Meglena Kuneva voted European of the Year

Brussels, 2 December 2008

Meglena Kuneva, the European commissioner for consumer protection, was declared European of the Year at European Voice’s annual awards ceremony, held at the Brussels stock exchange this evening.
Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, was declared EU Official of the Year. He was also given a special award to mark his success in being nominated four times as one of the Europeans of the Year and having won twice.
Dana Spinant, editor of European Voice, said: “Meglena Kuneva has shown that championing consumers’ interests can help make the European Union more popular. Our readers have rewarded her work by naming her European of the Year.”

European Voice, the leading source of news and analysis of European Union affairs, invited its readers to vote on a list of 25 leading European figures, nominated in five categories, to select the category winners and to choose an overall winner as European of the Year.
Kuneva had been nominated for her part in changing consumer rights to the era of digital economy. Trichet was nominated for his handling of the credit-crunch and its aftermath.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France, was voted the national politician of the year. He had been nominated for the part he played, as leader of France’s presidency of the EU, in brokering a ceasefire between Russia and Georgia.
The European Union’s battle against climate change, which dominated the legislative year, had its effect on the awards. Stavros Dimas, European commissioner for environment, was named commissioner of the year. Claude Turmes, the Luxembourgeois Green politician who has been preparing the European Parliament’s response on renewable energy, was named MEP of the year.
Winner of the inspiration of the year category was Daniel Morar, head of Romania’s anti-corruption agency.
The awards were presented during a gala dinner, at which Belgium’s Prime Minister Yves Leterme made opening remarks. The master of ceremonies for the awards was Poul Nyrup Rasmussen MEP, president of the Party of European Socialists and former prime minister of Denmark.