Klaus Welle receives Robert Schuman Medal

During the External Meeting in Split, EPP Group Chairman Manfred Weber, Honorary Chairman of the EPP Group, and former President of the European People's Party Joseph Daul awarded Klaus Welle with the Robert Schuman Medal of the EPP Group.

In their honorary speeches, Manfred Weber and Joseph Daul honoured Klaus Welle for his long and meritorious service as Secretary-General of the EPP Group and the European Parliament. They stressed his contribution to the EPP Group's success, the European Parliament's role, and its ability to act.

The EPP Group introduced the Robert Schuman Medal in the European Parliament to pay tribute to public figures who have advanced the cause of peace, the construction of Europe and human values through their public activities and personal commitment.

The Robert Schuman Medal is accompanied by a Diploma of Honour and is awarded at the proposal of the Group Presidency. It is presented at a ceremony attended by all Members of the Group.

From July 1986, when the Medal was introduced, to March 2017, the Medal was awarded to eminent public figures, including: former Heads of State and Government, Presidents of the European Parliament and Chairmen of the Parliamentary Group, former Ministers and Members of the Commission, and Members of the European Parliament who have had a special influence on the work of the Group. Leading figures such as Elena Bonner-Sakharov and Martin Lee, who do not belong to the European Union, have also been honoured for their human rights activities.

The Robert Schuman Medal bears the name of the French statesman who, in 1950, proposed to Germany and other countries ravaged by war that they should establish peace between the peoples of Europe based on a new European Community with strong, democratic institutions.

This Medal honours men and women whose courage and vision helped reunite the continent of Europe and bring the values of freedom and democracy with which our political family identifies.