President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people will receive the 2023 Charlemagne Prize for services to Europe. The management of the Charlemagne Prize and the city of Aachen announced this on Friday. The reason given was that under the leadership of Zelensky, the Ukrainian people defended not only the sovereignty of their country and the lives of its citizens, “but also Europe and European values”.
The population and government officials deserve “the encouragement” to “conduct accession negotiations with the European Union swiftly”. The prize emphasizes that Ukraine is part of Europe. The prize has been awarded since 1950 for services to Europe and European unification. It is named after Charlemagne (~747-814). His empire extended over a large part of Western Europe, he often stayed in Aachen. The prize includes a medal and a certificate. there is no money.
Merkel and Tichanovskaya among prize winners
Previous winners include German ex-chancellor Angela Merkel, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Emmanuel Macron. Pope Francis has also received it. In 2022, Belarusian civil rights activist Svetlana Tichanovskaya and two fellow campaigners received it.
The Ukrainian people just received the prestigious Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. Three Ukrainians who are committed to civil society received the prize on behalf of their compatriots. Since February 24, Russia has been waging an offensive war against Ukraine, which is fighting for its existence with Western weapons.
It was initially unclear exactly how the 2023 Charlemagne Prize would be awarded. Already at the 2022 Charlemagne Prize, there was discussion about whether Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people should be awarded a “special Charlemagne Prize”. That is what a group of MEPs suggested at the time.
Ukraine is a candidate to join the EU
EU countries officially declared Ukraine a candidate for EU membership in June. However, accession negotiations cannot begin until reform requirements are met.
Source: Krone
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