Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has been chosen to present this year’s prestigious Constance Council Prize (Konstanzer Konzilspreis), awarded for European Encounters and Exchanges (Dialogue).
The Constance Council’s board of trustees selected Sturgeon as the prize’s patron because of her work as “a convinced European” and “champion of European values.” She gets to propose this year’s winner.
The First Minister is due to hand over the prize in person on December 10 at a ceremony dedicated to Europe at a local hotel by Lake Constance: a special scarf woven from five strands of different colours to symbolise Europe’s diversity. The scarf is unique as the names of both the winner and patron are stitched into it so it becomes a testament over time to commitment to Europe.
The choice of Sturgeon reflects the continued and growing recognition Scotland and she enjoy in the rest of the EU/Europe as profoundly European protagonists dedicated to the values of the rule of law, democracy, peace and prosperity.
h/t Wochenblatt (in German) and read more here (also in German).
Picture credentials: Scottish Government flickr CC BY 2.0
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