(Brussels) “I am glad the Charlemagne Prize 2016 has been awarded to Pope Francis and, as I have already personally done, I send my most heartfelt congratulations to His Holiness for this award”. This is how the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, reacts on the spur of the moment to the news of the prize that has been given to Bergoglio by the city of Aachen, Germany, which every year awards it to someone who has stood out for serving the European integration process. “Pope Francis is a man whose words are listened to all over the world – adds Schulz, who won the prize last year – and provides guidance to hundreds of millions of people in these confusing times. Like nobody else, Pope Francis is synonym with respect, tolerance and justice”. “The values of European integration, such as cooperation, solidarity and the awareness that, as a community, we are stronger than on our own, are also the values Pope Francis strives for”. The Pope, “then, is right in reminding us Europeans not to compromise on the conquests of European integration nor take them for granted, but to keep fighting for a fair society, based on solidarity, as well as providing help and protection to those who flee violence and war and who are looking for a safer life for themselves and for their families”.