Charlemagne Prize for Ukraine
Aachen is preparing for a possible Selenskyj visit
4/9/2023 2:06 p.m
President Zelenskyy has already visited Ukraine’s most important partners – apart from Germany. According to speculation, it could be so far in May: the President of the country attacked by Russia and his people will be awarded the Charlemagne Prize in Aachen.
Washington, London, Paris, Brussels, Warsaw: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already visited some of his most important allies since the Russian attack on his country. He could now also come to Germany in May – for the presentation of the Charlemagne Prize to him and the Ukrainian people in the Coronation Hall of Aachen City Hall on May 14th.
In any case, the organizers are preparing for such a scenario, as the city of Aachen announced shortly before Easter. Personal participation depends “strongly on the then existing war situation and the corresponding security concepts”. If Selenskyj cannot attend in person, he should be connected via video. Planning is also underway for this variant.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already been officially announced as a speaker. The “Bild am Sonntag” now reports that Chancellor Olaf Scholz will also come to Aachen and give the laudatory speech. There is also speculation that Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki or President Andrzej Duda and President Emmanuel Macron from France could arrive from Poland.
Award ceremony postponed
In order to enable the international guests to participate, the date for the award ceremony has already been postponed. It will not take place as usual on Ascension Day, but four days earlier. This should prevent “an overlap with a relevant event on the following day”, the city of Aachen announced. What is meant is the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, which begins on May 19 – the day after Ascension Day. In order to arrive on time, you have to depart from Europe the day before. Among others, von der Leyen, Scholz and Macron will take part in the summit.
Zelenskyi had not traveled abroad at all for the first ten months after the invasion. Just before Christmas he flew to Washington to meet US President Joe Biden. The US is by far Ukraine’s most important arms supplier. Visits to London, Paris, Brussels and finally Warsaw followed.
Chancellor Scholz visited Selenskyj in June together with Macron, the then Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in Kiev. In February, Macron and Scholz met the Ukrainian President together in Paris. When asked whether Scholz would now travel to Aachen for the Charlemagne Prize ceremony, a government spokeswoman only replied: “The Chancellor’s appointments are usually announced on Friday of the previous week as part of the government press conference.”
The Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen has been awarded since 1950 to personalities who have made a contribution to the unity of Europe. Last year, the Belarusian civil rights activists Svetlana Tichanovskaya, Veronika Zepkalo and Maria Kolesnikova were honored.