President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the people of Ukraine receive the 2023 Charlemagne Prize for services to Europe. This was announced by the Charlemagne Prize Directorate and the city of Aachen on Friday. “We regard the Charlemagne Prize ceremony in 2023 as an act of solidarity with Ukraine,” said the Chairman of the Charlemagne Prize Board of Directors, Jürgen Linden. The decision was unanimous – and “in the current European situation” no alternative was seen.
The exact justification stated that the Ukrainian people under Zelenskiy’s leadership not only defended the sovereignty of their country and the lives of its citizens, “but also Europe and European values”. The award underlines that Ukraine is part of Europe. The people and government officials deserve “the encouragement” to “rapidly conduct accession negotiations with the European Union.” It was said of Zelensky that he was “a diplomat, a stirrer and, if he thought so, a vocal critic.” He is also a support and role model for his people, but also “a role model for all Europeans to reflect on European ideals and values”.
The Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Oleksiy Makejev, spoke of a huge honor. “For me personally, it is a very important sign of support for Ukraine, a special sign of solidarity with our country and our people,” he said in a video link to Aachen. The decision “encourages us in our fight for democratic and European values. For freedom and for a future peaceful life.”
Most recently, the Belarusian civil rights activist Svetlana Tichanovskaya received the renowned prize with two fellow campaigners. The International Charlemagne Prize in Aachen has been awarded for services to Europe and European unification since 1950. Numerous statesmen and women have received it. The award comes with a medal and a certificate. there is no money.
Because of the war, it is still unclear exactly how the Charlemagne Prize will be awarded in 2023
In the past, the Charlemagne Prize often went to people who held high political offices, such as in 1999 to the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair or the following year to Bill Clinton, then incumbent US President. Angela Merkel received the award in 2008, during her first term as Chancellor. French President Emmanuel Macron was awarded the Charlemagne Prize in 2018.
The award ceremony traditionally takes place on Ascension Day in the Coronation Hall of Aachen City Hall. It is named after Charlemagne (747/748-814). His empire spanned much of western Europe, he often resided in Aachen and was crowned emperor in Rome in 800.
How exactly the Charlemagne Prize will be presented in 2023 is still unclear. “Today – perhaps unlike in previous years – we cannot say anything concrete about the format and timing of the award given the war situation and also the security situation,” said Linden, Chairman of the Charlemagne Prize Board. That should be discussed in early 2023. The wish is of course an award in a “peace situation” and with the presence of the President in Aachen.
There had already been a discussion at the Charlemagne Prize 2022 as to whether Zelensky and the Ukrainian people should receive a “special Charlemagne Prize”. A group of MEPs suggested that at the time. At that time, Linden had explained that the “symbolic honor of the Charlemagne Prize was an issue for the time after the end of the war”. However, he now confessed: “Unfortunately, I have to say, we cannot see when the war will be over at the moment.”