Cox given major prize for contribution to EU

Mr Pat Cox has been awarded the International Charlemagne Prize at a ceremony in Germany for his "outstanding personal contribution" to European unity.

Mr Pat Cox smiles after receiving the Charlemagne Prize in Aachen city hall

Mr Cox, who has been the President of the European Parliament since January 2002, received the award after a Pontifical Mass in Aachen Cathedral presided over by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin.

Mr Cox (51) who said he felt "humbled" by the honour, used the occasion to urge EU leaders to reach agreement on a constitution deal.

"My message to our European leaders is: the time to deliver is now," he said. "I call today upon European leaders to deliver our new constitutional settlement as quickly as possible and in terms that are both coherent and effective," he said, adding it "will permit us to pass from a decade and more of endless introspection...to real political issues of substance."

His decision has fueled speculation he is in the running to succeed Mr David Byrne as Ireland's next Commissioner, or even the current EC President, Mr Romano Prodi.

The Charlemagne Prize committee said Mr Cox was being honoured "as recognition of the pioneering role played by the European Parliament in a critical phase in the development of Europe and also of his outstanding personal contribution in bringing about the enlargement of the Union".

The award, which is endowed with a symbolic €5,000, has been presented annually since 1950.

Named after the Aachen-born 8th century Emperor Charlemagne, known as a "great founder of Western culture", the prize marks Germany's commitment to a harmonious post-war continent. It has become one of the most prestigious European honours.

Previous winners include EU founding father Mr Jean Monnet, British Prime Ministers Mr Winston Churchill and Mr Tony Blair, former US President Bill Clinton, Pope John Paul II and former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing.

Mr Cox was an economics teacher at the  Institution of Public Administration in Dublin and later taught at Limerick University.

He presented political programmes for RTÉ television between 1982 and 1986 before switching to politics and launching the Progressive Democrats with Mr Dessie O'Malley.

He became an MEP in 1989, was elected to the leadership of the Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament in 1998, and was voted President in 2002, naming EU enlargement as one of his priorities for his term of office.

Additional reporting: Agencies

He recently announced he would not be seeking re-election as an MEP in next month's elections after 15 years in Europe.