Philip VI appeals to the unity and responsibility of Europe in difficult times

USPA NEWS - King Philip IV of Spain delivered Monday to Dr. Sofia Corradi the 'Charles V European Award', awarded in recognition of "his career and especially his great contribution and contribution to the process of European integration through the conception and implementation of the Erasmus initiative.“

The Erasmus program is an initiative of the European Union for the mobility of young European students. Speaking after handing over the award, the King recalled the words of Robert Schuman in his declaration of May 9, 1950, which proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, seed of the European Union: "Europe will not be done at once, or according to a set, will be through concrete achievements which will, firstly, a de facto solidarity."

The monarch stressed that "European integration is a project and an extraordinary reality we know and appreciate. We can't ignore that, thanks to European integration, many peoples of our continent have reached the highest levels of welfare, progress and safety of its history. we can't forget either, as I had occasion to recall in the European Parliament, the Union has been able to complete their initial goals of peace, harmony and coexistence among nations, and prosperity and economic growth."

Philip VI ended his speech stating that "the European Union now lives times when it is more necessary than ever commitment, decisiveness and responsibility. The extraordinary work, the great heritage that we have built together over the past decades, it has been possible thanks to the unit Europeans and values we share. Values on which the Union is founded and which inspire our coexistence in democracy: freedom, human rights, solidarity is why also, Europe needs its young generations ─tan well represented Erasmus─ by students contribute to the Union to maintain and always affirm those values and that now also know that new ideal articulate mobilize European citizens in favor of integration, unity and progress."

Were present at this ceremony, among others, the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz; President of the Spanish Congress of Deputies, Patxi Lopez; Italian Minister of Education, Universities and Research, Stefania Giannini; Assistant Minister of the Portuguese Republic, Eduardo Cabrita; the chairwoman of the Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament, Silvia Costa, and the head of the Department of Democratic Initiatives Council of Europe, Eladio Fernandez Galiano.

The 'Charles V European Award', awarded by the European Academy of Yuste Foundation, is awarded to distinguish the work of those who through their efforts and dedication have contributed to general knowledge and enhancement of cultural values, scientific, historical Europe, and the process of unification of the European Community. In previous editions it was awarded to Jose Manuel Barroso, Francisco Javier Solana Madariaga, Simone Veil, Helmut Kohl, Jorge Sampaio, Mikhail Gorbachev, Felipe Gonzalez, Wilfried Martens and Jacques Delors.

This time, the award honors Dr. Sofia Corradi, creator of the Erasmus student exchange program. The jury stressed that the results of the work initiated by Dr. Corradi benefit the European integration process have provided the basis for other similar training activities highly successful beyond Europe's borders, as Erasmus Mundus and the current program European Union Erasmus Plus. Through their work the Erasmus program has directly change the lives of nearly 3.5 million European students, about 4,000 universities in the nearly 30 years of its existence.