The leadership of the European Parliament has canceled the award given to EU citizens, Politico reports. The cancellation occurred as part of cost-saving measures.
The European Citizen's Prize was established in 2008 to reward projects initiated by citizens that contribute to European cooperation and the promotion of EU values. Each year, the prize was awarded to 50 projects.
In Latvia, for example, this prize was awarded to Hospiss LV – a project providing palliative care and support at the end of life.
After a break in 2024 due to the European Parliament elections, the prize was suspended, and on Monday evening at a bureau meeting, which includes the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola and a total of 14 of her deputies, its cancellation was announced.
"Despite significant investments over the years and numerous changes to the rules, the prize has proven to be a complex, resource-intensive process that has yielded minimal results, including a negligible measurable impact on the media," stated an internal memo signed by the Parliament's Secretary-General Alessandro Chiocchetti.
"Experience has shown that the projects awarded the prize have not been able to attract sufficient attention at local and regional levels," the memo stated.
This measure will save about 200,000 euros per year, most of which comes from the communications budget. This money will be used for more cost-effective activities, the memo states, without specifying which activities will benefit.
In his memo, Chiocchetti also expressed concern that the prize "sometimes" undermines the reputation of the Parliament "due to the perception of political influence on certain nominations, ethical issues, or allegations of misconduct by some award recipients."
This decision is part of a broader restructuring and cuts that the Secretary-General has implemented to reduce the communications budget of 127 million euros.
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