Parlementsvoorzitter Buzek over Otto von Habsburg: Europese gigant is heengegaan (en)

The President of the European Parliament i, Jerzy Buzek i, made the following statement on the death of Otto von Habsburg, former Member of the European Parliament:

"This morning, a European giant passed away. I mourn the death of Otto von Habsburg: the death of a friend, the death of a former Member of the European parliament i and the death of a champion of European integration.

In the darkest hours of our continent, Otto von Habsburg has been a rock of truth and humanity. He resisted Nazism with the same determination he opposed the Communist regimes of the Eastern block. He kept the flame of hope for the reunification of Europe alive when many others had given up. I will never forget the moment when the Paneuropean Picnic, which Otto von Habsburg organised on 19 August 1989 at the Austro-Hungarian border, cut the first holes in that Iron Curtain of shame.

Otto von Habsburg was amongst the first directly elected Members of the European Parliament in 1979 and he remained one of the most outstanding figures of our House for 20 years. As second president of the International Paneuropean Union, the oldest movement for European unity, he has written one of the greatest chapters in the history of our continent. When Europe is breathing today with both lungs again, it is also thanks to this great man.

Otto von Habsburg was a man of faith and firm values, a man in the service of his neighbour. He was a true heir of the best Europe stands for. We will always remember him. He will always be with us."