Celebrations are taking place this week in Berlin to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. World leaders are gathering today to celebrate one of Europe’s defining moments in democracy which directly led to the 27 member state European Union which exists today.

On a larger scale, the fall of Berlin Wall was symbolic of what was happening all across Eastern and Central Europe where states under soviet influence were breaking away and declaring themselves free.

The reunification of East Germany with West Germany was the first step in the process that eventually led to the signing of the Nice Treaty that paved the way for accession of 10 former Soviet states into the EU.

Without the influence and threat of the Soviet Union, these former Soviet states were free to decide their own future without the Cold War politics of the past four decades. Instead of being influenced by military might and threat, they were influenced by the EU’s founding principles of peace and democracy which led them on the path to EU membership.

The following video says it all...

For EU’s dedicated 20th anniversary page and interactive timeline click the following link. Tearing down the wall. 

You can also view European Commission President Manuel Barroso’s video comment on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall