Special Report November 5, 2009, 10:07AM EST

Fall of the Berlin Wall: A Victory for Europe

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My cousin moved with her family to Weimar—which had been in East Germany—while my best friend's husband came from the East to work in her hometown. These previously unbelievable changes turned into normal occurrences. My work brought me frequently from Paris to Brussels, where uncertainty about the scope of change, its costs and benefits to Europe as a whole, eventually morphed into a coherent policy approach.

With time (and amazingly quickly), European integration of the Eastern countries became thinkable. Doing so offered tremendous potential for political, social, and economic evolution—not to mention for peace and prosperity. Twenty years after its symbolic beginning, this integration is now accomplished. And it has become a valuable means of avoiding harmful protectionism and exclusion.

Trade Boost

For business, far-reaching changes in the global economic environment kicked off at that time: The transition to market-based economies in most Central and Eastern European countries created significant opportunities for markets, resources, supplies, and manufacturing. We saw a huge increase in cross-border trade and foreign direct investment, including in services.

Almost simultaneously, the emergence of the digital revolution brought with it a decrease in international transaction costs and led to offshore service advantages. Innovations in both developed and developing countries and the emergence of the Asian tigers and the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—increased the speed of product life cycles and market opportunities, with accelerating globalization taking hold of our economies. Companies turned to cross-border mergers and acquisitions in an effort to improve their global competitiveness, boosting multinational activity in locations until then untouched by market capitalism.

From an EU business standpoint, the fall of the Berlin Wall brought a revolution of a unique kind. German reunification expanded the common market in size and population; now, thanks to EU enlargements in 2004 and 2007, the market encompasses 500 million people, with yet more set to join in future years. Indeed, it could be argued that the fall of the Berlin Wall set in motion steps that have solidified Europe's position in international affairs.

Victory over Totalitarianism

I now live permanently in France and teach European integration and international business at the campuses of CERAM Business School, its partner universities, and companies around the world. Outside of Europe, I am always amazed by the awareness students and managers have when it comes to the significance of our democratic European integration and how it has developed since November 1989. We have, in many parts of the world, become an example.

Inside the EU, I always remind my students that the 27 member states work together because they share many values, features, and objectives. Stable institutions, guaranteed democracy, rule of law, human rights, minority protection, and a functioning market economy: All of these membership obligations for members are essential for peace and prosperity. The fall of the Wall was a trigger for the efficiency and credibility of Europe in the globalized world—and a glorious victory over totalitarianism.

Suder is Professor of European and International Business at CERAM Business School.