The highly prestigious Charlemagne Prize, as announced a few days ago, goes to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people, who are thus honored for their services to Europe. 
This award is a recognition of Ukraine's struggle to defend not only its own sovereignty and the lives of its citizens, but also European values. The Charlemagne Prize Trustees and the City of Aachen consider this an act of solidarity with Ukraine and believe that the Ukrainian people, under the leadership of Zelenskyy, deserve encouragement to enter into accession negotiations with the European Union. 
The International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen is the oldest and best-known prize awarded for work done in the service of European unification. The prize is named for Charlemagne, the Frankish king revered by his contemporaries as the 'Father of Europe'.