The International Charlemagne Prize will be awarded this year to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian people, according to the prize’s board of directors. The award ceremony will take place on May 14 in the coronation hall of the Aachen Town Hall, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will deliver a keynote address.
The board of directors stated that under President Zelensky’s leadership, the Ukrainian people are defending not only their own country but also Europe and its values. The president is described as “a role model for his people; he stands against hopelessness and despair, for the provision of the daily necessities, for the vital defense equipment, and for the confidence that Ukraine will be a free, independent, and sovereign state, a part of the European family of nations.”
President Zelensky gives strength not only to Ukraine but also to the European Union to believe in this ideal, and therefore, he is also a role model for all Europeans to reflect on European ideals and values, the board added.
The International Charlemagne Prize, named after the first unifier of Europe, Charlemagne, is the oldest and most renowned European prize and is considered one of the highest European honors. It has been awarded since 1950 to individuals and institutions who have contributed to the European Union’s formation and development.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will speak in honor of the awardees at the ceremony. Belarusian human rights activists Maria Kalesnikava, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, and Veronica Tsepkalo received the award in 2022, while previous recipients include Jean Monnet, Konrad Adenauer, Robert Schuman, Simone Veil, Angela Merkel, and Emmanuel Macron.
Since 2008, the European Charlemagne Youth Prize has been awarded immediately before the International Charlemagne Prize, recognizing young people’s projects in the area of European and global understanding.