Episode 155: Marietje Schaake, Member of the European Parliament
The Netherlands, Amsterdam, 13 May 2016. Portrait Marietje Schaake, Dutch politician, Member European Parliament (ALDE-Democrats - Democraten 66). Photo: Bram Belloni / Nederland,
Marietje Schaake was 30 years old when she first joined the European Parliament as a representative from the Netherlands in 2009. She candidly discusses the kinds of challenges she faced as a young woman navigating what was then--and still is--mostly and old mens club. Now in her second term, Marietje serves on key committees, including the International Trade and Foreign Policy committee. She is also the vice president of the US delegation.
We caught up shortly after a series of consequential elections in Europe, including the victory of Emmanuel Macron in France and the surprising near-defeat of Therese May in the United Kingdom. We kick off this conversation discussing the current state of right wing populism in Europe and the effect that Donald Trump is having on European politics.
Our conversation about Marietje and her work as an MEP serves as an exceedingly useful explainer of how the European Parliament works--we use her efforts to create some rules of the road for digital trade as an entry point to discuss the procedures, processes and politics of the European Parliament and the EU more broadly. You will learn how the European Parliament works and why it matters.
On a personal note, Marietje is someone I've known for many years. We are both alums of Humanity in Action from our University days and it was great to catch up with her and learn about her work as an MEP.
Here's Marietje's website
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