István Hegedűs took part in the panel discussion on the conference entitled In the Wake of the Hungarian National Interest - the Relationship between the National, the Regional and the European Interest organised by the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs on 27 November 2009.
People and institutions were selected for the „EurActiv Awards for Debating Europe Nationally” at the end of September 2009 in Brussels. One of the three Hungarian winners was HES chairman István Hegedűs.