Dear friends of Europe,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Coronation Hall of our City Hall and warmly welcome you to the award ceremony of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen 2025 to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
I warmly welcome Your Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain, Your Excellency Commission President von der Leyen, Chancellor Merz, Your Excellencies: Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania, Prime Minister Robert Abela of Malta, Prime Minister Luc Frieden of Luxembourg and the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Mr. Besnik Bislimi,
Prime Minister Keir Starmer from the United Kingdom is unfortunately unable to attend in person due to the serious attack in Liverpool,
Vice-President Verheyen, Commissioner Kubelius, Commissioner Albuquerque, Prime Minister Wüst - together with many members of your cabinet,
including our Deputy Prime Minister Mona Neubaur, and the former Prime Ministers of our country Jürgen Rüttgers and Armin Laschet, dear Federal Minister Wildberger, dear Minister of State Krichbaum,
Distinguished members of the diplomatic corps: We have the pleasure of welcoming Your Excellencies the ambassadors from Cyprus, Romania, Kosovo, Slovenia, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Luxembourg, Great Britain, Belgium, Greece, Malta, Austria and Portugal,
Welcome to the winners of the Charlemagne Prize from previous years:
Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker, Mr. Jean-Claude Trichet, Ms. Dalia Grybauskaité, Mr. Martin Schulz, Ms. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Ms. Veronika Tsepkalo and - on behalf of her sister - Ms. Tatsiana Khomich, Mr. Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt,
Dr. Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, His Excellency Bishop Dieser, Manfred Weber, Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, ladies and gentlemen from the European Parliament, the German Bundestag and the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia,
Ladies and gentlemen of the Aachen City Council, and dear members of the Charlemagne Prize Board of Directors and the Charlemagne Prize Foundation.
I would particularly like to welcome the donor couple Schäfer-Schulz, whose generous support will enable the Charlemagne Prize Foundation to sustainably promote projects in the spirit of the award winners in the future.
Not forgetting the representatives of the media, dear guests from Germany and abroad, dear Aacheners, ladies and gentlemen.
This year'säThe 80th Charlemagne Prize is being awarded in a very special historical context. 80 years after the end of the Second World War, the Society füThe awarding of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen marked the 75th anniversary of the award.äanniversary. Foundedüs endeavors "not only to focus on the unjustifiedöThe biggest problem of theäs agreement, but also to try to find ways to achieve practical solutions.ösolution to this dräThe following question”as it says in its proclamation of 1949. The Charlemagne Prize is theäThe most prestigious and best-known prize, which is awarded toöThe award recognizes individuals who have made a contribution to Europe and the European Union.ähave rendered outstanding services to unification.
That you“Contribution to the eveningändian unification” take such an impressive development wüthe founders couldüThe winners of the Charlemagne Prize could not have foreseen this at the time. After all, they had experienced both world wars, the rise of National Socialism as well as hatred and persecution - and yet they were guided by the deep belief that only the unification of Europe would make it possible to secure democracy and prevent a new military revolution.äescalation can be preventedöcould.
The whole country was still in a state ofüthe negotiationsäShortly after the founding of theüThe foundation of the FRGäuThe political situation was extremely fragile and the role that the war loser Germany should or could take on the political map of the world in the future was not yet finalized.end geklärt. A united Europe or even the idea of a Europeanäish Union was a long way off.
When Aachen was the first major German city to be captured by the Allies in October 1944 and thus liberated, it was still to beüIt took more than half a year for the war to end in the rest of Germany. WäWhile the Nazi regime continued to rule there, Aachen was placed under American military control.ägovernment - and was soon turned into a democratic laboratory, a test area for the development of theüfor the küFuture allied militaryär and occupation policy in liberated West Germany. ThusäOur city was once again fighting for its right to exist in a world that was to be reorganized.
These were people from civil society, people like the Gründerväter, theirfestt was my conviction that this battle was only one forücan be peace, democracy and unity - and in doing so they have alreadyüFive years before its foundingüThe founding of the Federal Republic of Germany made a significant contribution to the emergence of the Federal Republic of Germany as we know it today.
