COMUNICACIÓN

King Felipe VI delivered the Carlos V European Award to Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (2011-2019) and president of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Italy (2021-2022), in a solemn ceremony that was organised by the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation at the Monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste. (14/06/2024).

During his address, he described the awardee as a “craftsman of works and a weaver of consensus”, and in relation to his work in the institutions, as “an Europeanist European and a European Europeanist”.

The monarch offered words of praise for the former president of the European Central Bank (ECB), stating that “from the presidency of the ECB, he courageously faced one of the greatest crises the European Union has experienced, implementing a series of bold and unprecedented measures that, in the midst of the recession, managed to maintain the strength of the euro and the autonomy of the ECB”.

At the same time, he expressed that there is “great anticipation to learn in detail his report on European competitiveness”, especially since it has been indicated that “a renewed partnership between Member States will be necessary, a redefinition of our Union that is no less ambitious than what the founding fathers did 70 years ago”. A report on which Draghi provided a preview in his speech, as Felipe VI noted.

At the award ceremony for the Carlos V European Award, which turns Extremadura into the main focus of interest for the entire European continent today, the ministers of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, attended along with the vice president of the ECB, Luis de Guindos; the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, among other personalities.

The president of the Regional Government of Extremadura and president of the Board of Trustees of the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation, María Guardiola, defined Europe as “a space built for dialogue and progress”, where “we celebrate agreements and disagreements, we celebrate plurality and the permeability of our borders”.

María Guardiola, who also chairs the jury of the Carlos V European Award, described the European Union “as a social, political, economic, cultural, and emotional project” and highlighted that Extremadura proudly lives “its place within this beautiful mosaic of countries and regions”.

Regarding the award winner of this 17^th edition, the president of the Regional Government highlighted “his work, his audacity, his rigour, and his courage in very delicate moments for the Union”, also mentioning a famous quote from Mario Draghi himself, which says “we obey the law, not politicians”.

During her speech, Guardiola praised Mario Draghi, stating that figures like him “are fundamental for this space of coexistence and development that is the European Union and all its Member States”.

At the end of her speech, she praised the role of the Spanish crown, which “has helped to consolidate our country in the European context, embodied our values, defended our aspirations, and represented our hopes”, she asserted.

THE CHALLENGES OF EUROPE

In his acceptance speech, Mario Draghi referenced some of the challenges that the European project must face in the future.

In this regard, the awardee recalled that “over the years, our continent has grown older, wealthier and closer, with a single market of 445 million consumers”, although, he indicated, “today we face fundamental questions over our future”.

According to Draghi, “as our societies age, demands on our social model are increasing” and for Europeans to maintain high levels of social protection and redistribution, he pointed out that we need to recognise that “we are also facing new needs: adjusting to rapid technological change, increasing defence capability and carrying out the green transition”.

At the same time, he warned that the previous paradigm is disappearing, citing examples like “the era of imported gas from Russia” and “open world trade”. To address all these changes, he emphasised that “we need to grow faster and better”, and the main way to achieve this is by increasing productivity, which “has been slowing for some time”, he warned.

Draghi is the third Italian national to receive the award. In 2016, it was awarded to professor Sofia Corradi, better known as “Mamma Erasmus”, for initiating the European Union’s Erasmus programme, and in 2018, the jury recognised the work of the then president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani.

FOCUS OF ATTENTION FOR EUROPE

The award ceremony for the Carlos V European Award, which turns Extremadura into the main focus of interest for the entire European continent today, was attended by the ministers of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo; the vice president of the ECB, Luis de Guindos; and the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, among other notable figures.

A significant number of diplomatic representatives from European and Ibero-American embassies were also present, as well as the following members of the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste: Ramón Jáuregui, Gustaaf Janssens, Enrique Moradiellos, Monica Luisa Macovei, and Marcelino Oreja, who also received the Carlos V European Award in 2017.

With this award, Yuste Foundation aims to recognise the work of individuals, organisations, projects, or initiatives that have contributed to the general knowledge and enhancement of Europe’s cultural, social, scientific, and historical values, as well as to the process of European construction and integration.

The laureates of this award to date are: 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 project “Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe” (2019); Angela Merkel (2021); the European Disability Forum (2022); and António Guterres (2023).

The Carlos V European Award is given this name because of the historic leader’s European ties, a native of Ghent (Belgium), with German and Spanish grandparents and parents, crowned emperor in Aachen, and later abdicating in Brussels, thus renouncing temporal power and retiring to the Monastery of Yuste, where he spent the last years of his life.