Leeds for Europe furthers friendships with twin city of Dortmund

It was organised independently of Leeds City Council - by ordinary Yorkshire folk - and so the warm welcome we got from both Dortmund dignitaries and regular Germans was flattering and reassuring.

Don’t let anyone kid you into thinking Europe has lost interest in Britain or that it wants anything but the closest, friendliest possible relations with us today; there’ll be nothing but delight when we rejoin the European Union.

On Saturday morning, at Dortmund City Hall, we were officially welcomed by Deputy Mayor Barbara Brunsing. We presented her with a personal letter from the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Al Garthwaite, and a fantastic book about the architecture of Leeds from Leeds City Council.

Barbara Brunsing told us: “Your commitment to a united Europe is inspiring and shows that our shared vision of peace, freedom and co-operation is still alive.”

In the afternoon, it was the offices of the Auslandsgesellschaft, which houses groups that deal with other countries such as the Deutsch – Britische Gesselleschaft, to meet their members, as well as those of Europa-Union and the Europe Direct project. It included an address by SPD MEP candidate Tobias Cremer. He spoke very warmly about the UK and his hope that we would rejoin the EU; it was important for the UK to rejoin the EU to ensure Europe’s solidarity in the face of Russian aggression and a possible Trump second term in the USA.

An informal discussion followed. One participant with family in Britain said: “My family told me that the UK wanted to leave because people did not want to be ruled by Brussels. We Germans also do not want to be ruled by Brussels …and we are not”.

Sunday was the focal point for our visit - a street stall at the “Dortbunt Festival”. We were situated amongst the stalls of the Auslandsgesellschaft, Europa-Direct, Europe Direct, and the Young European Federalists. Anyone familiar with our regular stalls in Briggate and Lands Lane, in Leeds city centre, will know about the “Brexitometer” - an informal polling ‘ice-breaker’ pinned to a flip chart.

We took a German language version of the Brexitometer to Dortmund. The questions asked:

• Was Brexit a good idea?
• Is membership of the EU good for Germany?
• Was Brexit bad for the EU?
• Has Britain’s reputation suffered because of Brexit?
• Would you agree to GB rejoining the EU?

We had a tremendous response. The vast majority thought Brexit was bad for the UK and the EU, that the EU was good for Germany, and that Britain’s reputation had suffered because of Brexit. They were overwhelmingly in favour of the UK rejoining the EU …with one caveat. The majority said that if the UK rejoins it should be as a full and active member – no rebates, no exemption from joining the Euro, and the acceptance of Schengen. All of which Leeds for Europe is campaigning for.

Dortmund was a follow-up to a similar visit last year to Lille, the French city with which Leeds is also twinned. Helping organise our latest trip was Geoff Tranter, a Leeds Loiner who has lived in Dortmund for a number of years and who is chair of the Deutsch – Britishe Gesselleschaft (German – British Society) in the city.

Geoff will be visiting his home city in June, when our parent body - European Movement UK - is holding a Twinning Conference in Leeds. We’re hoping Leeds city councillors will want to join us for that.