Situated in the Teleorman County, the national colleges A.D. Ghica and A.I. Cuza from Alexandria were declared winners of the 12th edition of The European Parade. Their teams represented the USA and China respectively. On the second place were situated the Theoretical High School from Videle and the Theoretical High School from Zimnicea, who represented Lithuania and Denmark, and the third prize went to the National College Anastasescu from Roșiorii de Vede and the National College Unirea from Turnu Măgurele, who were assigned by draw to represent Germany and Portugal. The prizes consisted of trips to the sea coast, of five days for the first place winners, four days for the second place and three days for the third place, for all the members of the teams. It is understandable the explosion of joy from those who were declared winners, but also the tears of those that were left out of the podium. The most disappointed by the result were the members of the team from Mircea Scarlat College in Alexandria and their teachers. "I am very, very upset," said Mariana Buciu, the deputy director of the college, who announced that she would file a challenge. "As long as we do not dissociate some things and as long as meritocracy is not placed where it should, I think we are making a mockery of children and it is not fair. (...) We are not driven by pride, but we wanted to win an award. Although, I believe that everyone saw the quality of our show and the emotions that the children had. I am very disappointed. We will contest," declared Mariana Buciu. In case of an unfavorable response, she announced that the high school will no longer participate in future editions of the competition. Even the other participants who were awarded only with a participation certificate were not satisfied, given the fact that until the 10th edition, all participants were rewarded with trips. The difference was only in the number of days, which depended on the performance. Starting with the 11th edition, the changes made to the Public Procurement Law left the competitors without prizes, as they no longer allowed the County Council to finance the competition. A year of break followed. The tradition was renewed this year, but with limited financial resources, according to the organizers. According to the president of the Teleorman County Council, Dănuț Cristescu, the financial aspect was assured from the budget of the Euro Teleorman Association. The European Parade, a unique cultural event in the country, dedicated to high school students, organized by the Euro Teleorman Association and the Teleorman County Council, involving all high schools in the county, has been organized every year since 2005, with each high school representing, following a draw, one of the 28 Member States of the European Union. Starting with 2011, in order to add an original touch, five other major countries around the world were included: Russia, China, India, Brazil and the United States of America.