Status: 12/16/2022 4:32 p.m
The award is considered one of the most important in Europe: the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj and the Ukrainian people will receive the Charlemagne Prize 2023. This was announced by the board of directors of the prize.
The Charlemagne Prize 2023 goes to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people. This was announced by the Charlemagne Prize Directorate and the city of Aachen.
The reason given was that the Ukrainian people under Zelenskyy’s leadership not only defended the sovereignty of their country and the lives of its citizens, “but also Europe and European values”. The award emphasizes that Ukraine is part of Europe. The people and government officials deserve “the encouragement” to “rapidly conduct accession negotiations with the European Union.”
Selenskyj as “support and role model for his people”
The board of directors praised Zelenskyy as “support and role model for his people” in Russia’s war against Ukraine. For the Ukrainian people, he is not only president and commander-in-chief of the army, but also “motivator, communicator, the motor and the link between Ukraine and the large phalanx of supporters”. In addition, Zelenskyj is committed to European values.
The Ukrainian people were only awarded the prestigious Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. Three Ukrainians who are committed to civil society accepted the award there on behalf of their compatriots. Since February 24, Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, which is fighting for its existence with Western weapons.
Charlemagne Prize has been awarded since 1950
The Charlemagne Prize has been awarded for services to Europe and European unification since 1950. It is named after Charlemagne. His empire extended over a large part of Western Europe, he often resided in Aachen. The award comes with a medal and a certificate. there is no money.
Previous recipients of the Charlemagne Prize have included ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, British ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Emmanuel Macron. Pope Francis has also received it. In 2022, the Belarusian civil rights activist Svetlana Tichanovskaya and two fellow campaigners received it.
How the Charlemagne Prize will be presented in 2023 is still unclear. As early as 2022 there was a discussion about whether Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people should receive a “special Charlemagne Prize”. A group of MEPs suggested that at the time. The EU states officially named Ukraine as a candidate for EU membership in June. However, accession negotiations are only to begin once the reform requirements have been met.
Topic overview
war in Ukraine