The President-in-Office of the European Council has been charged by the Council to express, on its behalf, its support for and thanks to the Pope, not least in view of the important role played by his efforts to uphold civil rights, which the Council believes directly contributed to the collapse of the regime in the Soviet Union and certainly contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Le Conseil a chargé son président en exercice de faire part de son soutien et de ses remerciements au pape, notamment parce que ses efforts ont joué un rôle important pour soutenir les droits civils et ont, selon le Conseil, directement contribué à faire tomber le régime soviétique et certainement à la chute du mur de Berlin.