THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been honored for her leadership in a series of crises that have hit Europe in recent years, from the financial meltdown to the massive migration influx.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte lauded Merkel as she was presented with the International Four Freedoms Award at a ceremony Thursday in the southern Dutch city of Middelburg.

Four Freedoms medals are presented in alternate years by the Dutch-based Roosevelt Foundation and the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in New York.

The Dutch foundation said in Europe's migration crisis, "Merkel is committed to Europe's humanitarian duty to protect those fleeing war and conflict in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and to tackle the causes of the crisis by working for peace in Syria and the region."