Gaude Mater Polonia - Rejoice, Oh Mother Poland.

This hymn in praise of Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów dates from 1253.

Over the course of centuries, it became the anthem of the Kingdom of Poland and was sung at coronations and after victorious battles.

This hymn has been handed down from a medieval fragment. Stolen by the Nazis from the library of Płock Seminary during the Second World War, we are now returning this manuscript to its rightful home.

We are also returning pioneering model railways, which were stolen from the Ministry of Transport in Warsaw in 1940.

And, along with these models, we are giving back a ring that belonged to King Sigismund I the Old. Under his rule, a Polish-Lithuanian army defeated troops from the Grand Duchy of Moscow in the Battle of Orsha, in what is now Belarus, in 1514. At least at first glance, it seems that some things only change slowly.

In a spirit of friendship, let me sum it up as follows: while we Germans were still putting the final touches on the recipe for our purity law for German beer, people in Poland were already thinking in terms of independence and freedom and defending themselves in eastern Europe.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let us be frank.

All too often, German perceptions of Poland are superficial and sometimes also ill-informed. Unfortunately, this too forms part of our relationship. That needs to change, and I firmly believe that it is changing.

The memorial to the Polish victims of war and German occupation between 1939 and 1945 to be erected in central Berlin on the site of the former Kroll Opera House will also help to bring about change. The design competition has already begun and will conclude this December when the jury convenes here at the Federal Foreign Office.

In addition to the suffering that Germans caused Poles in the past, these incomplete perceptions can sometimes make our relations appear less warm than they actually are.

However, when I look at this hall today, where it is standing room only, then I do not see a lack of warmth - on the contrary, I see a vibrant friendship. It is no coincidence that the German-Polish Forum is our largest bilateral forum with a partner country.

The German-Polish Treaty on Good Neighbourliness was signed on this day 35 years ago and marked a genuine turning point in our relations. Thanks to this Treaty, we have important organisations such as the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation, which organised today's event, and the German-Polish Youth Office, whose 35th anniversary we are also celebrating today. Since its foundation, the German-Polish Youth Office has made it possible for over three million young people to meet. It is wonderful that the German-Polish Friendship Rail Pass will be available this year - it will enable 60,000 young people to travel throughout their neighbouring country.

Furthermore, we will open a Goethe-Institut office in Lublin in November, the third such office in Poland. This will take place at a time when we unfortunately have to close Goethe-Institut branches in other locations, so it sends a special message.

German-Polish relations have become a well-established friendship, and as a Member of the German Bundestag, allow me to say to my fellow members here with us today that there could be even closer contact between our parliamentarians. I ask both sides to work on this.

The late Polish Foreign Minister Władysław Bartoszewski described the "ordinariness and normality" between Germans and Poles - the ordinary day-to-day encounters between people on both sides of the border - as something that he particularly valued.

We see precisely this ordinariness in the structures that have developed between Polish voivodeships and German Länder since 1991, for example in the Oder Partnership, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The town twinning and projects between Germany and Poland deserve particular recognition. And as a little teaser for the German-Polish Prize, which we will shortly award, I can already tell you that a very special project will be honoured with the prize today.

This also involves something of a very practical nature, that is, being able to board a train and travel to the other country. And we have already achieved quite a lot in this regard. Since the start of this year, 17 pairs of trains run between Berlin and Warsaw every day - previously, there were only 11.

However, ladies and gentlemen, in my opinion, this can only be the start. Berlin and Warsaw are 570 kilometres apart. The train journey takes five hours.

That must become faster! We need a real high-speed rail line between our capitals, one that does not end in Berlin, but continues as far as Paris. It is a good first step that our Ministries of Transport are meeting in early July to see what impact a faster train connection would have on passenger numbers. My views on this are clear. We need this high-speed line as an important link between Germany and Poland.

However, railway lines and points are also important for another reason.

In a crisis situation, the same tracks that we use to visit one another would also be used to transport battle tanks.

Germany and Poland are NATO's logistical hubs. In a case of collective defence, hundreds of thousands of NATO soldiers would travel east through our countries - including to Poland, but also to the Baltic States.

Together, Germany and Poland form the backbone of European defence and NATO deterrence against the threat posed by Russia.

This means that those who invest in German-Polish railway lines are also investing in friendship and defence.

That is why it is good and important that we have signed a new German-Polish Agreement on Defence Cooperation. It reiterates our mutual assistance in accordance with Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty and Article 42 (7) of the Treaty on European Union. This Agreement offers the potential to finally make our defence-industry cooperation as strong as it should be between close neighbours and NATO partners. And it brings us closer together in joint exercises, particularly in the Baltic Sea region.

In this regard, one thing is absolutely clear. Europe's security can only be decided jointly by the states of Europe. I have endeavoured to ensure this by reviving the Weimar Triangle, via the Weimar Plus format and via the E5 format that I suggested in Munich.

But let's be honest. We are often too slow and too sluggish at European level. The principle of unanimity is one reason for this. This can cause us existential danger when it comes to matters of war and peace.

Radek, you yourself said in the Sejm in February that losing an EU vote does not mean losing one's sovereignty. You said that Poland has the strength to augment and reform the European Union. Naturally, I would like to express my complete agreement with you and to thank you for these comments.

In my view, this means that we need majority voting in foreign policy. And we also need to make headway with smaller groups of EU member states where the 27 countries are not able or willing to do so together. Moreover, we must make progress on enlargement.

This is not only a question of European credibility, but also of our very own security.

The strong Europe we need begins here between our two countries, between our two capitals.

Thank you very much. Dziękuję.. Dziękuję.