CIAO DATE: 11/02

Austria's Role in an Enlarged European Union

Ambassador Owada,

Excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

European unity has come a long way. As early as 1946 - under teh impression of the cataclysm of World War II - statesmen like Winston Churchill dreamed of a better Europe. "We must build a kind of United States of Europe", Churchill said."

Half a century later, we do not have a United States of Europe, but a highly integrated European Union, which is an important political and economic factor in the world, with (supranational) strong institutions, its own currency and a Common Foreign and Security as well as a European Common Security and Defence Policy. the ultimate objective of ever closer integration among member states is no longer a distant dream.

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