Germany's Angela Merkel Gets Standing Ovation At Her Last EU Summit
NDTV
"You are a monument," the host of the summits, European Council chief Charles Michel, said in the closed-door homage to her, according to an official in the room.
European leaders heaped praise on German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday as she participated in her last EU summit after a 16-year reign heavily influencing the bloc through major ups and downs.
Merkel has attended a staggering 107 EU summits that saw some of the biggest twists in recent European history, including the eurozone debt crisis, an inflow of Syrian refugees, Brexit and the creation of the bloc's landmark pandemic recovery fund.
"You are a monument," the host of the summits, European Council chief Charles Michel, said in the closed-door homage to her, according to an official in the room.
An EU summit "without Angela is like Rome without the Vatican or Paris without the Eiffel tower," Michel said after Merkel's 26 counterparts gave her a standing ovation.
