The Diplomat
The King will present the 19th “European Charles V Award” to the European Committee of the Regions this Monday, May 25, in recognition of its essential role in guaranteeing the participation of cities and regions in the European Union’s decision-making process. The ceremony will take place, as every year, at the Monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste, in Cuacos de Yuste (Cáceres).
The European Committee of the Regions is the consultative assembly that brings together local and regional representatives of the European Union and gives a direct voice to subnational entities within the European Union’s institutional framework.
The jury of the award, granted by the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation, highlighted its contribution to integrating European cities and regions into the common project, enabling citizens to raise their everyday problems and concerns with EU institutions, thus ensuring that European Union legislation incorporates the territorial dimension and respects the principle of subsidiarity.
The jury members considered that, in times of complexity and polarization, it has promoted balance, listening, and multi-level and cross-border cooperation. It has also demonstrated that cooperation and territorial diversity are a strength that makes Europe fairer, more realistic, and more resilient. Its actions embody the unity in diversity that underpins European integration and guarantee the reality that Europe is also built from its regions and cities. These merits, among others, make it, in the jury’s opinion, deserving of the Carlos V European Prize in its 19th edition.
The King will present the award to the current President of the European Committee of the Regions, Kata Tüttő, at the awards ceremony, which will be attended by José Manuel Albares, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The European Charles V Prize is awarded annually at the Royal Monastery of Yuste, as part of the celebrations for May 9, Europe Day, to recognize the work of individuals, organizations, projects, or initiatives that have contributed to the general understanding and enhancement of Europe’s cultural, social, scientific, and historical values, as well as to the process of European integration and development.
The people awarded this prize so far have been Jacques Delors (1995), Wilfried Martens (1998), Felipe González (2000), Mikhail Gorbachev (2002), Jorge Sampaio (2004), Helmut Kohl (2006), Simone Veil (2008), Javier Solana (2011), José Manuel Durão Barroso (2014), Sofia Corradi (2016), Marcelino Oreja Aguirre (2017), Antonio Tajani (2018), the Council of Europe’s Cultural Routes project (2019), Angela Merkel (2021), the European Disability Forum (2022), António Guterres (2023), Mario Draghi (2024), and Josep Borrell (2025).
