MEPs, European Parliament and Commission representatives, as well as public affairs professionals, descended on the glamorous Concert Noble in Brussels for the annual MEP Awards. 20 deputies were rewarded for their outstanding work, during a ceremony hosted by veteran MEP Paul Rübig.
Winners
The first award of the night went to Nicola Caputo (S&D, Italy) for agriculture, who said he was "thrilled" and that this was, "an incentive to work even harder in the coming year."
The animal welfare award went to Anja Hazekamp (GUE/NGL, Netherlands), who was unable to attend the ceremony.
Therese Comodini Cachia (EPP, MT) won in the corporate governance category, who told the audience, "this award confirms my belief that politicians must dialogue with stakeholders to understand their obstacles and aspirations."
Mariya Gabriel (EPP, Bulgaria) was rewarded for her work in the field of development, and promised to continue working on, "involving more EU citizens in development policy."
The next category of the night was digital agenda; the award went to Julia Reda (Greens/EFA, DE), who joked that she, "never thought a Pirate Party member could win an award without hacking into the system."
Accepting the award for economic and monetary affairs, José Manuel Fernandes (EPP, Portugal) said this was, "an opportunity to showcase the excellent work done not just by MEPs, but all parliamentary staff."
Filiz Hyusmenova (ALDE, Bulgaria) won the award for employment and social affairs, and said, "this award shows the importance of working side by side with NGOs."
The energy award went to Miriam Dalli (S&D, Malta), who told the audience that this was, "for all those who believe it's time to push the EU towards and cleaner energy and implementation of the COP21 agreement."
The next award of the night was for environment, and went to Simona Bonafè (S&D, IT), who admitted that it was, "a challenge to change our economic model to promote sustainable growth."
Dita Charanzová (ALDE, Czech Republic) won the award for foreign affairs and said, "Growing up I wanted to be an actress, but instead I became a politician - this award shows that I've made it."
The health award went to Cristian-Silviu Buşoi (EPP, Romania), who praised the EU for having, "done a lot to improve the health of its citizens. This award is an incentive to keep working hard."
Angelika Niebler (EPP, Germany) won in the ICT policy category and thanked, "all those who helped me work towards abolishing roaming charges."
The next award went to Roberta Metsola (EPP, Malta) for her work on justice and civil liberties, who pointed out that, "working in the European Parliament is not all glamour and awards ceremonies - it's mostly about painstaking negotiations."
Kerstin Westphal (S&D, Germany) won the regional policy award, but was unable to attend.
Accepting the award for research and innovation, Michaƚ Boni (EPP, Poland) said, "we can all be innovative."
Emma McClarkin (ECR, UK) took the stage to accept the sport and physical activity award, and thanked her fellow nominees, "for their collaboration, especially on the fight against corruption in football."
Viviane Reding (EPP, Luxembourg) took home the trophy for trade and internal market, and said via a video that the award, "echoes the overwhelming majority support for my TiSA proposals."
Dominique Riquet (ALDE, France) was unable to attend the ceremony, but his staff were on hand to accept the transport award on his behalf, saying this honour was long overdue.
The tourism award went to Claudia Monteiro de Aguiar (EPP, Portugal), who said, "I would like to share this award with other MEPs and my team. Tourism is not just about pleasure and leisure, it is also about growth."
The outstanding achievement award went to Jan Albrecht (Greens/EFA, Germany).