For Women in Politics, the Moment is Now
Last month, we went to Capitol Hill to record an EU NOW podcast with Marietje Schaake, an influential Member of the European Parliament (EP) who was visiting Washington DC with other Members of the EP’s Delegation for relations with the U.S. Schaake sat down with us in-between meetings with Members of the U.S. Congress, her direct counterparts.
“I have a big transatlantic heart.”
Schaake studied in Ohio when she was 17 and later did a fellowship at the U.S. Congress. She describes her experience in America as key to her commitment to the transatlantic partnership: “I have a big transatlantic heart and owe a lot to the transatlantic cooperation.”
Elected in 2009 as Member of the European Parliament at just 30 years-old, Schaake has been involved in many EU policy talks, ranging from foreign policy (with a particular focus on human rights, EU-US relations, Iran and the Arab peninsula), to trade and the digital economy. In her position as Vice-Chair of the EP Delegation for relations with the U.S., she comes to America regularly to engage with the U.S. administration, Congress and various stakeholders. This dialogue is facilitated by the EP’s DC office, the European Parliament Liaison Office to the U.S. Congress. The U.S. is the only third country where the EP has a permanent representation.
In her latest conversations with American policymakers, Schaake emphasized the need for the U.S. to keep supporting “the multilateral trading system that was built by the U.S. and the EU together” along with net neutrality. She also stressed the importance of a strong transatlantic partnership to support the international order and the rule of law, while simultaneously appeasing tensions on the global scene.
“We Are part of that Change”
In our conversation, Schaake gives advice to women and young girls who dream of a career in politics, but might at times feel discouraged, fearing discrimination.
“For women, the moment is now,” she says. “I hope that girls are never discouraged. In politics, no one is waiting for you. But once you have that ambition, the best way is to ‘do it’. You have to make your space yourself, build and win trust.”
In January, while attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Schaake noticed an under-representation of women. Yet while this was disappointing, she remains positive that things are in fact evolving in the right direction: beyond Davos, more and more women are getting senior political roles — including at the European Parliament — because young women are stepping up. “Change is happening,” she told us, “and we are part of that change.”
Schaake told us that Simone Veil had served as a role model for her. She describes Veil, the first woman elected President of the European Parliament back in 1979 and an Auschwitz survivor who passed away last year, as having been “an extraordinary source of inspiration. Her views of rebuilding Europe as a community of values after the darkest page of our history was an anchor point we should never lose sight of.”
“Show what you want your society to look like.”
Schaake also calls on the current and upcoming generations to get involved in politics as well. Whereas many young men and women are currently reluctant to enter the political scene because of practices they dislike, she demands they move beyond such fear to “show what they want their society to look like.”
As of right now, Schaake claims that the Canada-EU trade agreement and EU law safeguarding net neutrality have been the European Parliament’s achievements she is thus far most proud of during her 2 terms in office. Looking ahead, she hopes the next European elections in 2019 will lead to an intense political campaign which will not be seen as disconnected from local and national concerns. “It’s hard to divorce domestic and European issues,” she says, “there are multiple components — local, national, European — to the challenges we’re facing.”
Schaake also welcomes the renewed optimism in Europe, while still warning that the EU has a lot of work to do to strengthen its foreign and defense policy, handle Brexit properly, and continue to steer youth unemployment and migration in the correct direction.
Learn more listening to Episode 19 of the EU NOW podcast from the Delegation of the EU to the U.S.
