Germany's former chancellor Angela Merkel was awarded the European Order of Merit by the European Parliament on Tuesday in recognition of her decades of commitment to the EU.
Merkel is among the first 20 recipients of the award, which was introduced last year. She was admitted as a distinguished member of the order, the highest of three levels, alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and former Polish president Lech Wałęsa.
Wałęsa also attended the ceremony in Strasbourg, but Zelensky was not present.
In her speech, Merkel warned MEPs in Strasbourg that democracy is under pressure. She called for democracy, peace and prosperity to be upheld as a promise to the EU's population.
Merkel emphasized the threat to democracy posed by social media, "where suddenly facts are no longer facts." This, she said, puts the foundations of the Enlightenment at risk.
During her tenure as German chancellor from 2005 to 2021, Merkel became known as Europe’s crisis manager.
Her 16 years in office spanned the Great Recession, the euro crisis, the 2015 refugee crisis, Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.
Further honours were awarded primarily to former leaders of EU countries and of institutions such as the European Central Bank and NATO.
Figures from non-governmental organizations, sport, religion and music were also honoured, such as the rock band U2, led by frontman Bono.
"Europe was not handed to us," said Parliament President Roberta Metsola at the ceremony. "It was built treaty by treaty, crisis by crisis and by people who chose solidarity over division and cooperation over self-interest."
