Moldova's president Maia Sandu, first recipient of Timişoara Prize for European Values

Maia Sandu, the president of the Republic of Moldova, is the first recipient of the Timişoara Prize for European Values, a prestigious award worth EUR 30,000. She is scheduled to visit the city of Timişoara, in western Romania, on January 12-13, at the invitation of mayor Dominic Fritz, to receive the award.

According to a press release from the Timişoara City Hall, the award was granted following a multi-stage process by a jury comprised of top Romanian professionals from various fields.

“The jury members appreciated the clarity of her European vision and the determination with which she pursues it. Maia Sandu believed in Moldova's European aspirations when many deemed them a utopia. With incredible work ethic, courage, and rare political sensibility, Maia Sandu persistently fights for a European path for Moldova," the statement said.

Maia Sandu initiated reform at home and made her voice heard internationally, setting Moldova irreversibly on its way to the EU, using a “human, clear, and value-laden style” of political communication, the same source said.

The Timişoara Prize for European Values was established this year by a unanimous decision of the Local Council. The award honors internationally recognized figures who, with determination, courage, and creativity, promote or defend European values within and outside the European Union. The EUR 30,000 prize is supported by contributions from companies located in the city. 

"In the crisis times we are going through, Timişoara is ready to take a clear stance in defending and promoting European values. These values are also the values of Timişoara: freedom, democracy, diversity, and tolerance. These are values that Timişoara won with courage and sacrifice in December 1989. They were fervently affirmed this year as the European Capital of Culture," stated mayor Dominic Fritz. 

The jury members are Mircea Cărtărescu (Bucharest), writer; Iulia Motoc (The Hague), judge at the International Criminal Court; Cristian Măcelaru (Cologne), musical director of the National Orchestra of France; Simona Miculescu (Paris), ambassador, permanent delegate of Romania to UNESCO; Anca Miruna Lăzărescu (Munich), director and screenwriter; Adriana Babeţi (Timişoara), writer and literary critic; and Dominic Fritz, the mayor of Timişoara.

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(Photo source: Maia Sandu on Facebook)