Visite au Club de Hambourg-Steintor du 14 au 16 novembre :

Dîner sur le voilier « Rickmer Rickmers » :

Nos amis allemands nous ont accueillis sur un voilier pour un dîner fort sympathique et, comme l’a fait remarquer le président Michael Göring, avec une promenade en mer assez peu mouvementée.

Im Rahmen des von Hamburg Steintor gegebenen Dinners dankte Antoine Battistelli deren Clubmitgliedern dafür, dass sie im letzten Jahr so zahlreich an unserer 50-Jahrfeier teilgenommen haben und insbesondere für die Einladung zu diesem Wochenende. Beides stärkt die langjährige Freundschaft zwischen den beiden Clubs. Nachdem er die wichtigsten aktuellen Aktionen von Paris Ouest vorgestellt hat, erinnert Antoine daran, dass unsere deutschen Freunde bei einem Paris-Besuch immer zu unseren Treffen am Donnerstag Mittag willkommen sind. Unser Club bietet weiterhin im nächsten Jahr an, an der Normandie-Rallye am 16. und 17. Mai teil zu nehmen. Es wäre für uns eine große Freude, einige Hamburger Freunde dazu begrüßen zu dürfen.

Discussion at the ZEIT-Stiftung on ”France and Germany, the two driving forces of the EU, after the election in the US”:

·        The first speaker was Dr. Theo Sommer, Editor-at-Large, DIE ZEIT:

Dr. Sommer sees three recent periods in the world, the first one with the rise of Europe, the second one with the rise of the US, and the third with the decrease of the US supremacy and the rise of Asia, the economic crisis accelerating the change.

The American capacity to reshape the world and the neo-conservatism have failed with Iraq; it is an opportunity for US and Europe to work together on domains like the cooperation against terrorism, the determination of a next Bretton Woods, new rules and regulations against excess of capitalism.

A major element for the next years is the demography, when we shall have 500m American, 500m European against 8bn other people.

Europe should be able to say something to Obama, but Europe is not an “interlocuteur valable” today’s, since Europe is in crisis. Europe should not be only a bureaucratic monster. Europe is in crisis since the two referendum in France and Nederland with national referendum for a European question; Europe took the lead in the financial crisis, but it was not Europe, but the most powerful countries of Europe.

Relations France/Germany have been leading Europe for 50 years, but the Europe game is more complex with the presence of the UK end ex-communist countries. France/ Germany represent 30% of the European population and 50% of the PIB; it is obvious that the mood between Sarkozy and Merkel could be improved, since Merkel does not approve the “cavalier seul” method of superSarko. There is still the difference between the French “étatisme” and the German liberalism.

The new order is not already defined.

·        Mr. Jean Tutin, Consul General of France at Hamburg:

There is too much hope in Obama because of the negative image of the Bush administration. Obama and Sarkozy are both outsiders: Obama was educated in Honolulu, which can be compared for an American to La Réunion for a French; Merkel is coming from East-Germany.

In the US, the last democrat President was successful in economy. The present crisis is a financial crisis but not a monetary crisis, compared to the fist Bretton Woods.

In Europe, the problem for the treaty of Lisbon is not Ireland, but UK and Poland.

It is important to deal with the Russians, and here, French and Germans have to work together. France and Germany are working very closely for the terrorism. France is coming back in NATO, but it can raise some small conflicts for sharing responsibilities between Germans and French.

The French economy is weaker than the German one and the relations with UK and US make the French image rather complicated for the Germans.

·        Mrs. Karen E. Johnson, Consul General of the United States at Hamburg, and member of the Hamburg-Steintor Rotary Club:

There are too many hopes in the basket of Obama, but he vote for a change in direction is very clear and, it shows the strength of the American democracy. America has to continue the role of the super-power because there is no alternative, but Europe has to participate more.

Peace does not exist in Afghanistan and, we are in the same team; the goal is to work together; US want to have a partnership with Russia.

·        Questions and answers:

o    National issues have been predominant in the referendum over Europe.

o    In Afghanistan, we should be clear what is our aim, since to peace the country we would need to send 400,000 soldiers during 25 years.

o    Mr. Tutin is not optimist with the capacity of finding solutions on short term for the European constitution.

o    Obama wants to improve the collaboration with UN; UN is a good concept but the way it is operated is not always optimal.

o    The Security Council vote has been given to countries with nuclear weapons; its composition should be discussed at the level of Europe to have a more co-ordinated attitude.

Visite du port de Hambourg :

Visite du port de Hambourg qui est le premier port de commerce d’Allemag

ne et le troisième d’Europe après Rotterdam et Anvers.

Visite de l’exposition “Sturz” sur le maniérisme en Europe:

L’exposition réunissait une centaine de tableaux sur le maniérisme en Europe.

Invitation à dîner au domicile de nos amis allemands :

Nous avons tous été invités au domicile de nos amis allemands qui nous ont à la fois traités avec beaucoup de gentillesse et beaucoup de soins.

Visite du musée Hamburger Kunsthalle :

Le musée a été ouvert au début du 19ème siècle ; il réunit d’importantes collections de tableaux du 15ème siècle à nos jours, avec notamment d’importantes collections d’Art Moderne. Dr. Blankenburg nous précise que le club de Hamburg-Steintor a contribué dans la fondation.

Déjeuner au Hamburg Übersee Club :

Pour terminer le week-end, un déjeuner est organisé au Hamburg Übersee Club : le club qui compte environ 2000 membres a pour objectif de contribuer à l’activité économique en union avec l’action du gouvernement pour promouvoir le commerce international et le développement des liens tissés par la ville de Hambourg avec les marchés mondiaux.

Retour à Paris :

Ceux qui avaient choisi le vol d’Air France de fin de journée pour le retour à Paris ont pleinement profité des joies de l’aéroport de Hambourg avant d’atterrir, à une heure avancée de la nuit, dans une aérogare désaffectée.

Hamburg-Steintor and Paris-Ouest contact-clubs:

Our German friends welcomed us very friendly, with very interesting cultural visits, including discussions on up-to date matters and museums; the program was, of course, very well organized, as German know how to do it. They expressed the will to maintain bilateral relationships between the two clubs, since it is more practical than meetings including the four contact clubs. It has also been agreed that meetings and correspondence should be held in English: perhaps, they noted that all French members are not fluent in German.