Published: 9.5.2025
The Hungarian collective of Transparency International, working to reduce corruption and promote transparency, has won this year’s European Patriot Award, aka „Európai Hazafi Díj” in Hungarian. As in previous years, the recipient of the recognition was chosen through a public vote. The award is granted annually to a respected individual or community that contributes significantly to representing Hungarian and European values. This year’s three finalists also included psychologist and child rights expert Viola Szlankó (second from left on the picture), Director of Child Protection at UNICEF Hungary, and editor-journalist Attila Kert (second from the right on the photo), head of the Hungarian editorial office of Euronews. According to the organizers, nearly ten-thousand votes were cast on the Esély Közösség’s (Community of Opportunity) online platform; the competition was tight, but in the end, the most votes went to the Hungarian team of Transparency International.
The award was founded in 2019 by then MEP István Ujhelyi, head of the Esély Közösség, and visual artist-publisher András Sándor Kocsis, when they jointly inaugurated Hungary’s only public statue commemorating the country’s EU accession, located in the Rusz-Bazsant Park in Kispest. In previous years, the recognition has been awarded to such distinguished figures as songwriter-performer János Bródy, former RMDSZ president Béla Markó, pastor Gábor Iványi, and singer-performer Zsuzsa Koncz. This year marked the fifth time the „European Patriot Award” was handed out. While in earlier years a community had already made it to the list of finalists (last year the „United Student Front” was among them), this is the first time the sculpture — a replica of the public monument — was awarded to a collective.
At the award picnic, István Ujhelyi, former MEP and co-founder of the Esély Közösség and the award, stated among other things that the individuals receiving the most nominations this year were all excellent people who delivered outstanding performances — each of them would have deserved the honour awarded by the public. Praising the winning team of Transparency International Hungary, Ujhelyi highlighted that although the current government views the anti-corruption civil organisation as a “sovereignty-threatening” and therefore persecutable enemy, the organisation has in fact, for decades, operated independently of political sides and in line with existing laws and basic moral principles, holding all public institutions and authorities accountable. On the importance of representing European values, the former MEP added that the European Union is a “peace project”, and consequently, anyone who undermines its unity or weakens its functioning is, in fact, acting against the maintenance of long-term peace.
Visual artist and publisher András Sándor Kocsis, the award’s other co-founder, praised all this year’s nominees during the ceremony, while György Vinczek, deputy mayor of Kispest, called attention in his speech to the fact that although many things have become natural or automatic since our EU accession, these advantages and values must be continually safeguarded.
“I don’t know what to wish for ourselves! If I wish for corruption to end, then our work would also be over,” said Miklós Ligeti, legal director of Transparency International, with irony at the award ceremony. The representative of the civil organisation fighting for transparency emphasised that every such recognition strengthens them in their mission, which they will continue relentlessly despite all attacks. At the end of his speech, Ligeti made it clear that one of their first goals is to “put behind bars” those involved in the plundering of the Hungarian National Bank.
Budapest, 09 May 2025.