On March 16, The Parliament Magazine held its annual ‘The MEP Awards’ at the Concert Noble in Brussels. The event, which the GSMA was proud to support, brings together members of the European Parliament, the Commission and the EU Stakeholder community, and provides a great opportunity to celebrate the work and achievements of the European deputies across a range of policy areas. This year, awards were given in 20 policy areas.
Anyone can nominate an MEP they think has made an excellent contribution in an EU policy area. The nominators have to explain briefly why their choice deserves to win in the category in which they have been nominated. The Parliament Magazine shortlists the MEPs, selecting those who have the strongest case for inclusion in each policy-related category. MEPs then vote to determine the winners category by category. The Parliament Magazine gathers the results which are presented at the annual ceremony each March in Brussels.
This year, the GSMA was proud to sponsor the Outstanding Achievement Award, which was announced on the night of the ceremony. The GSMA believes that what MEPs do for every sector, company and citizen is outstanding for society in general and acknowledges their work. This year, the Outstanding Achievement prize was awarded to the German MEP Jan Philippe Albrecht from the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance a member of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee. He was Parliament’s rapporteur on a landmark legislative project, the EU general data protection regulation, aiming to update the EU’s current data protection laws, which have been in place for over 20 years. He successfully carried the file through trialogues after it had been stuck in negotiations since 2011.
The GSMA congratulates the winners from each category on the work done and wishes them even more success in future.