-ranking representatives of the minority are here with us today.

The first Germans arrived in this beautiful country as early as the 12th century. New waves of immigration and settlement brought many more people here, who found a new home in Transylvania, Banat and many other places. They made a significant contribution to the development of Romanian society and the establishment of a modern Romanian state. And they shaped a positive image of the Germans, from which we still benefit in our relations today.

This also extends to the unbroken popularity of the German language in Romania. Around 22,000 pupils attend German schools in this country. I am always deeply impressed when I travel to a new city and discover that there is also a German school with a long-standing tradition.

The Germans in Romania are real bridge builders. And they are not alone in this respect. We are grateful that there is also a strong Romanian community in Germany today. Around one million Romanians live and work in Germany, are well integrated and enrich the friendship between our two nations on a daily basis.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

When I meet here with political decision-makers as German Ambassador, there is basically no conversation in which another central pillar of our bilateral relations is not acknowledged: the economy. The figures are indeed impressive: Germany is by far Romania's largest trading partner. The bilateral trade volume is heading for new records year after year - in 2023, it even exceeded 40 billion Euros for the first time. Germany is also the largest foreign investor in Romania. More than 10,000 German companies have created over 250,000 jobs in the country. Be it automotive suppliers or supermarket chains, large German corporations or numerous SMEs - Romania is a real success story as a business location for practically all of them. It is therefore not surprising that hardly a week goes by without an existing plant being expanded somewhere or the foundation stone for a new investment being laid. These investments are characterized by the fact that they are long-term and mutually beneficial: investments are also made in know-how transfer, local added value and training. And the potential for writing further chapters in this joint economic success story is huge: German companies already benefit from the great IT and innovation expertise of many Romanian workers.

The energy and defense sectors - to name just two further examples - will also be the subject of a deeper economic partnership in the future. To me, there can be no doubt: German-Romanian economic relations are a treasure that will continue to shine in the future.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let's move on to the third important area of our cooperation: politics. Our two countries have long been EU partners and NATO allies. However, the brutal Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has made us realize even clearer how important this partnership is for our common security in Europe. We are grateful to have Romania at our side as a close friend in these difficult times. Our cooperation includes, for example, the joint security of our transatlantic alliance area, support for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova and, of course, close coordination on European policy issues such as EU enlargement and institutional reforms.

In doing so, we realize time and again that we can rely on Romania and that we share common values. And we appreciate the fact that Romania - like Germany - always works towards common solutions in a compromise-orientated manner and never abuses its veto options. The European spirit that Romania exemplifies is a model for other EU states. All the more reason why the people in this country deserve Schengen membership to be fully achieved as soon as possible and controls at land borders to be abolished.

Your Majesty, Your Royal Highnesses,

The fact that with today's event you are honoring not only Romania's establishment of diplomatic relations with Germany, but also with France, is a very important and extremely fitting signal. Franco-German reconciliation after the Second World War is the foundation of European unification and thus also of the close partnership that links our two countries with Romania. Allow me, here in this special place, to point out that Romania's membership of the EU and NATO is also due to the determined efforts of the Romanian royal family, in particular Mihai I. The fact that our three countries, Germany, France and Romania, can today live and work together in a united Europe is and remains a great fortune for us.

Your Majesty, Your Royal Highnesses, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to thank you once again wholeheartedly for the opportunity to celebrate our bilateral relations here and together with all of you.

Let us continue to develop these relations in deep friendship.

Thank you very much for your attention.