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The British stance was completely different
from the French one.
.

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The reunification greatly worried Mrs. Thatcher,

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and at the same time, she was hostile
to a strengthened Europe.

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She also describes this in her memoirs.

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So what stance should she take?
For her, one was just as bad as the other.

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President Mitterrand's stance
was completely different.

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He had the opportunity to consult
with Chancellor Kohl frequently.

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Because during the time they
were both in power,

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they saw each other almost once a month.

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Can you imagine how many
meetings that means?

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And what kind of intellectual closeness
developed as a result?

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President Mitterrand had said so
from the very beginning,

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several months before the events.

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He was one of the first Western statesmen
to make clear statements on the matter.

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The Germans' pursuit of unification is justified,

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and it must be achieved through democratic
and peaceful means.

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In his opinion, the solution lay in the fact

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that France and Germany should
seize the opportunity

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to send a signal for the
strengthening of Europe.

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So it was a positive, creative concern
that brought forth something new.

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And during this period, October, November,
December 1989,

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even before the fall of the Berlin Wall,

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the question of how to organize the
following period

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was central to his activities.

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At this time, a truly historic
conversation took place

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between Mitterrand and Kohl,

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in which Mitterrand said to Kohl:

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"What is happening with Germany is magnificent.

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At the same time, we must continue
to advance European policy."

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And Kohl replied:
"Exactly, that is my policy.

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These are two sides of the same coin."

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These were the Chancellor's words.

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A reunified Germany
in a strengthened Europe.

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Because their views aligned
and because they trusted each other greatly,

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they both decided in Strasbourg
in early to mid-December

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to further advance the development
of the Economic and Monetary Union

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with a common currency, the Euro.

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Only at this point
the decision was truly made.

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Technically, everything had been
prepared for a long time,

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but the real political decision
might never have been made,

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had this dramatic context not
spurred things forward.