The awards – which are strictly limited in terms of

numbers – are known as the “Mérite européen”. They consist of the “grand collier”, the “collier”, the gold, silver and bronze medals and the “diplôme d’honneur” and “diplôme de reconnaissance”. They are intended to reward those who have made a significant contribution to the objectives of the Foundation over and above their purely professional achievements. They symbolise, we should remember, “tribute paid to the struggle for the Union of peoples in freedom, peace and fraternity” and are a concrete expression of adherence to the Foundation’s motto “Wanting Europe, knowing its problems and acting to achieve it”.

"Le Grand Collier"

"Le Collier"

Some examples

In the first 43 years of the Foundation’s history the most eminent figures from various fields – political, economic, humanist, scientific and cultural – were honoured for their struggle “for the union of the peoples of Europe, in freedom, peace and fraternity”, but also for their contribution to the development of European values.

They include: Simone Veil, former Minister and President of the European Parliament, Viviane Reding, former European Commissioner, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, former Head of the Polish Government, Franz König, Archbishop Emeritus of Vienna, Wilfried Martens, former Prime Minister of Belgium and President of the Parti populaire européen, Michel Rocard, Edward Heath and Pierre Werner, former Prime Ministers, Roy Jenkins, Gaston Thorn, Jacques Santer and José Manuel Barroso, successive former Presidents of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, former Luxembourg Prime Minister and President of the Eurogroup and current President of the European Commission, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former German Foreign Minister, Martin Gray, internationally renowned humanist, Avi Primor, Israel’s former Ambassador to Germany, Hans-Gert Pöttering and Klaus Hänsch, former Presidents of the European Parliament, Kai-Uwe von Hassel, former President of the Deutscher Bundestag and founder of the German Circle of European Merit, Gao Xingjian, artist, writer and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2000, Ferran Adrià, voted the world’s top chef for five years, Herman Van Rompuy, first President of the European Council, Jean-Claude Trichet, former President of the European Central Bank, Sir Brian Unwin and Philippe Maystadt, former Presidents of the European Investment Bank, Lord Norman Foster, internationally renowned British architect and one of the leading exponents of high tech. architecture .

The cities of Santiago de Compostela and Strasbourg also received awards for their historic European past, which they actively project into the present.

Equally deserving of a mention are those (often anonymous) working at grass-roots level to promote the European idea, such as Liane Vissers van’t Hof, a secondary school teacher in the Netherlands who made an excellent film on Europe, with her students as the only actors, or Berendina van Sminia, who set up in the Netherlands a European Parliament of young people, which was highly successful in many European Union Member States. In Belgium mention should be made of people such as Mr and Mrs Edmond Warichet, geography and economics teachers respectively at a celebrated secondary school. They are the only couple to have received an award from the Fondation du Mérite européen for the example they have set, as they have each year both devoted some of their lessons to Europe, on a par with other subjects, for they believe that this should be part of the process of learning about European citizenship. It is also worth mentioning a number of schools that have received awards for their activities and their commitment to Europe or people such as the musician who reworked the European anthem.