Managing Director Finance, Rösler Oberflächentechnik GmbH (Rösler Group)
Oliver Grün beim Pulse of Europe Aachen
Rede zu Europa von Oliver Grün bei Pulse of Europe Aachen am 26. März 2017 am Aachener Katschhof.
Transcript (2 segments)
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Moderator0:00
Dear friends of Europe, first of all, a heartfelt thank you. It is a special pleasure for me to have a colleague here live. We have such a great thing, the prize also gets things going here. An extra round of applause for the millions, his family, for every Sunday the outstanding ones, who wanted to set a movement in motion with Frieda, with lips, with wild KFD and Co. They succeeded quite well. Now they have set something in motion that they probably did not want to set in motion, but which is much more powerful and greater than this. And we give the silent majority, I no longer remain silent, no joy. People tell me, I think I feel that especially in Europe, and I can agree with that beforehand. I have never been to a demonstration. My mother had that earlier, I even forbade her to go, but there is also something for something very or quite great.
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Oliver Grün1:25
I feel as a European through and through. I live as a German in Belgium, I work in Aachen as president of the European Mittelstand, but I am also very much traveling in Europe and have the good fortune to get to know the European Commission from the inside, which we all insulted for many years. There, 28 nations that have warred for centuries sit at round or oval tables, as you know from television. And when you talk to them, they always say, on topic, America, it is a miracle that in principle this time and this place, Europe, where we bring together over half a billion people, is simply a miracle. There are still about 40 armed conflicts every year that claim hundreds of thousands of lives. Dear friends, if the EU fails and the nationalists win, we will go back to war. Maybe not immediately, maybe in 20 or 30 years. Maybe I was lucky because I am older and lived in a golden age without wars. But what about our children? I have three children, my little daughter Julia, when she heard about this, she said, 'I don't have a signature.' We must stand up for the children. The second reason to fight is our prosperity. We are still 8% of the world population in Europe, but we generate 25% of the world's GDP and over 40% of social spending. We can only master the digital revolution and all changes together. We can only play a role on the world stage together. The idea that individual states can go it alone is complete nonsense for me as an entrepreneur. I want to prevent that for my children. What do we have? Worldwide studies show that the happiest people live in Europe, the most livable cities are in Europe, the best healthcare system is in Europe, most Olympic champions come from Europe, most patents come from Europe. Dear friends, let's give ourselves more self-confidence. I believe that doing something in Europe has to do with friends, freedom, peace, and co-creation. Let's take our future into our own hands. Let's show the world that Europeans see the way forward. 50 years. For Oliver, feel.