Charles III deplored Thursday the return of the “scourge” of war in Europe by referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine during a historic speech to German deputies, stressing however that the allies can “draw courage from their unity” .
The Russian war against Ukraine has caused “so much unimaginable pain to so many innocent people”, declared the British sovereign, the first monarch to speak inside the Bundestag.
It constitutes a “threat” to the security of Europe and “our democratic values”, he added in this speech of about half an hour, held mainly in German and which ended with a standing ovation.
The king praised in particular the deliveries of heavy weapons to Ukraine by Germany, a country deeply pacifist since the horrors of Nazism and which has long hesitated to take this step.
This speech was one of the highlights of Charles III’s three-day visit, accompanied by Queen Consort Camilla on his first trip abroad as King.
His arrival is placed under the sign of the bonds of friendship between the two countries and constitutes an important European gesture after the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
In the wake of his speech in the Bundestag, he went to the old Tegel airport, in the west of the capital, to meet Ukrainian refugees who are temporarily housed there.
A gesture interpreted by public television ARD as “a signal to London”. Germany has taken in more than a million Ukrainian refugees, compared to around 160,000 for the United Kingdom.
Earlier, he spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The royal couple also took the time to enjoy a walkabout in a Berlin market with its many organic food stalls.
They shook many hands again, handing out “wie geht’s?” or “how are you?” around (how are you?), cheerfully exchanging a few words with traders or the public, stopping to buy honey or cheese.
The king also moved to an “ecovillage” in Brodowin, some 60 km from Berlin.
Dressed in a white coat, he helped make cheeses that will bear a royal seal in his honour, before tasting a cake in the shape of a royal crown filled with buttercream and raspberry.
The stay largely focuses on the theme of ecology, which Charles, 74, has championed across the Channel for years.
– New Chapter
This is not the first time that Charles has found himself at the pulpit of the German lower house.
He had already spoken there in November 2020, in front of a sparse audience due to the distancing measures linked to the Covid pandemic. But at the time, he was still only crown prince.
He had addressed German lawmakers on Remembrance Day, in a highly symbolic gesture marking the post-war reconciliation between the two countries.
His intervention Thursday in parliament was not unanimous. “I find it absurd to let a king speak in the Bundestag”, criticized the vice-president of the small opposition party of the radical left Die Linke, Ates Gürpinar.
On Wednesday, Charles and Camilla were greeted at the Brandenburg Gate by hundreds of Germans.
The famous Unter den Linden avenue was adorned with the British flag, surrounded by German and European flags.
German head of state Frank-Walter Steinmeier hailed the visit of the British sovereign as an “important sign of the German-British relationship”, saying that the two countries were opening “a new chapter”.
He recalled that this visit came six years after the date on which the United Kingdom had started its process of leaving the European Union.
On Friday, the last day of his trip, Charles III will travel to the port city of Hamburg. There he will visit a renewable energy project and pay tribute to the German victims of Allied bombing in 1943.
30/03/2023 17:46:17 — Berlin (AFP) © 2023 AFP
