Macron gets Charlemagne Prize on first anniversary in office

French President Emmanuel Macron will receive the Charlemagne Prize, the EU’s version of the Nobel Peace Prize, on 10 May. The award was announced on 7 May, the first anniversary of the French President taking office.

“Macron is a head of state with a claim to European leadership”, states the Board of Directors of the Society for the Conferring of the International Charlemagne Prize, on the society’s website.

“In the person of Emmanuel Macron, the Charlemagne Prize Society honours a courageous pioneer for the revitalisation of the European dream”, the Board of Directors state.

“President Macron is not concerned with institutional nitty-gritty; his focus is much more on the fundamental issues, on the grand European narrative with which he aims to win the population’s support for the European integration process,” they added.

The statement adds that Macron had “transformed the French presidential election into a referendum for Europe”, and “wants to put Europe firmly back in the hearts of the people”.

The Charlemagne Prize is awarded annually on Ascension Day by the city of Aachen, where Charlemagne, ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, was buried. The City of Aachen refers to Charlemagne as the “founder of western culture”, and asserts that under his reign, Aachen was the spiritual and political centre of what is now western Europe.

 

Source: Macron gets Charlemagne Prize on first anniversary in office – EURACTIV.com