Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has been awarded the annual European Business Press Award by the European Business Press (EBP) Association.
Now in its 29th year, the award was presented to Mr Coveney by EBP President, Christian Rainer as part of the association's 2020 General Assembly hosted digitally by the Business Post, Ireland's EBP representative member.
Mr Rainer said: “This award represents a significant recognition by Europe’s business press community of Mr Coveney’s work to date as Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.
“In addition it is also a celebration of the efforts by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Irish Government and the Irish people for their handling of Brexit; maintaining a strong and steady tie to the European Union and Ireland’s fellow EU members; winning a seat for Ireland on the UN Security Council; and seeing through the complex formation of a new Government.”
The EBP represents 44 leading business publications from 24 European countries. These include publications such as the Wall Street Journal Europe, Borsen in Denmark, Dagens Indurtri in Sweden, Finacieele Dagblad in the Netherlands, Handelsblatt in Germany, and Profi in Austria.
Accepting the award, Mr Coveney said he would accept the award in the spirit of cooperation with European partners.
“The news that I was nominated and chosen for this award was very much unexpected and it is something that I greatly appreciate,” he said. “There has been an extraordinary sense of solidarity across the European Union throughout the Brexit process.
“I will continue to work intensively in the period ahead to deliver our shared desire for a satisfactory outcome. One that maintains not only the close relationship between the UK and Ireland but between the UK and all our European partners.”
