Andreas Künne has been the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Prague since August 2021. He is a career diplomat who has served in many countries and has also worked on security policy and international order issues. He supports the development of specific projects, including in the border area. He is also learning Czech.
The Federal Republic of Germany is an important partner and neighbour of the Czech Republic. What new possibilities and formats for Czech-German meetings and cooperation can be found nowadays?
We have new governments. They can start to address new issues or deepen the existing ones. It is important for politicians and civil society to speak without restraint about the thorny issues of our history. This leads to understanding and trust. In this context, initiatives such as Meeting Brno, the annual Reconciliation Pilgrimage or the Antikomplex association come to mind. Our past no longer prevents us from shaping our future together within the EU, NATO or the UN. And that is good.
The pandemic has forced us to limit face-to-face contact or even to switch to digital meeting formats fully. Despite all the disadvantages, this also brings new opportunities: this is especially true for contacts between young Czechs and Germans. The Czech-German Youth Exchange Coordination Centre Tandem, for example, was able to increase the number of participants in these exchanges signifi cantly through the online platform DINA international.
Police officers from both countries also cooperate on a daily basis within the Joint Czech-German Police and Customs Cooperation Centre in Petrovice-Schwandorf. This cooperation has contributed signifi cantly to, for example, finding a little girl who went missing in the Czech-Bavarian border area in October. Nevertheless, we still need to improve our cross-border cooperation. While contact between Prague and Berlin is important, direct contact between the individual players on both sides of the border is crucial.
There are major challenges ahead — for example, the muchneeded development of rail links or digital networks.
The pandemic is changing economic priorities and is also a mover of innovation and digitalisation. Scientific collaboration is even more important than before. From your perspective, what new visions determine the shape of international cooperation in this field?
Our automotive industry faces similar challenges. Moreover, both countries should start implementing the Green Deal. We would like to intensify the dialogue on new forms of energy, hydrogen and digital transformation. For several years now, we have been quite successful in linking applied research in our countries. Centres such as RICAIP in Prague — and soon also in Brno — prove this. At the same time, it is important that we also cooperate better in both basic and cutting-edge research.
One of Germany‘s longest borders is with the Czech Republic. However, cross-border cooperation between Germany and its western neighbours is much more intense. What opportunities do you see for strengthening Czech-German cross-border cooperation, for example, to the level of German-Dutch cooperation?
In the past, our common border was often fought over bitterly; the Czech-Bavarian border was part of the Iron Curtain until 1989. The Velvet Revolution and the citizens of the GDR changed that. Thanks to the process of European integration, this past will hopefully never be repeated. Free movement of people, peace, freedom and prosperity are the most important tasks of the European Union. The internal market creates prosperity, jobs and allows EU citizens to choose their place of residence freely. The Schengen Treaty guarantees freedom of movement, cross-border cooperation in the fi ght against organised crime, and the protection of the EU’s external borders.
The municipalities along the border in western Germany work closely together in the fi eld of services of general interest. In particular, this concerns, for example, public transport, emergency services, hospitals and even the planning of joint industrial zones. EU funding programmes are helping us a great deal in this respect, and we are working to implement these things on the Czech-German border as well.
The intermingling of German and Czech culture is at a high level today. However, these relations can still be developed. What are your thoughts on this?
Our countries have many things in common — literature, music and visual arts. Not only Prague but also Brno and other Czech cities have been places of common development of Czech, German and Jewish culture for centuries. Many writers, such as Franz Kafka, Max Brod or Egon Erwin Kisch, wrote in German. I am glad that some Czech writers are writing in German even today; for example, Jaroslav Rudiš, who was recently awarded the Federal Cross of Merit by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Culture is a complex concept. Learning a nation’s language provides the best access to its culture. After the slump that occurred in the 1990s, the number of people learning German is growing again. This is mainly due to the reintroduction of a second compulsory foreign language in Czech primary schools. The German Embassy, the Goethe- Institut, as well as our partners from Austria and Switzerland and, of course, the Czech Ministry of Education are promoting interest in German with the “Sprechtíme” campaign.
It is also important that more and more Germans are learning Czech.
In the field of art, we are also witnessing lively Czech-German relations. The German-language theatre festival, which is held annually in Prague, is very popular. The renowned German orchestras in Bamberg and Essen are led by Czechs. The conductor of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra and one of the conductors of the State Opera are Germans for a change. Until 2023, the German Embassy will cooperate with the State Opera in the “Musica non Grata” music series, which aims to celebrate the remarkable artistic output of Czech and German composers, in most cases of Jewish origin, who were persecuted or murdered by the Nazis.
You have been in the Czech Republic for a relatively short time. What are your priorities?
I want to continue to work on our excellent relations so that they can withstand potential crises.
I intend to support our joint work on the European project and within Europe with all my might, which we will achieve by understanding our neighbour’s position even better. Based on a mutual understanding of our shared history, we must create the preconditions for our industry and our economies to be internationally competitive in ten or twenty ears’ time. I aim to improve cross-border cooperation through specifi c projects. To promote language learning. That includes improving my Czech language… And crucially, to focus on the intended goals and not be distracted by the problems of the moment. We live in the same geographical area, and for the fi rst time in history, we have the opportunity to shape our coexistence in Europe as partners. And we want to seize this opportunity!
Thank you for the interview.
