Brussels, January 12, 2023 The German Broadband Association (BREKO) today honored the first digital politician at EU level in Brussels as part of its “Fiber for Future” initiative. The award was presented to MEP Dr. Patrick Breyer for his commitment to digital civil rights and digital policy.

Since the 2021 parliamentary year, the German Broadband Association (BREKO) has been awarding prizes under the motto “Fiber for Future” to politicians at federal and state level who provide important digital policy impetus as part of their political work. The aim of the initiative is to highlight the importance of digital policy and digital infrastructure for all policy areas. With the first award in 2023, the fiber optic association is extending the prominent campaign to the European political scene.

BREKO Managing Director Dr. Stephan Albers commented: “With the award for digital politicians, BREKO is already increasing the visibility of digital policy and its players at all political levels in Germany. The cooperation of European member companies for the progress of digitalization and the expansion of the digital infrastructure in the EU member states is becoming increasingly important. The foundations for the expansion of fiber optics, competition and national telecommunications laws are laid at EU level, where the Parliament in particular plays a decisive role as the voice of the citizens. The member states can learn a lot from each other in the area of digitalization and thus make faster progress. Close cooperation is essential when it comes to protecting critical infrastructure or building a European cloud ecosystem. That is why BREKO would also like to draw attention to EU politicians who are driving forward European digital policy and issues that are of central importance for the expansion of fiber optics in Europe.”

Dr. Patrick Breyer, Member of the European Parliament for the Green Group, was honoured for his commitment to digital policy issues at EU level. His tireless commitment to digital policy covers a range of topics and legislative acts. On issues such as ePrivacy, the EU Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles, cybersecurity, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), he has championed digital civil rights and freedom of expression. In the area of data retention, Breyer advocates the right to privacy and EU fundamental rights.

Dr. Patrick Breyer is delighted to receive the award from the association. “As an MEP for the small Pirate Party and a digital freedom fighter, I am particularly pleased to receive this recognition for my work in Brussels. In the digital age, fast, affordable, secure, confidential and uncensored access to the internet is essential. We are united in our commitment to this despite sometimes differing positions, such as on the planned network access fees. The opportunities and risks of the digital revolution for our future are still far from being fully understood – especially in politics.”