When Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel received an annual Charlemagne Prize on Thursday last Week for helping unite Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy was on hand to sing her praises. He said that they make a "harmonious couple". In response, Merkel, who last year held the European Union's six-month presidency, thanked Sarkozy for standing by Europe. She wished him well for the French EU presidency starting in July, saying: "Germany will support France's work for the well-being of Europe." On accepting the prize, she insisted "Europe was and will be our common destiny".
The annual EU award, in the historic town hall of the western German city of Aachen, honoured Merkel for mediating a solution to the political crisis in the EU last year that led to EU reform. Among those on the guest list Thursday were Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and King Juan Carlos of Spain.
The European leadership prize, awarded since 1950 in Aachen, a German city near the Belgian and French border, is named after the Emperor Charlemagne (768-814) who united a vast region of Europe from France to northern Germany. Previous winners include Winston Churchill, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II.
(Source: Spiegel Online, Agence France Presse, Trend News Agency)
Erna Blumhardt
