By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
A more democratic and transparent European Union (EU) is to come with a new treaty, German Ambassador to Korea Norbert Baas said.
The 27 EU leaders reached an agreement on June 23, 2007, which replaced a European Constitution that failed to get approval from voters living in France and the Netherlands in 2005.
Germany has led the largest economic bloc in the world since January 2007 as EU president and its six-month tenure ends Saturday. Portugal is to take over the EU presidency until the end of this year.
There is no question that the agreed reform treaty is one of the most impressive accomplishments of the German leadership.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has prepared the roadmap and is at center stage of pulling the agreement together. Portugal will put the finishing touches on the hard-won agreement by the end of this year.
``It was particularly tough to reach an agreement in the last round of negotiations, but the member countries helped the German leader move on,'' Baas said in an interview Wednesday.
Asked what the secret was, the ambassador singled out the German leaders' coordination skills and deep understanding of the member countries as two core factors in reaching a consensus.
``Some countries expressed worries over the ramifications of the treaty as they had gone through tragic experiences during World War II. However, all member countries showed a constructive attitude toward the treaty, which was critical for the EU leaders to reach an accord,'' he said.
Baas advised Korea to learn from the lessons of the EU in the settlement of historical affairs that were one of the major stumbling blocks in the negotiations.
He said the EU is willing to share its expertise with Korea if the country seeks to establish a Northeast Asian economic community as a way of bringing sustainable peace to Korea.
The EU will be able to share its wisdom in the areas of security and the economy as well, he said.
The diplomat indicated finding joint gains for advanced and developing economies was a key for the EU to take a big step toward the community.
Baas said that Koreans' perception toward Central Europe seems to still remain in the days of the ``Miracle on the Rhine" after World War II.
``People here in Korea tend to describe Germans as punctual, disciplined citizens, which is partly true but that is not all of what Germans are about,'' he said. In fact, they are creative and seek quality of life as one of their core values, he added.
The German ambassador has stressed the need for connecting the young of the two countries through cultural and academic exchange programs since he came to Korea in September 2006.
He said there is much room for the two countries to expand bilateral ties in the fields of technology and design in the future.