Hanne Dahl will take Mr Bonde's seat in the European Parliament
Jens-Peter Bonde leaves the European Parliament!
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
– Veteran MEP decides to focus on leading the EUDemocrats-
On 9 May this year, the euro deputy who was first elected in 1979, and has been active in the European Parliament ever since, will quit the position in order to focus on building a better European Union. Mr Bonde decided to use his unmatched experience in the affairs of the Parliament for the benefit of the EUDemocrats, a European Political Party he helped found. His parliamentary seat will be taken by Hanne Dahl, leader of the Danish June Movement.
29 years of dedication to his cause
For Mr Bonde, who will be 60 years on 27 March this year, this change will be an important turning point in his life, one which he intends to mark with a grand reception in Copenhagen. Having worked as much as 100 hours a week in his years within the Parliament, he has assisted to all important moments in the history of the European Union. A champion for Danish independence from the body, Mr Bonde has seen the Union change and has changed himself along with it, to becoming the main proponent of democratic reform.
When he first took part in the meetings between the initial group leaders, Jens-Peter Bonde notes how corrupt the politicians involved were. “They had cars and drivers paid by parliament and then they cashed travel allowances for the same travels!”
But things did change- albeit slowly. Proposals made by Mr Bonde twice a year to reform of the travel allowances system went unheard for 20 years – but in the end democracy did triumph and the group leaders themselves gradually became the ones most interested in keeping a fair and clean house in their own parties. Things are far from perfect – as the issue of the secret audit report has shown (you can read about it here: http://www.eudemocrats.org/23/article/81/), the struggle for fairness in Europe is still far from over.
During his years in the Parliament, Jens-Peter Bonde has been more than half of the time a group leader or co-president. Currently co-chairing the Independence and Democracy Group, he has always been a constructive voice of opposition to undemocratic projects of the bigger groups(for example the vote on the Lisbon Treaty - you can read all about it here:http://www.eudemocrats.org/23/article/74/ ).
He says he took inspiration in his work from great Danish statesmen, like Hans-Peter Hanssen, Nord-Slesvig politician who was crucial in the province’s reunification with Denmark, or Karl-Otto Meyers, Kiel Landestag politician – both men were successful opponents of majorities and championed in polite and constructive manners the causes of the unheard few.
From withdrawal to reform
Initially an outright opponent of his country’s membership in the Union, the Danish MEP eventually took to trying to reform a Union which initially was perceived as a “Club of the Rich”. Seeing the enlargement of the EU to many more countries and the closeness that Europe can bring, Mr Bonde turned his focus onto the big problems of the system. Lacking in transparency, hugely bureaucratic and too imposing on member states, the European Union has become for him something that needs to be changed, not necessarily avoided.
He has been hard working in the past years in order to change the culture of total-harmonisation into a more flexible cooperation based on joint minimum rules permitting more freedom for the member states to have higher standards for environment, health, consumer protection, security, workers health and environment, animal welfare, social and cultural diversity.
Following a No victory in the Danish Referendum on the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, a group with the issues of transparency, proximity/closeness/real subsidiary and democracy for Europe at its core was established in Denmark. Thanks to Danish voters, that year, quite a number of reforms that were meant to further the opaque and undemocratic nature of European cooperation were avoided.
Many other victories were scored in the 90s and early 2000s by Mr Bonde. For example, he managed to force the publishing of various documents of the Commission, all previously secret for no genuine reason. The internal telephone book of the Commission, the minutes and agendas of Commission meetings and even the full list of all 3.094 working groups within the huge body of the European Commission, all were one by one brought to light and made public due to his actions. Mr Bonde leaves a legacy in parliament. Further such little breaches in the dark crust that is the bureaucracy of the Union will be made due to the efforts of the Danish MEP and his group.
What the future holds
As he is currently the interim president of the pan-European movement called “EUDemocrats”, Mr Bonde awaits the EUD congress in Copenhagen this April in order to focus on this line of his work. His aim is to help establish ‘June Movement’ – like groups in all Europe. The intention is, Mr Bonde observes, “to have more seats for Euro-critical lists working critically BUT CONSTRUCTIVELY in the next European Parliament.
Hanne Dahl, age 37, will occupy the current MEP seat that Jens-Peter is leaving. This change, of age and sex is thought to bring a fresh new image for the Danish Movement in the Parliament, showing that more than one generation is willing to militate for democracy.
For your information
Hanne Dahl can be contacted at +45 22 88 15 38.
Jens-Peter Bonde at +45 20 49 02 51.
Jens-Peter Bonde’s weekly newsletter will continue. It might not be as bilingual as in the past years, and the content will be less European Parliament oriented- but expect the same quality of discourse that you have grown accustomed with.