Cartoon by Irish Examiner artist Harry Burton shortlisted for European prize  

It shows the apparent silhouettes of three of Egypt's famous pyramids. As the sun rises however, the silhouettes are revealed to be the back's of three policymakers who have buried their heads in the desert sands.

The work is shortlisted for the European Cartoon Award (ECA) along with 15 other cartoons by illustrators from Mexico, Portugal, Britain, Brazil, Jordan, Italy, Romania, Switzerland, France, Austria and the Netherlands.

The 16 finalists were selected from a longlist of 40 works, which were themselves chosen from more than 400 submissions from across the world.

The ECA was founded by the European Press Prize and Studio Europa Maastricht in 2019 — the year in which US publication The New York Times decided to stop running editorial cartoons. The nominees and overall winners are chose by an international panel of cartoonists, journalists and experts.

The event's organisers say that the prize seeks to "award courage and quality in the field of cartooning and foster conversation on the topic of Europe". According to their website, cartoons are "an important part of an open debate, of questioning both old ideas and introducing new ones".

“During the lengthy process of selection, it has been rewarding to witness the variety and mastery of the many submissions, ranging from sheer poetry to stark and striking statements  — and anything in between," said Danish cartoonist and chair of the panel of judges, Niels Bo Bojesen.

"As always it is difficult  — and sometimes painful  — to have to choose from an even field, but recognising the shared capacity of the members of the Jury, I am confident we have been able to help shine a light on the high level of current European editorial cartooning.” 

The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the Beeld & Geluid museum in The Hague on September 14.