Merz hails 'Super Mario' Draghi as ex-ECB boss given Charlemagne Prize

Mario Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank (ECB) and ex-Italian prime minister, was awarded the Charlemagne Prize in the German city of Aachen on Thursday in recognition of his contribution to European integration. 

"I think you will understand that his friends call him Super Mario," Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in his eulogy, referring to the popular Nintendo video games character - an Italian plumber sporting a red cap.

Draghi, 78, had stabilized the euro when it was under threat, Merz said. "You risked something, and it could have failed," he said. But the risk had paid off, and the euro remains unchallenged today, Merz said.

At the height of the euro crisis in 2012 during his term as ECB president, Draghi vowed that the bank would do "whatever it takes" to save the single European currency.

Merz said that Europe was again under unaccustomed pressure. Here too, Draghi had pointed the way forward with his report on EU competitiveness, according to the German leader.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, following Merz, said that many people had regarded Greece as incapable of reform during the euro crisis. Others, including Draghi, saw things differently, and today it was clear that this faith in Greece had been justified, he said.

Today's challenges were different, Mitsotakis said, with European competitiveness in increasing decline. He said there was a risk that Europe could become a spectator to decisions taken elsewhere.

The Greek prime minister said the Draghi Report showed how Europe could overcome this crisis, including by improving its defence capabilities. The continent could make history today if it decided to act according to Draghi's "whatever it takes" motto, he said.

Ahead of the award ceremony, the prize's board of directors praised Draghi for having "achieved great things for Europe with purpose and unwavering determination."

It cited his extensive report on European competitiveness, which was published in 2024. In it, he warned that the EU must urgently become more innovative or risk falling behind other economic powers such as the United States and China.

Previous recipients of the award, handed out by the western German city of Aachen since 1950, include Winston Churchill, pope Francis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen is regarded as the most prestigious award for services to European integration. 

It was established shortly after World War II by citizens of Aachen and is named after Emperor Charlemagne (748-814), who is sometimes referred to as the "Father of Europe."

Since last year, the Charlemagne Prize has been accompanied by a cash prize of €1 million ($1.17 million), donated by a couple from Aachen. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took home the award in 2025. The last Italian to win the award was Andrea Riccardi, the peace mediator and founder of the Catholic community Sant'Egidio, in 2009.