The Diplomat
Aquí Europa-Canal Europa bestowed the European Construction Awards, in its sixth edition, to Josep Borrell, Iberia, María Ángeles Benítez and Santiago Cafiero, among others.
At its meeting on 5 December in Brussels, the jury decided to award the “Prize for the person or institution that has made the greatest contribution to European integration” to Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission.
The jury valued the fact that he is “the Spanish personality who has held the highest responsibilities in the European institutions as President of the European Parliament and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy”. In addition, in a very special way, it wished to recognise “his efforts in the defence of the EU’s democratic values in the current war in Ukraine”.
Likewise, the “Recognition for personal career in favour of European integration” went to María Ángeles Benítez Salas, Director of the Representation of the European Commission in Spain from 1 April 2021.
The award highlights the fact that María Ángeles Benítez has dedicated her professional life to the service of the European institutions. Specifically, it is recalled that she began her career in the European Union in 1986 in the office of the then Commissioner Abel Matutes. Subsequently, she was an adviser to the European Commission delegation in Buenos Aires, before returning to Brussels, first in the Directorate-General for Fisheries, then as Deputy Head of the European Centre for Policy Strategy and finally as Director-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission.
The “Recognition of the best institutional work” went to “70 years of democracy and the rule of law in the European Union”, embodied in the anniversary of the highest institution representing Europeans, the European Parliament, and of Community law as the legal basis for European integration.
The award for “the company that has contributed most to the construction of Europe” went to the airline Iberia “for its resilience in times of pandemic and energy crisis, facilitating mobility and the tourism sector as a basis for economic recovery, as well as its transcendental role in building the bridge between the European Union and Latin America”.
The “Prize for the Latin American personality who has done most for EU-Latin America and Caribbean construction” was awarded to Santiago Cafiero, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of the Republic of Argentina.
This award recognises the work of the Argentine Government, in its capacity as Pro Tempore Presidency of CELAC in 2022, in favour of the recovery of the interregional dialogue between Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union, work that had its greatest expression in the ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires where the climate of excellent CELAC-EU understanding was reinforced.
Likewise, the “European Cultural Activity Award” went to the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation, a public cultural, scientific, research and dissemination body, whose aim is to support the promotion of democracy, respect for human rights, the promotion of peace and international harmony, as well as the development of all the peoples and nations of the world, through the promotion of culture, research, the dissemination of knowledge and social integration.
The jury commemorates with this award, “the contribution to the promotion and consolidation of the existing links between a historical community such as Extremadura, Europe and Ibero-America under the principles of loyalty, respect for each other’s identity, mutual benefit and solidarity”.
Finally, the editors of Prensa Ibérica, Javier Moll De Miguel and Arantza Sarasola received the “European Communication Award” for “their dedication for 45 years as press editors to information as a fundamental pillar of freedom of expression”.
Prensa Ibérica, which took its first steps in the Canary Islands in 1978, has established itself over the years as the leading local and regional news group in Spain. It currently has 26 printed and digital newspapers, as well as a number of local Crónicas, and several magazines. El Periódico, El Periódico de España, La Nueva España, Faro de Vigo, Levante-EMV, Información and La Provincia are just some of the group’s titles.
Next year, Brussels will once again host the Aquí Europa-Canal Europa Awards, media specialising in European Union information, produced entirely in Spanish from Brussels, with more than 30 years of existence, and which, with these awards, aims to recognise the personalities, institutions, initiatives and companies that have contributed the most to the construction of the Community project.
According to the organisers, the awards seek to “praise the voice of those people who have sown the seeds for the survival and strengthening of European integration at a time of citizen disaffection, climate change and global tensions”.
The jury was made up of Jaume Duch, Director General for Communication and Spokesperson of the European Parliament; Daniel Calleja, Legal Secretary of the European Commission; Javier López, Co-President of the Eurolat Assembly; Pablo Grinspun, Ambassador of Argentina to the EU and Marcos Alonso, Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union.
