European Commission President Mr. José Manuel Barroso called it a “great honour” and European Council President Mr. Herman Van Rompuy said it was the recognition for the work of the “biggest peacemaker in history”.
The EU is a unique economic and political partnership among 27 European countries that together cover much of the continent. It was created after the Second World War and what began as a purely economic union has evolved into an organization focusing on different areas from development aid to environment.
YMCA Europe develops a number of annual initiatives with the support of the European Union and the Council of Europe. Our new Strategic Plan (2011 – 2016) is based on a pan European perspective strengthening the joint work among 46 national YMCAs in our continent.
Next November 6th – 8th YMCA Europe´s National General Secretaries Forum will take place in Brussels and visits to the European Parliament and the European Commission have been planned. It will be an unexpected good opportunity to congratulate EU representatives for the Award.
