News
EP President Jerzy Buzek Donates Lifetime Achievement Prize to EHU
09/12/2009
Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament, has donated a prestigious prize to the EHU. The prize was awarded by Prime Minister of the German state of North-Rhine Westphalia, Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers, to Buzek for his lifetime achievements. Buzek handed over the prize to Rector Anatoli Mikhailov of the EHU in the same ceremony this week.
President Buzek said: "It is a special honour to receive the prize now that the Lisbon Treaty has come into force. The European Union and the European Parliament have the tool box needed to deal effectively with the concerns of the citizens. The true winners are the European citizens. Thinking of the future and those who do not have the possibility to participate in our European integration project, I have decided to donate the prize money to the European Humanities University (EHU) in exile in Vilnius."
Commenting on the ultimate aim of the EHU to return to Minsk, Buzek said, "However, this will only be possible when there will be a general political change towards democratization."
The prize sum of 25.000 EUR will be used by the EHU for specific purposes to be determined later.
During his visit to the EHU earlier this autumn, Buzek invited EHU students to visit the European Parliament in Brussels.
