A "European" citizen” “

Ever since 1950 the Charlemagne Prize has been an annual appointment with the “European spirit”. Each year the prize presentation ceremony permits some of the major personalities involved in the realization of a united Europe to meet together in Aachen in Germany. This year’s Prize has been awarded to Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of the Italian Republic, who holds this post after a long and distinguished career as economist, central banker and minister. AFTER Adenauer, Schuman, De Gasperi… The ceremony for the presentation of the Charlemagne Prize was held in the town hall of the German city on 5 May. Aachen has annually awarded this prize to distinguished exponents of the European spirit for over half a century. Previous prizewinners include Konrad Adenauer, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Winston Churchill, Alcide De Gasperi, Salvador de Madariaga, Konstantin Karamanlis, Vaclav Havel, Simone Veil, Frère Roger, Helmuth Kohl and François Mitterrand. The motivation of this year’s award says that Ciampi “symbolises the internal order and fundamental values of Europe: freedom, democracy, tolerance, openness to the world… A supporter of a European identity – with political, cultural and geographical borders –, he is contrary to any form of despotism. And in his role as mediator between different worlds, he is in favour of dialogue between civilizations, in particular in favour of partnership with the Arab world”. “EuropE, COMMUNITY OF VALUES”. The German President Horst Koehler in his introductory speech (“laudatio”) emphasized Ciampi’s dedication to the construction of a Europe that is cohesive and open to the world: “You, Mr. President, are a great European. For years you have worked for Europe and for me personally you are a model, alongside De Gasperi”. Koehler then recalled the major role played by the then Italian Minister in the introduction of the single currency; insisted on the need to realise a “common home” that would play a role as protagonist “in the new world order that is being born”; and lastly reaffirmed the fundamental importance of the Constitutional Treaty for the EU, because it “consolidates Europe as a community of values, reinforces democracy in the old continent and offers more rights to citizens”. Present at Aachen for the ceremony were the king of Spain, Juan Carlos, the former President of the European Parliament, the Irish Pat Cox, former Polish Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek and former Hungarian Prime Minister Gyuala Horn, all of them previous prizewinners. The President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, was also present. AN INVITATION TO “studY AND MEDITATE ON HISTORY”. “I address myself to you young people with hope and trust. Read about and meditate on the history of the last two centuries in the life of the European peoples. You will find that only when civil passion has revived in citizens those sentiments that are at the basis of the conscience of the European peoples – liberty, equality, fraternity -, has Europe advanced”. So young people were the prime addressees of the speech given by Carlo Azeglio Ciampi who added: “In the tumultuous reality of the 21st century, faced by the uncertainties of the present and the future, a strong and compact European Union offers hope and rays of light for all peoples”. Ciampi called on the young to “contribute, with their generous enthusiasm, to the birth of a new concept of Europe. We must reassure them about the capacity and will to prevent the dissolution of the identity of Europe in a purely mercantile view, drained of historical, cultural and political contents. We must make them “conscious of the work performed by the founding fathers” of Europe”. POLITICAL WILL TO COMPLETE THE REFORMS. In his speech Ciampi also analysed the current political, social and economic situation of the EU. He spoke of “doubts and fears”, of uncompleted reforms, including the euro. He explained that “the European Union is still not able to speak to the world, in every circumstance, with a single voice. But the EU is increasingly conscious of the need to give itself institutions able to achieve a unified interpretation of its ideals and its interests. We are united by common values and the will to spread through the world the principles of democracy, liberty and tolerance that are the result of our long history”. The President of the Italian Republic then turned his attention to the challenges that await the Twenty-Five, beginning with the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty, about which he said: “Without a genuine common political will of the European peoples, without a communion of spirits and faith in Europe, not even the Constitution will be a guarantee of the necessary ability to govern”. Ciampi ended his speech by confirming his own “European faith”, to which he would continue to dedicate himself, to the end of his term of office, “as a European citizen”.