European price
The European Prize is a 1955 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe launched award that annually to one or more communities will be awarded to outstanding achievements for the dissemination of the European have yielded agreement thought. The English city of Coventry was the first to receive this award.
Application and award
Any city or municipality in one of the member states of the Council of Europe can apply. The prerequisites for a successful application are experience of town twinning with foreign municipalities and an active effort to develop these relationships. The application must be submitted in writing by the First City Councilor, Mayor or Lord Mayor by December 31st of each year to the Committee on Environment, Agriculture and Local Authorities of the Council of Europe. Every year in March or April, the subcommittee for the European Prize (consisting of members of the Parliamentary Assembly, President has been the German Axel E. Fischer since 2010), makes its selection and then submits it to the Committee on Environment, Agriculture and Regional Authorities of the Parliamentary Assembly for approval. The selected congregations will receive a confirmation letter with suggestions on how to organize the ceremony. The application remains valid for several years, but the municipality must submit an annual activity report on its European commitment. On the basis of the submission of such an activity report on the European commitment of the municipality in the past year, an application for an award of the next higher level can be applied for, whereby the application should be accompanied by appropriate newspaper reports.
Award levels
The European Prize is divided into four award levels (in ascending order):
European diploma
The European diploma is the first step in the selection of the European award winners. Every year around 30 diplomas are awarded. As part of an official ceremony in the European Palace in Strasbourg, which takes place during the June session of the Parliamentary Assembly, the mayors of the award-winning cities will be presented with a European diploma, on which the name of the city and the year of the award are given.
Flag of honor
A coveted award is the gold-embroidered and gold-fringed flag of honor. It is a prerequisite for the later award of the plaque of honor and the actual European price. Every year between 20 and 25 flags of honor are awarded. As part of a ceremony organized by the municipality, a member of the Parliamentary Assembly presents the award-winning municipality with the flag of honor.
Plaque of honor
The upper part of the honor plaque, redesigned in 2001, consists of bronze figures depicting the kidnapping of Europe. In the middle part, the twelve European stars frame the year of the respective award of the plaque, while in the lower part a stylized map of the enlarged Europe appears in delicate lines and the name of the honored community. The badge is attached to a transparent support. The plaque of honor is presented to the distinguished city by a member of the Parliamentary Assembly during a ceremony to which the population is invited. Around eight to ten municipalities receive this award every year. 2016 includes the German towns of Besigheim (Baden-Württemberg), Coburg (Bavaria), Erlangen (Bavaria), Gotha (Thuringia) and Murrhardt (Baden-Württemberg).
European price
The European Prize is the highest level of the four awards a city or municipality has for exceptional performance in promoting the idea of European unification. The prize is awarded annually to one or two communities that already have the flag and plaque of honor. The European Prize consists of a trophy that remains in the award-winning community for a year, a bronze medal, a commemorative certificate and a scholarship that benefits young people from the award-winning community for a study trip to Europe. The prize is presented by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in the presence of the sub-committee for the European Prize on the occasion of a Europe Day organized by the municipality. In 1984 all cities that were awarded the European Prize merged to form a working group of European Prize cities . Their representatives meet at least once a year.
Current winner of the Europe Prize
The Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián was named the 2019 prize winner . Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the decision for the winner of the 2020 European Prize will be made in summer, with a total of 6 cities: Amilly ( France ), Bamberg and Münster (Germany), Birštonas ( Lithuania ), Bolesławiec and Sopot ( Poland ).
List of the European Prize winners (by country, chronological)
The statutes
article 1
The European Prize, donated by the Council of Europe, is awarded annually by the Committee on Environment, Agriculture and Local Authorities of the Parliamentary Assembly to one or more municipalities which, in the opinion of the Committee, have done outstanding work in promoting the idea of European unification.
Article 2
The European Prize consists of a challenge prize, a bronze medal, a certificate of honor and a sum of money for a trip within Europe for one or more young people from the awarded community.
Article 3
A plaque of honor is awarded to certain municipalities that have been carriers of the flag of honor for several years and that are considered worthy of this award for their efforts to spread the European idea. This award is a preliminary stage to the European price.
Article 4
An honorary flag of the Council of Europe is awarded to certain municipalities, which are also considered worthy of an award due to their work in the sense of the European idea. These municipalities are generally selected from among those who have received the European diploma.
Article 5
A European diploma is awarded to those municipalities whose European achievements are recognized, but whose application for the award of the flag of honor is still relatively new.
Article 6
The committee selects the congregation to be honored from among those who have applied.
Article 7
A municipality's application must be submitted by the first city councilor, mayor or lord mayor to the General Secretariat of the Council of Europe before December 31 of each year. A separate document must be attached to the application, which shows what the municipality has done in detail to promote the idea of European unity; the attached questionnaire must be completed accordingly. Submitted applications will remain valid for the coming years. Nevertheless, the municipalities concerned should submit additional reports on their activities for a united Europe during the past year before 31 December each year.
Article 8
The applying municipalities undertake to observe and apply the award regulations. The winners of the European Prize undertake to establish closer contacts with one another, in particular through regular meetings of the European Prize winners in one of the member cities (Working Group of the European Prize Cities).
Sources and references
- ↑ European price. (PDF; 4.4 MB) Four European awards for cities and municipalities. Council of Europe, 2005, archived from the original on June 17, 2013 ; accessed on June 17, 2013 (German).
- ↑ https://pace.coe.int/en/news/7454
- ↑ https://pace.coe.int/en/pages/europeprize
- ↑ The Winners of the Europe Prize since 1955. (PDF) Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 2019, accessed on April 1, 2020 .