And the winner is…

Feelings ran high at the MEP awards on 8 October, with scenes of shock, surprise and gratitude

As predicted, this year’s Parliament Magazine MEP awards at the Renaissance Brussels Hotel were a tremendous success, with a large crowd turning out to show their support for the work of parliament’s deputies.

Following last year’s successful event, we had an even bigger response this year during the nomination period, ensuring that the awards night was eagerly anticipated. It proved to be a memorable and entertaining evening of celebration, which at the same time served to highlight the very important work carried out by MEPs.

Now in its fourth year, the awards gave parliamentarians the opportunity to gather together and to receive some well-deserved recognition for the work they do.

As the winner of the environment award, Claude Turmes told the audience, “This parliament is probably the best parliament in the world. Each of us on every dossier tries to reach agreement, and produce quality legislation.”

Victory came as a surprise to some, with German deputy Gisela Kallenbach, who won an award for her work on regional policy, saying she was “astounded, pleased and honoured to receive this award”.

Dutch MEP Toine Manders, who won the award in the internal market category, also expressed his delight, saying that the accolade was “just like winning a Grammy”.

While it may be a slight exaggeration to say that the celebrations matched the glitz and glamour of the famous US music awards, there was another, very clear, message that emerged on the night.

Many of the winners and their colleagues drew attention to the significant value of close cooperation within the parliament.

This point was made a number of times throughout the evening, perhaps expressed most clearly by French deputy Catherine Trautmann, winner of the engineering and technology award. On receiving her award, she said, “Without the contribution of colleagues nothing is possible.”

Congratulations to all the winners.

The Parliament Magazine team