What I wish I’d known as a new MEP
POLITICO asked MEPs what hard-won wisdom they’d pass on to the incoming class.
This article is part of POLITICO’s MEP Survival Guide, an introduction to the Brussels bubble and the European Parliament.
The first days (weeks, months) as a new member of the European Parliament are likely to be a bit of a blur. But don’t despair, because many have walked the same path before you.
POLITICO asked retiring and returning MEPs what they wish they had known when they first started out.
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Seek out advice
Tanja Fajon, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Slovenia
I wish I knew sooner how important it is to seek out good advice from the right people. It also took a while to learn to seize every opportunity, to find the courage to stand up for what you believe in and not to underestimate the impact of our work as MEPs and the great EU project as a whole. I also wish we had done an even better job, as the future looks like it will be much more difficult. When I first became an MEP, 10 years ago, we did not realize how destructive nationalism, populism and xenophobia could be.
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Learn the language
Élisabeth Morin-Chartier, European People’s Party (EPP), France
When I arrived at the European Parliament, I wish someone had told me that to legislate at the European level you have to understand specialized English in order to better manage the dossiers. I also had difficulty grasping the time it took to translate all the documents into 24 languages. The work of the EU’s lawyer-linguists is colossal, especially during interinstitutional negotiations. This is essential work that is totally ignored in French politics.
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Keep up with digital change
Sorin Moisă, European People’s Party (EPP), Romania
I was already a Brussels insider when I started out as an MEP, so there was no big shock. But I wish I had paid more attention earlier on to the huge transformative effect the digital revolution is having on the economy, society and politics. Even our sense of what is real or not has become very fluid and subject to manipulation, including through social media. This will shape my daughter’s century more than anything else.
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Don’t forget to communicate
Tiemo Wölken, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Germany
Becoming an MEP meant adjusting to a new daily life. It was hard at first to let my assistants handle my schedule and my email inbox, but I soon learned that a good team is essential to being an efficient MEP. Good and transparent communication is also a key part of the job, and the best way to keep citizens informed of what we do. Personally, I try to work as transparently as possible and use social media channels such as Twitter, YouTube and Twitch to communicate to people what is happening at the EU level.
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Speak up
Pilar Del Castillo, European People’s Party (EPP), Spain
What surprised me most when I arrived at the European Parliament is that every single MEP has the possibility to leave a strong footprint in the legislative process. The best way to earn respect from your peers is through engagement and hard work.
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Find the silver lining
György Schöpflin, European People’s Party (EPP), Hungary
There is an excellent cheese stand at the Tuesday market on Place Luxembourg.
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Brace for a quick pace
Brando Benifei, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Italy
I wish I had known how complex the legislative work can prove to be, how much negotiation it entails and how fast your daily agenda can move if you want to be an active MEP. But if you have the will and the energy, and you develop good relations in your committee and working group, you can do a lot in your first term — and even become responsible for important legislative files early on.
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Know your audience
Eva Maydell, European People’s Party (EPP), Bulgaria
If I had known that so many politicians would lose faith in the European project, I would have defended it in a different way. We shouldn’t have left voters’ fears in the hands of politicians from the fringes. If I had known that people would vote for fictional characters like Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodko [the character played by Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in the TV show “Servant of the People”], I also would have watched more political satire.
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Don’t get hung up on the process
Ingeborg Gräßle, European People’s Party (EPP), Germany
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I wish I had known early on that the recitals that precede the main text of directives and regulations have no legal value and that I shouldn’t waste my efforts on them. Same goes for all the resolutions that we debate in plenary. It’s far more valuable to focus on actual legislation. I also wish I’d known not to panic about the Commission’s suggested schedules for legislative procedures. Commission years always seem to have 30 extra weeks. Even if you achieve the impossible and stick to the initial timetable, you can be sure the Council will need extra time.
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Build trust
Sophie in ‘t Veld, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), Netherlands
There was so much I didn’t know, but luckily it’s all about learning on the job. The EU and Parliament are a fascinating, colorful and lively melting pot, and you’ll learn new skills and get new insights every day. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the key to everything is conviction: Your message will not reach anyone if you do not believe in it yourself. It is your conviction that convinces, not your words or ideas. Also, a trusted messenger can get anything across, so make sure you are credible and reliable — that’s a politician’s most important asset.
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Work on your network
Bas Eickhout, Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA), the Netherlands
New MEPs should really know that lacking a network in the beginning is difficult. Your connections in the European Commission are very important, because they do a lot of drafting of new laws. But Commission officials are always interested in hearing the opinions of the different political groups. They want to know where the center of gravity lies in the Parliament. Your biggest disadvantage as a new MEP will be lacking that network, and it’s worth investing time to build it.
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