Ilves, Baltic Presidents to Accept 'European of the Year' Award in Berlin
The presidents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will be presented with the Verband Deutscher Zeitschriftenverleger's "Golden Victoria", or the "European of the Year" award, in Berlin tonight on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Verband Deutscher Zeitschriftenverleger is the umbrella organization of more than 400 German magazine publishers, who between them publish more than 3,000 titles.
The awards are an acknowledgment for the three Baltic states for restoring their independence, promoting European values, integrating with Europe and undertaking successful economic and political reforms. The awards will be accepted by presidents Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Dalia Grybauskaitė and Andris Bērziņš.
German President Joachim Gauck will then host an official dinner in Berlin to honor the presidents.
In the past, Golden Victoria award have been presented to the President of Germany Joachim Gauck, to Donald Tusk during his term as the Prime Minister of Poland, and to former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
During his official visit to Germany, Ilves will also give a presentation at the German Society for Foreign Policy, where he will focus on the drastically changed international security situation in Europe, the new challenges that NATO and the European Union are facing, and Germany's leading role in standing for the values of the European Union.