Main distinction: Europe Prize
It is the highest award, created in 1955 to recognize outstanding efforts in promoting European unity. Fifty-eight towns have been honoured; only one or two prizes are awarded each year to Plaque and Flag winners.
The Trophy (held for a year), the bronze medal and the commemorative parchment are presented together with 7.600 Euros of scholarship to fund European study visits for young people.
The President of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly presents the Prize at a municipally-organised “Europe Day” attended by the Europe Prize Sub-Committee.
Europe Prize is the highest of the four awards, introduced in 1955 to recognize outstanding efforts in promoting European unity. Seventy seven municipalities were honored by 2016. Every year one or two Prizes are awarded to towns-winners of the three European awards: European Diploma, Flag of Honor and Plaque of Honor.
The Europe Prize consists of an itinerant trophy with a bronze plaque bearing allegorical figures and a Latin inscription. This trophy is retained by the winning municipality until the next town is awarded. It is then passed on to the municipality awarded the Europe Prize. The shield bears the name of each municipality, which has won the Prize. It also consists of a bronze medal, a parchment and a scholarship to be spent on travelling around Europe for one or more young persons from the winning municipality. It may also include any additional money grants, which the government of the country, the associations of local authorities or any other body may wish to award to the winning municipality.
It is officially presented to the winning municipality by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, assisted by the Sub-Committee on the Europe Prize, on a “Day of Europe” event arranged by the municipality. The ceremonies of that Day will include an official meeting of the Municipal Council with the presence of the members of the Sub-Committee on the Europe Prize and a public gathering of residents of the winning municipality.
An Association of Europe Prize Winners (the “Association of Towns Awarded the Europe Prize”) was founded in 1984. It brings together all winning towns and has meetings at least once a year. It is presided by a town, elected at the General Assembly of the Association of Towns Awarded the Europe Prize.
1st step: European Diploma
It is the first step in selecting Europe Prize winners. About 30 Diplomas are awarded every year. Mayors of the winning towns are presented with a parchment bearing the date and the authority’s name at an official ceremony at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg during the June session of the Parliamentary Assembly.
2nd step: Flag of Honour
The Flag is the most popular award and an essential step towards the Plaque of Honour and the Europe Prize. From twenty to twenty-five Flags are allocated every year. A member of the Parliamentary Assembly presents it to the winning city at a municipal ceremony open to a wide public.
It is a rectangular blue color cloth embroidered and decorated with gold, there are 12 gold stars placed in a circle. The emblem was approved on 8 December, 1955, by the Committee of the Ministers of the Council of Europe according to the unanimous recommendation of the Parliamentary Assembly. Since May 1986 it is also an official emblem of European communities.
More than 1,000 Flags of Honour have been awarded by the Council of Europe since 1961.
The Flag of Honour is awarded to certain municipalities which deserve an award in recognition of their work in promoting the European idea. These municipalities will usually be selected from among those already holding the European Diploma.
The Flag of Honour of the Council of Europe is similar to the flag of the Council of Europe, but with a light shade of blue and a golden fringe. Two blue sashes are attached to the flag, bearing the yellow writing “CONSEIL DE L’EUROPE” (French) and “COUNCIL OF EUROPE” (English), respectively.
3rd step: Plaque of Honour
Its upper part consists of brass figures representing the abduction of Europe, in the central part there are twelve stars of Europe with the year the Plaque was awarded inscribed in the middle. On the lower part there is a stylized map of the Great Europe indicating the name of the prize winning municipality. It is presented to the winning municipality by a member of the Parliamentary Assembly at a ceremony to which the local population is invited. Eight to ten plaques are awarded each year.
The modern version of the Plaque of Honor, created in 2001, is a metal plate with brass figures depicting the abduction of Europe in its upper part, in its central part there is a circle of twelve stars of Europe, and in its center there is an engraving of the year, when the Plaque was awarded, and at its lower part there is a stylized map of the Greater Europe indicating the name of the prize winning municipality. The metal plate is placed on a support made of glass.
It is presented to a winning municipality by a member of the Parliamentary Assembly at an official ceremony in front of the audience of the local community. Eight to ten plaques are awarded each year.
