The Charlemagne Award was awarded earlier today to Mario Draghi, for his contribution to the rescue of the euro during the eurozone crisis, with his famous phrase “Whatever it takes” and his policies as then head of the European Central Bank.
At the ceremony held in Aachen, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, his successor Mr. Draghi’s successor as ECB president, Christine Lagarde, and Chancellor Friedrich Murch, who even had warm praise for Greece.
Chancellor Murch referred in his speech to “Super Mario”, who he said has achieved what for others would require “five lives”, while not failing to include among the “saviours of the euro”also Wolfgang Schaeuble, who was “pointing on the one hand to the path of fiscal reassurance and on the other to the path of reforms” for euro member states.
In fact, addressing Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Friedrich Murch specifically referred to Greece’s reforms: “On the occasion of the presence of the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, we can say: this path of reforms was for Greece, for many people in your country, Mr. Prime Minister, hard, but it proved to be right. Your country, dear Kyriakos, has long been able by its own efforts –and even early- to repay the loans that were necessary at the time. The great efforts were worth it. And we are grateful for this and we congratulate you and all the Greek people for how you managed,” the Chancellor said, followed by prolonged applause.
In his speech, Mr. Merch also praised Mario Draghi’s proposals for the necessary modernisation of Europe and expressed his belief that Europe has awakened and understood that it can only assert itself through economic and security strength. “Europe aims to become a power that can weather the storms of this new era,” he said, stressing that the European Union must rely on its own economic and military strength. “We must define our own interests with certainty. And we must be ready to commit ourselves to protecting those interests,” he said.
