German President Steinmeier Opens New German Embassy in Vienna and Calls for “Reinventing Europe”
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier concluded his three-day state visit to Austria. The focus of the visit was the official opening of the new German Embassy building in Vienna, accompanied by an urgent appeal to Europeans to reinvent the continent in the face of emerging geopolitical challenges.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen officially opened the new German Embassy building in Vienna. / Picture: © Österreichische Präsidentschaftskanzlei / Peter Lechner/HBF
Together with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen, Federal President Steinmeier inaugurated the new German Embassy building in Vienna. The opening was hailed as an “act of trust” and a “symbol of our close partnership.” “You build where you feel understood and see a future,” said Steinmeier. Van der Bellen emphasized that the new embassy shows that Austria and Germany “have answers to the questions of our time,” such as how to tackle the climate emergency in the city. He praised the fact that “a 150-year-old tree was not felled but left standing” during the construction of the new building.
The new building in Vienna's 3rd district, Landstraße, houses the bilateral embassy, the Permanent Mission of Germany to the OSCE, and the ambassador's residence. It replaces the Gutbrod building, which was constructed in the 1960s, and is designed to be “cosmopolitan, inviting, and friendly.” Completion was originally scheduled for 2024.
During the state visit, Steinmeier awarded Friedrich Forsthuber, President of the Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his outstanding services in the historical reappraisal of Nazi justice in Austria. Among other things, Forsthuber had a memorial erected at the regional court in memory of the victims of Nazi justice.
Appeal by the presidents: Europe must reinvent itself
Even before the state visit, Van der Bellen and Steinmeier published a joint statement entitled “Reinventing Europe!”. In view of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the fragility of the transatlantic security architecture, Europe finds itself at a “double turning point”.
The two presidents called for “solidarity” for a strong Europe and emphasized the need for a more courageous, proactive foreign policy based on European values, as well as a credible strengthening of Europe's own defense capabilities and deterrence.
The EU must rethink its structures, accelerate internal processes, and focus on the essentials. They warned against the destruction of the EU from within by those who question the fundamental principles of liberal democracy. Steinmeier and Van der Bellen discussed the topic “Europe – United in Diversity” with young people and students at the Hofburg Palace in order to discuss the future of Europe with the younger generation.
Visit to the Brenner Base Tunnel and confidence in Germany
The following day, the presidents visited the construction site of the Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT) in Tyrol, a key infrastructure project aimed at shifting traffic to rail.
Federal President Steinmeier was optimistic about the stalled northern access route in Germany. He said he had heard that the German Bundestag would revisit the issue of financing in the winter and was confident that the access routes from the north would “take into account” the increased train frequency. The northern access route on the German side, particularly through the Bavarian Inn Valley, is considered a critical bottleneck, and its delay is causing concern in Austria.
Federal President Van der Bellen expressed his “fascination” with the enormous structure and emphasized his confidence “that Germany will fulfill its responsibilities concerning the access route.”
Presidential Chancellery of Austria