For young people, Europe remains "a fascinating subject". Hans-Gert Poettering, president of the EU Parliament, draws this conclusion after taking part in the first "Charles the Great" youth awards, in Aachen. The award is an addition to the one the German city gives once a year to some political or cultural figure who has worked for the EU integration process, which in 2008 will be given tomorrow to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. First prize was won by a Hungarian project called "Students without frontiers", under which every year one hundred students from Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine and other Eastern countries can gather around some workshops on European issues. Second and third prizes were given to Great Britain (London’s Festival of Europe) and Greece (for 30 years the Byron high school has organised initiatives to develop the European identity and has introduced a special subject), respectively. Poettering explained: "I am glad so many young people from the member states have entered" the award. "With their projects and their ideas, they have expressed their beliefs in what we share as Europeans".
