Lech Wałęsa and Jerzy Buzek were honoured by the European Parliament for their efforts to integrate the Community. erstwhile president of Poland and leader of Solidarity was given the title of Outstanding associate of the European Order of Merit and the erstwhile Prime Minister of our country the title of Honorary associate of the European Order of Merit.
These awards were awarded for the first time in history. They were presented at a ceremony at the European Parliament office in Strasbourg. The list of earners has 20 names. It includes erstwhile German Chancellor Angela Merkel* (for "building a bridge between East and West"), Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenski (for representing European values) and... Irish U2 squad members (for civic commitment and promoting European values through their music).
* Oh, yeah *The nomination of the long-standing German Chancellor was met with considerable criticism. It is alleged that she was pursuing an overly lenient policy towards Russia, which led to a deterioration in the safety of the Old Continent.
