Friday 1 May 2009

European Parliament elections 2009 (93): Why running for the EP? - An interview with Wim van de Camp (Dutch EP candidate)

An interesting interview by New Europe TV with the head of the Dutch Christian Democratic list for the EP elections 2009, Wim van de Camp, at the EPP Congress in Warsaw.

Mr van de Camp explains what he thinks should be to role of the European Union compared to the tasks of the nation state and tell why he decides to run for the European Parliament after a long career in the Dutch national parliament:



(via NEurope on Twitter)

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Under the category "European parliament elections 2009" I am following up national and European activities on the path to the European Parliament elections 2009.

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2 comments:

Erik Wesselius said...

Julien, I wonder what you find so interesting in this interview.

Julien Frisch said...

There are quite different motivations for politicians to go to the European Parliament (I'd like to remind of recent discussions on the Lithuanian national elites trying to leave the country by getting elected into the EP), and Mr van de Camp explains several things:

1. He has been "asked" by his party, which leaves room for interpretation.

2. With his national parliament background, he seems to have a particular view on the role of the European Union, and I think he makes very clear what legislation he might support or foster and where he will be reluctant.

In addition, the interview is in English, and it is a good possibility for non-Dutch-speaking people to understand the motivation of a candidate from another country who is not yet an MEP.

Usually we have a quite national perspective on how we interpret the personal choice of politicians to go to the EU-level and their political goals they connect with this choice.

So the video is not a particular scoop, but it is a good part of the puzzle of understanding these European elections from a more global perspective.