In this speech, which will be delivered in English, Prof. Dr. and Ambassador (ret.) Joachim Bitterlich addresses the leadership of Germany's then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl in supporting European enlargement and cooperation.
Prof. Dr. and Ambassador (ret.) Bitterlich has held numerous high-level posts as policy advisor over the course of his career. He was a policy adviser to the Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Office, first as Head of the European Policy Department, then as Director General of Foreign Policy, Economic Cooperation and External Security and European, Foreign and Security Policy Adviser to the Chancellor.
He also served as diplomat, appointed as Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the North Atlantic Council in Brussels and subsequently Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain and to the Principality of Andorra.
This keynote lecture is included in the programme of the event Helmut Kohl und der erweiterte Mittelmeerraum, organised by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation and hosted by the Historical Archives of the European Union at the European University Institute on 18-19 September 2023.
Image: Helmut Kohl, in the centre, in front of the Berlaymont building, Brussels. Source: EC AV Portal, ID: P-034842/00-09 ©European Communities, 1985