In this interview excerpt, Willy Claes, Belgian Minister for Economic Affairs from 1973 to 1974, from 1977 to 1982 and from 1988 to 1992 and Foreign Minister from 1992 to 1994, admits that the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 took him by surprise. This historical event, which signalled the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), paved the way for German reunification. Claes also emphasises the importance of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) during this period.