As Morski writes on the 12th of February, 2020, Croatian MEP Tonino Picula has been shortlisted for a prestigious MEP Award, known as the "EU Oscar", which is awarded to the best MEPs in certain categories. MEP Tonino Picula was nominated among the top three candidates for the Energy Award.
''I'm extremely honoured with this nomination as it's a great recognition of my many years of work. But this is first and foremost a tribute to the European islanders who have recognised the energy transition as a priority and made my initiative a success! I look forward to continuing to work on the energy transition of the islands, which already serve as one of the roadmaps of Europe's most important project for decades to come, the European Green Plan,'' said MEP Tonino Picula about the nomination.
One of MEP Tonino Picula's priorities was to include geographically vulnerable areas in European policies. That is why, back in 2016, he proposed a preparatory action plan and submitted an amendment to the EU budget, which provided 2 million euros.
This resulted in the creation of a Clean Energy Initiative for the EU islands. The initiative has involved more than 40 island communities across Europe to date in the Secretariat projects, and with the new amendment, Picula has secured an extra million euros from the budget for their work in 2020. The success of the initiative has also been confirmed by the European Commission, who has listed it in the European Green Deal.
Seeing in practice a positive outcome for the EU islands, Croatian MEP Tonino Picula suggested another successful initiative to extend a similar concept to a clean energy transition in rural areas, with another 1 million euros from this year's EU budget under preparation.
Following his successful Vice-Presidential term, Picula was elected President of the SEARICA Inter-Group for Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas (SEARICA), which brings together 114 MEPs from as many as 24 EU member states.
MEP Tonino Picula continues to work towards achieving the goals of an energy transition that will not leave anyone out and that will take special care of vulnerable environments.
The decision on the nominations was made by a jury of Parliament Magazine, and the winner will be announced on Monday, February the 17th, 2020.
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