Germany's role in helping to establish a common European course on issues such as the eurozone crisis was a recurring theme for delegates at the Social Democratic Party's national convention in Berlin which got underway Sunday.

The party's parliamentary leader, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that Europe needed to show more unity if it was going to be taken seriously on the world stage.

With countries like the United States 'turning their backs on Europe,' a common course for European countries was more important than ever.

"Twenty-seven individual opinions will be lost among world-wide noise in the years to come," Steinmeier said on Sunday.

Schmidt urges caution

At the start of the convention, former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt delivered an in-depth and poignant speech warning against Germany isolating itself too much in the current crisis facing the eurozone.

Steinmeier said Europe needed to show more unity

Due to the Germany's geo-political location, the country's troubled past, and its high achievement potential, Schmidt said Germany should be extra sensitive in negotiations with neighboring countries and European partners.

Inconsistencies in German politics are also a source of discomfort, as trust in Germany's reliability declines and worries of dominance grow. However, in contrast to the past, when military and political dominance in Germany was a concern in Europe, it is now Germany's economic strength that makes other countries nervous, according to Schmidt.

Schmidt called on members of the European Parliament to make their voices heard, as the 'insufficient' controls on banks and markets are an issue best suited for the European Parliament.

United against right-wing extremism

The 480 delegates at the SPD convention concluded the day with a resolution against right-wing extremism, apologizing to the foreign victims of the right-wing terror cell, National Socialist Underground.

The group was recently connected to a string of unsolved murders over the last ten years that targeted foreigners.

"We're ashamed of the grave mistakes that were made in the course of this investigation," read a statement from the party. The SPD also increased its backing for a ban on the right-wing political party, the National Democratic Party.

Author: Bettina Marx / mz

Editor: Andreas Illmer