Overview
- Speaking at Germany’s central Volkstrauertag ceremony in Berlin, Mattarella urged reinforcing multilateral structures to help prevent new wars.
- He argued that multilateralism is not bureaucratic obstruction but a practical instrument that cools conflicts and enables peaceful solutions.
- He highlighted European integration’s achievements, saying the EU built a rare space of peace, freedom, prosperity and respect for human rights.
- He warned against letting the European dream be torn apart by forces seeking to revive the suffering of previous eras.
- German leaders—including President Frank‑Walter Steinmeier, Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Constitutional Court President Stephan Harbarth—attended, underscoring the ceremony’s symbolic weight.