COVID-19 shows urgent need for EU reform – to save lives and work towards a hopeful future for all of Europe
One year ago, around 500.000 people voted for Volt across the continent with the agenda to fix the EU! This agenda is now more important than ever. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that in Europe, the crisis is no longer only a health and economic crisis, but that it also pushes the EU in its […]
France and Germany propose 500 billion euro EU Recovery Fund
Are things finally moving in Europe? I’m carefully optimistic but I think caution is needed when assessing the initiative for a COVID-19 Recovery Fund. Merkel and Macron, the leaders of the two largest EU countries agreed to push for a common EU fiscal response in the form of a EUR 500 billion debt issuance at […]
Proposal on how to turn the Eurozone budget (RSP/BICC) into a central tool for a European sustainable recovery, while improving the resilience of our societies to future shocks
The massive economic and social disruption caused by the covid-19 outbreak is confronting governments today with a twofold challenge. They need to initiate a swift and sustainable economic recovery and they need to invest in the resilience of our economies, societies and administrations to future shocks. This pandemic has shown that crisis readiness of public […]
Start-ups, SMEs and EU policy – my assessment of the EU SME Strategy
On Tuesday, the European Commission launched its SME strategy. In short, the Commission focuses on three points: Help SMEs digitalize and make the investments to become carbon neutral in the medium-term Reduce regulatory burden for SMEs and make sure rules and regulations are being aligned in the different member states Improve the access to financing […]
Get your name tags ready, it’s Conference time!
Ok, maybe not this type of conference. But, to be honest, what “type” of conference is the question! In this blog post I’ll try and explain what the mysterious “Conference on the Future of Europe” is all about and where it’s headed. I hope this can make things clearer! First and foremost: what is the […]
Why I’m ashamed to be European
WHAT FOLLOWS WILL NOT BE EASY TO READ – BUT IT IS IMPORTANT NONETHELESS. [English version published in the Guardian here] Two weeks ago I got on a plane and flew to Lesbos. From Mytilene airport we continued by car to Moria, a small village overlooking the Aegean Sea. The water is clear, in the […]
It’s your future!
As some of you might know, I am a member of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs. Tonight, we will adopt a “Draft opinion on the Conference on the Future of Europe”, which will then be voted upon by all Parliamentarians next week in Strasbourg. But what is this Conference really about? Who is discussing the future […]
Voting for the new European Commission
Dear all, Three and a half months ago, I explained in a statement why I voted against the election of Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission. Since then, quite some time has passed, and today I voted in favour of the newly proposed Commission. Let me explain why: I have not […]
Thoughts on Von der Leyen’s proposed Commissioners
Dear all, The European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen just presented her leadership team proposal for the coming 5 years. It is a strong positive signal that she is strengthening the digital agenda with Margarethe Vestager and that she is putting climate-policy as a priority in the hands of Frans Timmermans. For our key […]
Why nobody is interested in politics
“Cool, what you’re doing there, that’s exactly what we need right now – but unfortunately that’s too political for me” Too political. All other criteria met: committed, well prepared, many people behind you, exactly in line with the foundation, the funding program, the film company, the interviewee – but unfortunately too political. Since […]
