Published: 13.3.2022
MEP István Ujhelyi has been nominated for the MEP Awards for the third time, according to the list of nominees published today by the organizers.
The prestigious award is announced and presented every year by The Parliament Magazine, a bi-weekly Brussels-based magazine on EU politics, and was cancelled last time only due to the covid pandemic. Politicians compete in several categories and they can be nominated by individuals, MEPs, interest groups and NGOs.
From the thousands of nominations received, an independent, professional jury will finally select four MEPs in each category, based mainly on who nominated them and how many nominations they got, and the real reasons and work that supports their nomination. Then, from the shortlisted candidates, the final winners are selected on the basis of the MEPs’ votes.
This year, István Ujhelyi has been short-listed for the third time; in 2017 he won the prestigious award once, in the transport category. The MSZP MEP was named one of the three finalists in the „Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism” category, mainly in recognition of his pioneering work in implementing and developing the free InterRail ticket scheme and his work as Vice-Chair of the EP’s TRAN Committee responsible for the tourism sector, which was hit hardest by the covid epidemic.
As other statements published on social media platforms have revealed: in the health category, Ujhelyi was also nominated as MEP of the Year by a number of advocacy and civil society organizations (such as the Standing Committee of European Doctors, the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine) for his role in the creation of the European Health Union, but this year the jury ultimately selected him as a finalist in the aforementioned „Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism” category.
Following the announcement, István Ujhelyi said that it was a great honour for him to be a finalist in the MEP of the Year selection for the third time (this time as the only Hungarian), especially as he was the only Hungarian to win the award in 2017. „Just being one of the final four in the professional category means a lot to me, as it required nominations from numerous NGOs, professional organizations and European citizens, which are the most important confirmation of the effectiveness of my work in Brussels.
I am proud that I have managed to put on the table a number of pioneering programmes representing Hungarian people, such as the European Health Union, the free InterRail ticket programme, or initiatives that strengthen cooperation between professional tourism organizations and finally bring the sector to the attention of Europe,” said István Ujhelyi.
The winners of the MEP Awards 2022 will be announced at an award ceremony in Brussels at the end of June.
Budapest/Brussels – 09.03.2022.