Ursula von der Leyen awarded Charlemagne Prize for promoting European unity

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has won this year's Charlemagne Prize, nan continent's apical grant for those promoting European values.

At nan grant ceremonial successful Aachen connected Tuesday, nan EU executive main outlined nan priorities for Europe complete nan upcoming years, emphasising nan value of securing bid done defence, advancing nan EU’s enlargement, and safeguarding populist while reinforcing Europe’s resilience.

“Dear friends, an independent Europe. I cognize that for immoderate this is an uncomfortable connection to hear. But astatine its core, this is astir our freedom," von der Leyen said successful her acceptance speech.

"As nan group of cardinal and eastbound Europe person agelong known, individual liberty is imaginable only erstwhile location is corporate independence,” she added.

Shared work to uphold and protect European values

Several heads of authorities and erstwhile laureates participated successful nan ceremony, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Spain's King Felipe VI, Prime Minister of Malta Robert Abela and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Among elected politicians successful attendance, only Merz took nan level during nan ceremony.

Speaking astir nan astir pressing geopolitical issues facing nan European continent, Merz stated that Germany is "ready and prepared to do its part," successful adjacent coordination pinch different European countries, to reside nan challenges ahead.

"We are fresh and prepared to do our portion successful supporting Ukraine, moving intimately pinch our European neighbours," Merz said.

"We will proceed supporting Ukraine pinch everything we have, militarily, politically, and economically. Just yesterday, President Zelenskyy and I reinforced this committedness successful Berlin," he added.

He further emphasised that Europe was founded to service its group and that his generation, nan first to turn up successful a Europe of freedom, peace, and prosperity, inherited this bequest from nan founding fathers, underscoring a shared work to uphold and protect these values for nan future.

'Celebration of governmental survival'

Meanwhile, immoderate analysts person felt that location were amended candidates for nan grant than nan European Commission chief, fixed her domiciled successful nan 27-member bloc's institutions.

“If nan constituent of nan Charlemagne Prize is to recognise innovative reasoning and action astatine unprecedented geopolitical times for nan continent, it should reward imaginative and courageous individuals, not organization figures specified arsenic von der Leyen,” Alberto Alemanno, EU rule professor astatine HEC Paris, told Euronews.

“From this perspective, nan conferral of nan prize to von der Leyen appears much a ceremony of her governmental endurance ... than a nickname of a publication to EU integration,” he added.

The International Charlemagne Prize has been awarded since 1950 to individuals aliases institutions for their services to Europe and nan continent's unity.

In caller years, nan prize has been awarded to high-level politicians, activists and communities, including nan erstwhile Chief Rabbi of Moscow and president of nan Conference of European Rabbis Pinchas Goldschmidt and nan Jewish communities successful Europe, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and nan Ukrainian people, Belarusian guidance leaders Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Maria Kalesnikava and Veronika Tsepkalo, and nan erstwhile president of Romania Klaus Iohannis.