German
Chancellor Angela Merkel was honored Thursday for her leadership in a series of
crises that have hit Europe in recent years, from the financial meltdown to the
migration influx.
Dutch Prime
Minister Mark Rutte lauded Merkel as she was presented with the International
Four Freedoms Award at a ceremony in the southern Dutch city of Middelburg.
In her
acceptance speech, the German leader said the migration crisis "touches
our European values in a special way."
She praised
the European Union's deal she helped to broker with Turkey on the return and
admission of migrants, a key measure in the continent's efforts to stem the
flow of people fleeing conflict, poverty and persecution.
"Too
many people already lost their lives during their escape," Merkel said.
"The EU-Turkey agreement therefore really didn't come soon enough. It is
now important that we continue our efforts, especially when it comes to a fair
distribution of refugees in Europe and a common approach against the roots of
escape and expulsion."
Four
Freedoms medals are presented in alternate years by the Dutch-based Roosevelt
Foundation and the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in New York.
The Dutch
foundation said in Europe's migration crisis, "Merkel is committed to
Europe's humanitarian duty to protect those fleeing war and conflict in the
Middle East, Africa and Asia and to tackle the causes of the crisis by working
for peace in Syria and the region."
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