From a visionäand in view of the circumstancesäThe conditions in post-war Germany were quite exceptional.öOver the course of time, the Charlemagne Prize itself has become an internationally recognized institution that has become a symbol of the Charlemagne Festival.ür den europäs idea. Many of the award winnersäand award winnersähave had a significant influence on world events over the past 75 years. Or they do, as our current award winnerästill does.
We can therefore say that the plan of the GründerväThe idea has been fully realized. But the fact that Europe is now perceived throughout the world as a common entity was and is only möpossible, because BüCitizensüand stillüWe want to get involved everywhere on our continent, get involved and take responsibility.ütake over.
Unfortunately, a look at the current global situation makes it all too clear just how important such forces still are. For despite all the joyüith the development towards a united Europe, our life model of freedom, peace and democracy is once again exposed to enormous threats, as it has been so often in history:
When war breaks out in Europeüis carried out when the intake of vesüDespite a successful Europeanäs agreement will become the number one domestic political issue if right-wing extremists gain increased support and völkish slogans hope againäIf our common values are not only called into question by global politics, but also if national interests repeatedly jeopardize the peace project, then we will have to face the consequences.äIf the EU is the threat that it has always been and continues to be, then we should all be vigilant that history does not repeat itself.Wachsam sein müssen gerade wir Deutsche gegenüber allen Bestrebungen, den Antisemitismus wieder aufflammen zu lassen. Eine enge Beziehung zu Israel gehört zur Deutschen Staatsräson. Dennoch dürfen wir nicht schweigen, wenn humanitäre Hilfe verhindert wird.
We mümust work together toüensure that we are and will beüWe must make future generations aware again and again of the importance and value of cohesion in Europe and in the world. That it is worth fighting forüfor theüvalues that have been developed over decades. In doing soöWe can take our cue from the initiators of the Charlemagne Prize by defending their legacy and - like them - we should be courageous to think ahead.
Dear Ursula von der Leyen,
We all know that you are courageous, that you think ahead. You are, as I can see from theüI would like to quote from the Executive Board's statement,“the europeanäish FüManagementöThe European Parliament is the strong voice of Europe in the world, powerfully defending the interests of Europe and its friends at a time of epochal challenges.” And we areüconvinced that you“also the Füare a management force that (...) is capable of managing the existing andüto master future tasks.”
As a präsident of the EuropäFrom day one, when the European Commission was confronted with the greatest challenges facing our Community, you have been aür Europe visionäcourageous and strong in the EuropeanäThe global pandemic has triggered the Green Deal and driven us through a global pandemic.üguided.
Since the beginning of the vöThe Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which violates international lawüThe European Council has ensured that all member states have a united will to defend themselves against Russia and are committed to this.ür with all his strength and conviction every day to this day.
Even though the criminals focused on individual national interestsäfte also made significant gains in last year's European elections, your level-headed and authoritative manner has made it possible for Brüto build bridges that will protect democratic cräfte to büand unite behind them. Your saying“The center hält” However, this is not just a mere observation and aäyour work. It is also to your credit.
The EuropäThe European Union stands forüfor a foundation of values based on freedom, peace and democracy. It stands forüCommitment and reliabilityässibility. And in Ursula von der Leyen, she has an outstanding leader.üManagementönity, which forüstands for the same characteristics - and our community of states“with determination and foresight through a time of profound transformation”as it is further explained in theündung is called.
Thanks to you, dear Ursula von der Leyen, the world can continue to rely on Europe. However, the Board of Directors does not want your award of the Charlemagne Prize 2025 to be understood merely as recognition of your services to Europe to date.
In keeping with the tradition of the Gründerväter - expressühappy“for encouragement againstüon the tasks ahead” apply. Just how great these challenges will beöWe can only guess - but they will certainly require the courage to move forward with ambition, to make the Europeanäspirit against all oddsäWe have to defend the end - and think ahead.
This wüI wish you much strength, confidence and skill - and I can assure you of this: We stand by your side, dear Ursula von der Leyen.
Thank you very much