“Naught’s to be gained, but by those who dare,” declares the Sergeant in a play from the Weimar Classical period, and with these words could almost have been coining a slogan for the European community. France, Germany and Poland are the driving force at the heart of the EU. Foreign Minister Baerbock is therefore welcoming her French and Polish counterparts Stéphane Séjourné and Radosław Sikorski today for a meeting of the Weimar Triangle. Almost 33 years ago, Weimar gave its name to the trilateral dialogue format in which France, Germany and Poland have since regularly consulted.

In Weimar, current foreign and security policy challenges will be on the agenda of Foreign Minister Baerbock and her two colleagues. The Weimar Triangle stands firmly by Ukraine’s side. The talks will also centre on security and defence policy in Europe and joint support for Ukraine. In all areas the focus will be on further developing the EU and strengthening its capability to act.

Weimar – a city bears witness to European history

On 28 August 1991, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland at the time met in Weimar for the first time and launched the format that has since been strengthening Europe’s fundamental interests as a trio.

Even though Weimar is not an international city, the birthplace of the Weimar Triangle is by no means a coincidence. Few places so closely represent the darkest chapters of German history and at the same time the new beginnings on our continent. From Weimar, ideas took shape which would go on to change Europe. It is well known that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller were not the only ones who were active here. With its Bauhaus-Universität, Weimar is a place where new designs were constantly emerging. Also in a political context: in 1919, the National Assembly convened here and drafted Germany’s first democratic constitution – marking the birth of the Weimar Republic.

Twelve years later, Hitler’s NSDAP held its first party conference in Weimar after its formation; subsequently the National Socialists built one of the largest concentration camps on German soil on the city’s doorstep and murdered tens of thousands of people there. Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar became synonymous with National Socialist atrocities. In the GDR, the city became an important location for Soviet armed forces, and ultimately its citizens were part of the Peaceful Revolution.

Standing together for a united Europe

Today, Weimar also stands for the French, German and Polish efforts to overcome rifts and strengthen Europe’s capability to act. Yet the exchange within the Weimar Triangle is so much more than the so vital link between Paris, Berlin and Warsaw. Town twinning partnerships, youth exchanges and joint cultural events forge personal ties and enable people to grow closer together. And that is important. For Europe is facing unprecedented challenges – and, over three decades after it was founded, the Weimar Triangle has a more crucial role to play than ever before.