International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen is greatest honour of my life, says President von der Leyen

European Commission - Announcement International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen is greatest honour of my life, says President von der Leyen Brussels, 29 May 2025 Today, in the German city of Aachen, President Ursula von der Leyen received the renowned Charlemagne Prize, in honour of “an outstanding leader who is guiding the EU through a period of profound transformation with vision, courage, strength and foresight”, as the Prize's board explained. President von Leyen follows her predecessors Walter Hallstein and Jacques Delors in being awarded the Charlemagne Prize while in office, and she joins other admired Europeans recognised for their work in favour of unity in the continent. The prize ceremony opened this morning in the Aachen town hall, where King Felipe VI of Spain and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivered remarks presenting the reasons to bestow this honour upon the President. The President went on to deliver an acceptance speech in which she focused on the significance of Aachen for the whole continent and on the way that history has shaped Europe. From Charlemagne's court to the fall of the Iron Curtain, through the holocaust, the President pointed out that Europe must always learn from the lessons of the past, it must always continue to rise and bring peoples and cultures together: “Our future will always be built on our past,” she said. President von der Leyen described what she sees as the next great European project: building an independent...