Merkel Receives EU Medal as She Demands Social Media Censorship
The EU honored Merkel with its highest award while she called for social media and AI regulation. Right-wing lawmakers boycotted the ceremony as citizens across Europe protest the migration policies she championed.
The European Union handed its highest honor to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Strasbourg on May 19. The ceremony celebrated open-border policies that devastated European economies and triggered a demographic crisis. Merkel used the occasion to demand the bloc "continue along the path of regulating social media" and "regulating artificial intelligence" to stop "lies" from undermining democracy. Her words exposed an elite class that recognizes its failed mass migration policies now face democratic scrutiny — and must be censored to survive.
Merkel accepted the European Order of Merit's "Distinguished Member" award from European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Right-wing lawmakers from Germany's AfD, Italy's Lega, and the European Conservatives and Reformists group boycotted the ceremony. AfD MEP Tomasz Froelich accused the EU of placing "applauders" in their empty seats to manufacture support. Parliament officials confirmed they suspended the plenary sitting for the event, a routine arrangement that critics denounced as optical manipulation.
"To believe that responsibility for spreading information is no longer necessary — that one will not be held accountable for lies — will undermine the foundations of democracy," Merkel told the Strasbourg chamber, according to AFP wire reports. Her calls for digital censorship arrive as backlash surges against the immigration policies she championed. Those policies have reshaped the continent against the will of its citizens.
The award honors the architect of Europe's 2015 migration crisis. Merkel unilaterally opened Germany's borders to asylum seekers that year. Germany received approximately 890,000 refugees, with 60.5 percent aged 15 to 39. Men outnumbered women 2.81 to 1 in that age group, according to IZA Discussion Paper No. 12469. Total EU asylum applications hit 1.3 million. The influx overwhelmed social systems across the continent.
The fiscal toll continues to mount. Germany now spends €46.9 billion annually on welfare benefits, a €4 billion increase over 2023, according to Deutsche Welle. The German Federal Employment Agency reports 62.5 percent of Bürgergeld recipients in 2023 had migrant backgrounds. The figure reached 82.4 percent among 15 to 25-year-olds in Hesse. European economies strain under these costs while native populations confront cultural displacement.
Violent crime spiked in regions absorbing the migrant influx. A Zurich University of Applied Sciences study documented a 10.4 percent increase in violent crimes in Lower Saxony between 2015 and 2016. Researchers attributed over 90 percent of that rise to young male migrants. Study author Christian Pfeiffer noted foreigners face a 44 percent chance of being reported for a sex offense, compared to 18 percent for Germans.
"The patriotic factions are boycotting the ceremony, with their seats intended to remain empty as a clear political statement," AfD MEP Tomasz Froelich stated. "In an unprecedented move that runs counter to all parliamentary conventions, applauders have been placed in the seats of our MEPs to undermine this message." The European Parliament confirmed the sitting was suspended to admit laureates' families, guests, and event staff into the chamber.
Anti-immigration protests now define European political life. Immigration-related demonstrations comprised 27 percent of all reported events across Europe in early 2025. That represents a sharp jump from 3 percent in 2024, according to ACLED data analyzed by Princeton's Bridging Divides initiative. More than 100,000 people marched through London last September. Their slogan captured a growing sentiment: "We want our country back."
"This European commitment deserves to be celebrated," European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said when announcing the first laureates on March 10, 2026. "With the European Order of Merit, we honour those who did not simply believe in Europe, but who helped build it." Her words stand in stark contrast to the economic reality facing ordinary Europeans. Citizens pay billions each year to sustain welfare systems buckling under mass migration.
The ceremony's timing and Merkel's censorship demands reveal an establishment that values manufactured applause over democratic legitimacy. As European citizens take to the streets against policies that have eroded their economies, safety, and cultural identity, EU leaders institutionalize digital controls to silence dissent. Merkel's medal stands as more than a celebration of failed policies. It signals a determination to protect those policies from the very people who carry their costs.