REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE RECEPTION HOSTED BY PAUL HELMINGER, MAYOR OF LUXEMBOURG CITY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE RECEPTION HOSTED BY PAUL HELMINGER, MAYOR OF LUXEMBOURG CITY HOTEL DE VILLE, LUXEMBOURG
Här Buergermeeschter, Dir Excellenzen, léif Gäscht, e schéine gudde Mëtteg
Mayor, Excellencies, distinguished guests, good afternoon.
Thank you for your kind welcome.
This is the first Irish State Visit to Luxembourg in over thirty years, and Martin and I have been very impressed by the warmth of the reception we have been given. Of course we should have known to expect such a greeting from a city which has welcomed so many foreigners over the years. It seems that almost every nation is represented here and it is remarkable to note that over 60% of the residents of Luxembourg City are not of Luxembourgish origins. This is a truly cosmopolitan city and its residents can be proud of the fact that they have helped all these new arrivals to feel at home here, among them more than a few Irish. Wherever the Irish go they manage to make themselves at home, integrating easily with local culture but also bringing a bit of Ireland with them usually in the form of Irish sporting and cultural organisations and the inevitable and inimitable Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations. These are things to share with others of all nationalities and I know the City of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg City Tourist Office play important roles in supporting these convivial and community building efforts which help showcase the great diversity and ingenuity of our large European family.
Luxembourg is an example par excellence of the benefits of international exchange and engagement, from the longstanding tradition of welcoming foreign workers to your steel industry and later the European and financial institutions that are based here to Luxembourg’s iconic position as a founder of today’s European Union. The richness and depth of Luxembourg’s contribution to our European patrimony was brought home to me earlier today at the Chemin de la Corniche from where I gazed down onto the historic old town and across to the modern offices of industrial giants and financial institutions.
Luxembourg’s open-minded, welcoming and diversified environment is very special as is its relaxed welcome. It has a lot to teach us in our continuing efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland and to end the estrangements of years of conflict. We are at last on the road to that lasting peace and relationships which were once very fraught and difficult have today become cordial and collegial, as the peace consolidates and the old culture of conflict fades into history. Our focus today is on a shared future on the island of Ireland and a shared future with our European partners. On 2 October last, the referendum in Ireland on the Lisbon Treaty was carried by an emphatic two to one majority, with a 67.1% Yes vote.
I expect that on my return to Ireland that I will sign the instrument of ratification and once that instrument is deposited in Rome, Ireland will have completed its process of ratification ahead of the European Council meeting to be held in Brussels on 29 October. We know the future will not be plain sailing for any of us for the storms of economic problems have been testing our respective ships of state. Still there is comfort, company and support in sailing in convoy as Ireland and Luxembourg do in the EU - two small states with big voices, probing minds and generous hearts.
Luxembourg has a lot to be proud of, not least of which is this city of world citizens who have made it home and who have been made to feel at home. The welcome is in handshakes and smiles and you can be proud of the warm welcome Martin and I and our delegation have received. I hope that we in Ireland will have the opportunity to repay your hospitality one day. Merci villmols.