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Karlspreis 2016 College of Europe Nominees Voting Form

You can vote for up to three candidates. Cast all the votes you want to give at once. You cannot cast unused votes later or change your vote. The three candidates with the most votes will be announced on Monday evening after polls are closed. These names will be transmitted to the Karlspreis 2016 selection committee in Aachen.

Deadline: Monday, 28th of September, 12:00 noon.

Short descriptions of the ten candidates:

Daniel COHN-BENDIT (Montauban, France, 1945). Also known as “Danny The Red”, Mr COHN-BENDIT is a French-German politician. For nearly 50 years, Mr COHN-BENDIT has fought for a number of causes ranging from sexual freedom to free software. He was a student leader during the unrest of May 1968 in France and co-president of the group European Greens–European Free Alliance in the European Parliament. He co-chairs the Spinelli Group, the European parliament intergroup aiming at relaunching the federalist project in Europe. In 2005 he took an active part in the campaign in favor of the European constitution during the French referendum.
Catherine DAY (Mount Merrion, Ireland, 1954). First woman ever to act as Secretary-General of the European Commission, a position she held for ten years (2005-2015). As one of the most senior civil servants in the European Union, she insured the day-to-day functioning of the European Commission, specially by assisting the President and the College of Commissioners. Catherine DAY's commitment for European integration reaches back to the 70s, as she joined the European Commission in 1979. Before being appointed Secretary-General, she worked at the service of different Directorates General, first in DG Industry, External Relations and Environment as Director General. She was also instrumental during the enlargement process of the EU to Central and Eastern Europe countries in the 90s.

Mario DRAGHI (Rome, Italy, 1947). Italian economist, manager and banker serving as the President of the European Central Bank on 1 November 2011. For lack of a better political leadership in the EU, Mr DRAGHI has served as a potent reminder of how solid European integration can still be. Dealing with one of the most enduring and devastating economic crises ever, Mr DRAGHI rose to the task, stating he would do “whatever it takes to preserve the Euro. And believe me, it will be enough". Such statement had a positive effect for Eurozone countries, in particular Spain, Italy and France. Mr DRAGHI was previously the governor of the Bank of Italy from December 2005 until October 2011. Fortune magazine ranked him as the world's second greatest leader.
ERASMUS + Programme (created in 1987). Launched under the Delors Commission, the educational exchange initiative we have all come to know as Erasmus (nowadays, Erasmus +) may have done more for European integration and fulfilling the hopes of the EU founding fathers than any other person, body or entity. Based on the mutual trust built upon Erasmus Charter, its scope goes beyond EU borders and it has provided nearly 3 million university students with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to break geographic, political and prejudice frontiers, so far delivering two generations of multicultural, multilingual citizens and professionals.

ESA European Space Agency (created in 1975). Nothing unites peoples as much as the will to break a new frontier. ESA is a 22-member Intergovernmental organization based in Paris, France, and dedicated to the exploration of space. ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight, mainly through the participation in the International Space Station programme, the launch and operations of unmanned exploration missions to other planets and the moon, earth observation, science, telecommunication, etc. Its main launch vehicle is the Ariane 5 rocket and it coordinates its running operations from The Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Spain. An excellent example of loyal cooperation.
Jürgen HABERMAS (Düsseldorf, Germany, 1929). An outstanding German scholar, sociologist and philosopher, best known for his theories on communicative rationality and the public sphere. Global polls consistently find that HABERMAS is widely recognized as one of the world's leading intellectuals. Associated with the Frankfurt School, HABERMAS's work focuses, among other issues, on the foundations of democracy, the rule of law in a critical social-evolutionary context, as well as contemporary politics, particularly at German and European levels. Professor HABERMAS has participated in several public debates, underlining the need for a Constitution in Europe.

Federica MOGHERINI (Rome, Italy, 1973). Italian politician and the current High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission in the JUNCKER Commission since 1 November 2014. Mrs MOGHERINI was Italy's Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation from 22 February until 31 October 2014 within the RENZI Government. She is a member of the Italian Democratic Party and the Party of European Socialists. A member of the Erasmus generation, Mrs MOGHERINI drafted his undergraduate thesis on the relation between politics and religion in Islam, when she was an Erasmus student in France. Mrs MOGHERINI is currently dealing with an immigrants situation.
OSCE (created in 1975). The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control and the promotion of human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections. With its origins traced back to the 1975 Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki, Finland, the OSCE is concerned with early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management, and post-conflict rehabilitation. Its 57 participating states are located in Europe, northern and central Asia and North America, and cover much of the land area of the Northern Hemisphere.

Alexis TSIPRAS (Athens, Greece, 1974). A strong opponent of the neoliberal political trends in the European Union, Mr TSIPRAS has stood against austerity policies as solutions to resolve sovereign debt crises. Current Greek Prime Minister since 21 September 2015, a position he had previously occupied between 25 January and 20 August 2015. He was also the candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission of the Party of the European Left, during the European elections in 2014. Mr TSIPRAS' political activism dates back to the late 80s, when he served as student representative in Athens and member of the Greek Communist Party.
Guy VERHOFSTADT (Dendermonde, Belgium, 1953). Former prime minister of Belgium, current MEP and leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), who has been working his whole life to build a European federal state. He strives for democratic legitimacy of the EU by improved accountability of EU institutions towards the EP. He is founder of the EU federalist Spinelli Group, member of the Young European Federalists and of the Club de Madrid, a group of high level statesmen promoting democratic governance worldwide. He is well-known for his speech in the EP to Mr TSIPRAS, his speech on the Maidan and his close ties to the European youth.