Berlin Wall: 20 years on

The 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall was commemorated last Monday by 29 European leaders as well as by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and former Solidarity union leader and ex-Polish President Lech Walesa.

The collapse of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, led to the end of the division of Germany and Europe, and of the Cold War. Communism in Europe was largely relegated to the dustbin of history, the Soviet Union disintegrated into 15 independent republics and most East European countries embraced the free market and democracy, and joined the EU and Nato.

Whatever problems the international community is facing today - such as global terrorism, climate change, a resurgent Russia and the economic crisis - the world is a far better place than it was before the wall came down. The end of the Cold War and the demise of communism in Europe led to more international cooperation and a better world.

A number of individuals deserve special credit for making the fall of the Berlin Wall possible. Pope John Paul II, US President Ronald Reagan, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Mr Walesa and Mr Gorbachev all played an important part in ending the Cold War. Recognition must also go to the reformers, civil rights campaigners and dissidents in Eastern Europe, as well as Nato's resolve in standing up to the Soviet Union.

Credit is also due to Mr Gorbachev, US President George H. Bush and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl for the way the unification of Germany, the end of communism in Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union were managed.

Thankfully, there was no nuclear war, the Soviet army did not intervene and, with the exception of Yugoslavia and, to a certain extent, Georgia, no civil wars took place. This is, in fact, nothing short of remarkable. The Cold War was won without a single shot being fired.

Of course, there remain many challenges today in the former Communist countries of Europe. The living standards of both East Germans and East Europeans are lower than their counterparts in the West, but nobody can deny that EU enlargement has been a huge success which has brought massive benefits, both political and economic, to these citizens.

Corruption and organised crime remain a problem in some of these countries but, hopefully, with increased pressure and help from the EU as well as genuine political will, these will be tackled. The EU also has a very important task in bringing about stability and economic development in the former Communist European states that are not members of the bloc, such as some of the former Yugoslav republics (Slovenia is already an EU member), and Albania.

The 15 former Soviet republics have all fared differently since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are obviously the greatest success stories and are members of both the EU and Nato. The central Asian republics have had mixed economic results but have made little progress on the political front.

Belarus and Moldova have a long way to go in terms of market reform and political progress, while challenges remain in Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Twenty years after the Berlin Wall's collapse, Russia is certainly not a fully-functioning democracy; it has not, really, wholly come to terms with its communist past, and its foreign policy sometimes harps back to Soviet days.

However, despite the fact that it went through a very bad patch in the 1990s due to its 'shock therapy' economy policies, it has witnessed impressive economic growth over the past few years as well as economic stability. It also has to be pointed out that Russia is more engaged with the international community than it was during the Soviet era.

A strong relationship between Russia and the West is in everyone's interest and one hopes that both Europe and the US will continue in their efforts to forge a strategic partnership with Moscow, and that Russia will reciprocate.

It is also important that engaging with Russia includes exerting diplomatic pressure to bring about much-needed political reforms.

What about other non-European Communist systems that remain in place? In China and Cuba, the Communist Party has retained its grip on power. While China has introduced huge economic reforms, Cuba has not yet gone down that route.

Unlike communism in Europe, however, these two countries underwent genuine revolutions, which mean their respective communist parties have a degree of popular support and legitimacy. However, I still believe that economic and political liberty are linked, so change will come.

As for North Korea, this is a special case and one which has to be dealt with very carefully, considering it is run by an erratic dictator who possesses nuclear weapons. North Korea is so isolated and its regime so totalitarian that it is difficult to envisage any popular uprisings taking place, but then who would have imagined the beautiful scenes we witnessed 20 years ago when those brave Germans began to dismantle the Berlin Wall?