The first Gymnich meeting was held at the request of the then German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Walter Scheel on the weekend of 20 April 1974. Faced with the oil crisis, the Vietnam War and the Watergate Affair, the European ministers of foreign affairs were "so concerned that they came together for an informal, urgent meeting at a German palace called Schloss Gymnich," explained Chris Patten, who went on to become Commissioner for External Relations.
Photo: Bundesregierung/Wienke
