9 June 2008

Mikhail Gorbachev receives Energy Globe Award

On May 26-27, Mikhail Gorbachev visited Brussels at the invitation of the European Parliament to receive the lifetime achievement award at the Energy Globe Awards ceremony . This award is a recognition of his diverse environmental activities, including launching and development of Green Cross International .
   
The award ceremony took place in the main meeting room of the European Parliament, with hundreds of European MPs and representatives of environmental and research organizations from around the globe in attendance. Before the ceremony, Mikhail Gorbachev familiarized himself with the projects presented for a contest of environmental initiatives from different countries, including Russia. Authors of the proposed projects discussed with him their ideas, achievements and challenges.
  
The GCI President was greeted by José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, Janez Janša, current President of the Council of the European Union, EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering, and Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The audience gave Gorbachev a standing ovation. Addressing the gathering, the Former USSR President said that only through joint efforts can the humanity respond to the interrelated challenges it faces today: the challenges of security, poverty and backwardness and global environmental crisis. “No one can do it alone”, he said.
    
The Energy Globe Awards were also given to authors of environmental projects from Austria, Mozambique, Spain, South Africa, and Peru. More details about the gala event at the European Parliament can be found at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/focus_page/051-29882-168-06-25-909-20080526FCS29864-16-06-2008-2008/default_p001c002_en.htm.
   
A press conference was also held later in the day at the European Parliament, attracting dozens of reporters from European and other countries.
    
The second day of Mikhail Gorbachev’s stay in Brussels was also full of events. Together with Kofi Annan he spoke at a press conference hosted by the European Parliament’s Energy Committee. The theme of his speech was Environment in the Life of Man and Humanity . His speech was followed by questions from MPs, who asked his opinions on many environmental issues, including nuclear energy.
    
Later in the day, Mikhail Gorbachev gave several interviews to European media and had a meeting with EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering. The frank substantive discussion took full hour instead of 30 minutes, as planned originally. The two leaders discussed a “common European home” and the challenges and achievements of building it. According to Mikhail Gorbachev, a strong democratic Russia and the European Union should play a key role in building a Greater Europe of partnership and cooperation, a Europe without dividing lines.