WHAT DO MEPS DO ? Accounts of their parliamentary activities in the seventh European Parliament 2009-2014, written by 48 MEPs coming from seventeen different EU member states. Collected & edited by Bill Newton Dunn Published by Allendale Publishing 2014 [email protected] Copyright © Bill Newton Dunn 2014 Bill Newton Dunn has asserted his right under Copyright law to be identiFied as the author oF this work All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any Form or by any means, without permission in writing From Allendale Publishing. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Printed & bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY ISBN 0-9528277-5-1 Price 20 € or £ 15 2 JAN PHILIPP ALBRECHT MEP 2009 - Germany, Alliance 90/The Green party Staying obstinate ! "In case I come back to the European Parliament, I will come back only as a Member of Parliament.” This is what I answered when my former employer asked me about my plans after having finished my studies. I just had finished an internship at the European Parliament for some months, and I was astonished that what was supposed to be the so-called "elite" were mainly bureaucrats, mainly men, wearing black suits and ties, who had qualified for well-paid jobs in the European institutions within a short time. When talking about coming back as a Member of the European Parliament, I had just wanted to make a joke. For sure, I would not be able to keep up with those highly- qualified people. I had finished school with an average degree, I had finished my law studies in the German city of Bremen, and I had made some internships at local newspapers. But everything turned out differently. Three years later, I campaigned for the German Greens for the European elections. My aim was fighting for civil rights in the digital era and for make politicians listen to the people. I wanted to make a difference and to help re-establish democratic rules. My interests always were what challenges our society today. Finally, after I was elected as a MEP. I could not believe it. When I sat down for the first time in one of those clumsy chairs in the huge plenary hall in the European Parliament in 3 Strasbourg, it felt like in the Star Wars´ confederation council. I felt very proud and a bit eXcited, too. I made lots of speeches, I wrote masses of petitions, I talked to the press, built up a network of formal and informal contacts, and tried to convince people of what I felt was right. After a while, I noticed that a lot of my colleagues and myself, too, we did lots of work and tried to do our very best, but still it was up to the big groups in the European Parliament, the governments, ministers and the European Commission to make the decisions. It seemed that, apart from this inner circle, there was nobody able to influence their decisions. And it seemed to be even worse : there did not seem to be anybody who cared about what they decided, even if these decisions influence everyday life of more than 500 millions of citizens within the European Union. Things changed when the European Parliament had to decide about the international trade agreement ACTA. Together with many people, activists as well as politicians and scientists, I had argued against this unfair international trade agreement, and we had many good arguments to fight against this. But we always had the feeling that those who were supposed to decide, they did not show any interest in what we said. We organised discussions on ACTA, we did eXtensive networking, we published eXpert opinions, we published press releases, we talked to journalists on the record and off the record, we worked on resolutions, we tried to do everything to raise awareness of those responsible for this undemocratic and backdoor-negotiated agreement. It was not before the very last vote in the European Parliament that apparently all of a sudden, the public in several European countries raised awareness on what was going on. Interest groups fighting against ACTA and other people concerned about ACTA limiting their citizens´ rights in the digital era, 4 protested in the streets. Suddenly, all those who had not listened to our concerns before, they now wanted to talk. It was the European public protesting in the streets, first in Poland, many other European countries followed too. Tens of thousands of people raised against ACTA, fighting for freedom of the internet. Suddenly, those who formerly treated us as like some foolish nerds, became interested in our concerns. The public had put them under pressure, they could not keep ignoring us. They learned something new. They had to eXplain their decisions, and they had to eXplain why we need ACTA and why we should say "Yes" to this agreement. But they failed. This was when I really understood how little politicians can influence decisions without the public. At the same time, it is decisive to never stop asking questions and demanding for your rights. It might take months and years, but it will be worth it. Those who are responsible have to eXplain why they make their decisions. And sometimes, they have to take back their decisions, as they had to when it came to ACTA. Rejecting ACTA was a huge success for both the European public and the European Parliament, and both of them should take this success as an opportunity to make themselves aware that they can make a difference. Before the public protests started and before the European Parliament finally rejected ACTA, I had my moments when I just wanted to quit fighting against it. I felt tired about those who fought against ACTA being denounced as an unimportant minority of nerds. But then the protests started and we reached the turning point, staying obstinate was worth it ! 5 CATHERINE BEARDER MEP 2009 - U.K., Liberal Democrat representing the South East (ALDE) Arriving at the Parliament in June 2009 was really bewildering. For the first two weeks before the plenary session in Strasbourg we had no offices, no computers and knew not where to go. New MEPs were to be found wandering the corridors looking for seats or places to perch. Most alarming were the numbers of people, a sea of unfamiliar faces. I felt bewildered in a land where everyone knew each other and I was the only one lost. The buildings are vast and numbered in an inscrutable way, but once I cracked the code it became easier until I was told to go to floor five and a half ! (Ed : True. The PHS block in Brussels may have been so-named to avoid its top floor being the 13th.) I had just funded my three month election campaign myself, hotels, petrol, and food on the road and I had three credit cards at maXimum and so just getting to Brussels and staying in a hotel was a trial, as at this time I was unaware what could be claimed for, or even how. However, most alarming was the start of the time when complete strangers were starting to say "Hello Catherine". Just how did they know who I was, and who were they ? I then started to realise that a big clue was how old they were. The younger they were, the more likely they were to be assistants : the old ones were definitely MEPs. Eventually the confusion cleared and I got to find my way round and got physically fit by dashing from one meeting to the other. 6 PHIL BENNION MEP 2012 - 2014 U.K., Liberal Democrat representing West Midlands (ALDE) My political career might have ended in 2011. My enthusiasm for erecting a few wind turbines on my own farmland was seized upon by the local Tories and the single issue election for the local council saw my vote slump from 68% to 26%. I had already grown tired of populist antics in all political camps and taken on a combative and unapologetic approach to controversial issues. I was not sitting on any fences. I was put on “red alert” by the West Midlands grapevine on a number of occasions because Liz Lynne, the incumbent MEP, was suffering with her health and it was rumoured that she might stand down. When Liz’s press officer, told me the day before our Regional Conference in Birmingham that he had seen her speech and that she was indeed standing down, he asked me to feign surprise at the news. Liz and I had been a team since the 1999 election and she saw the merit in giving me the chance to fight the neXt 2014 election on my own record. With my political energies devoted to editing the online “Eurofile” briefing, I was up to speed with the European Parliament across the spectrum, so did not need a settling in period. My first foray to Brussels was to recruit assistants and I had a series of interviews lined up. At St Pancras station I arrived at passport control, but before my hand even reached my jacket pocket I had a sinking feeling. I knew that my passport lay in a particular spot on my dresser at home between the loose- change dish and the pocket turf-out zone. No point in searching for it whatsoever. The French Schengen officials 7 were perfectly happy for me to continue my journey to Belgium, but warned that I may have trouble getting back.