The Diplomat
The Professor of Constitutional Law, Teresa Freixes, received last Wednesday, May 18, at the Círculo Ecuestre in Barcelona, the XVIII Otto of Habsburg Award, for her “defense of an integrating constitutionalism” in Spain, according to the jury’s minutes.
The Otto von Habsburg Award is the annual distinction granted by the Spanish Committee for the Pan-European Union to personalities who have stood out for their defense of European values, their collaboration in the process of European integration or their performance in European institutions.
The jury, composed of members of the Board of Directors of Paneuropa Spain, considered that “Teresa Freixes has been able to embody in her life with coherence the defense of an integrating constitutionalism in our country, being a Catalan and Spanish, who has made Europe the homeland of her choice”. The minutes of the jury add that “in very difficult circumstances, in which the European Union must face major challenges, the example of Freixes, from the academy and civil society, is as commendable as encouraging“.
Professor Teresa Freixes holds a PhD in Law from the University of Barcelona; she was a Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Barcelona. Professor of Constitutional Law at the Autonomous University of Barcelona; she is a Jean Monnet Professor ad personam (Succes Stories distinction); and Vice President of the Royal European Academy of Doctors.
As a legal expert, she has participated in the drafting of the Treaties of Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon, the European Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.
The introductory laudatio to the award ceremony was delivered by Josep Piqué, Minister of the Spanish Government from 1996 to 2003 in various portfolios such as Foreign Affairs, Science and Technology and Industry and Energy.
Professor Freixes thus joins the list of awardees that includes Margaritis Schinás, Vice-President of the European Commission; Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, Minister of Education, Culture and Sport of the Government of Spain (2015-2018) and Government Spokesperson (2016-2018); Rosario Silva de Lapuerta, Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union (2007-2021) or Nick Clegg, Member of the European Parliament (1999-2004) and Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2010-2015), among others.
