FMA REFLECTION GROUP ON THE FUTURE OF THE EU
In 2021 the FMA decided to contribute actively to the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) with the creation of the FMA Reflection Group on the Future of the European Union that monitored the discussions and work of the CoFoE, providing its contributions and proposals on the most imperative issues. The Group met regularly to discuss future positions on the different fields of actions with the academic support of Prof. Dr. Steven van Hecke (KULeuven).
The FMA Reflection Group met on 22 April, on 30 June, on 12 Octobre, and finally on the 7 December 2021 and approved during the management Committee Meeting the Proposal that was present on the 9 February 2022 to the presse and the public. You can find information in the press releases of the 9th of February.
We also invite you to follow us and actively participate in our open debates, which are co-organised with the European University Institute and the following European political foundations: European Progressive Studies, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, European Liberal Forum, Green European Foundation.
Please find presented on this page the profile of the members of the FMA Reflection Group:
Hans-Gert Pöttering (Chair)
President of the European Parliament Former Members Association and EP Former President.
Hans-Gert Pöttering is a German politician (Christian Democratic Union of Germany) and was the longest serving member of the European Parliament (EP) since its first direct election in 1979. His mandate ended on July 1st 2014 – after 35 years of uninterrupted membership. Dr. Pöttering held a number of leading positions in the EP and European People’s Party throughout his political career. From 1999 to 2007 he was Chairman of the European People’s Party-European Democrats Group in the European Parliament. From 2007 until 2009 he served as President of the European Parliament. He initiated the House of European History which was opened in Brussels in May 2017.
Enrique Barón Crespo
Enrique Barón Crespo is a Spanish politician (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) and was elected 1986 to the European Parliament. He first joined the Socialist Group as Vice-Chair, and was then President of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1992. He was also Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1995 and Chairman for the Group of the Party of European Socialists from 1999 to 2004. His mandate at the European parliament ended in 2009.
Elmar Brok
Elmar Brok is a German politician (Christian Democratic Union of Germany) and was first elected in 1980 joining the Group of the European People’s Party. He held many different positions in the European Parliament such as the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs between 1999 and 2007 and 2012-2017. His mandate at the European parliament ended in 2019.
Pat Cox
Pat Cox is an Irish politician (Fine Gael) and was first elected in 1989. He first joined the Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group as Vice-Chair, before holding the Chair from 1998 to 2002. He served as President of the European Parliament from 2002 to 2004. His mandate at the European parliament ended in 2004.
Monica Frassoni
Monica Frassoni is an Italian politician (Federation of the Greens) and was first elected in 1999 joining the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance. She held the Co-Chair from 2002 to 2009. Her mandate at the European parliament ended in 2009.
Zita Gurmai
Zita Gurmai is a Hungarian politician (Hungarian Socialist Party) and was first elected in 2003 joining the Group of the Party of European Socialists. She held the Vice-Chair of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality from 2004 to 2009 and of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs from 2009 to 2014. Her mandate at the European parliament ended in 2014.
Genowefa Grabowska
Genowefa Grabowska is a Polish politician (Social Democracy of Poland) and was first elected in 2003 joining the Group of the Party of European Socialists. She was first a Member of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market in 2004, before joining the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and working as a Quaestor from 2004 to 2007. Her mandate at the European parliament ended in 2009.
Alain Lamassoure
Alain Lamassoure is a French politician (Independents) and was first elected in 1989. He joined then the Liberal and Democratic Reformist Group before changing in 1991 to the Group of the European People’s Party. He held the Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Control from 1992 to 1993, of the Committee on Budgets from 2009 to 2014 and of the Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar in Nature or Effect from 2015 to 2016. His mandate at the European parliament ended in 2019.
Richard Corbett (Observer)
Richard Corbett is a British politician and was first elected in 1996. He joined the Group of the Party of European Socialists and on a national level, he has always been part of the Labour Party. During his five mandates in the European Parliament he was Vice-Chair of the Committee on Institutional Affairs from 1997-1999, Vice-Chair of the Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia and he finished his last term as Vice-Chair of the Delegation for relations with Afghanistan from 2019 until 2020.
Steven van Hecke (Academic support)
Steven Van Hecke is a political scientist and associate professor in Comparative and EU Politics at the KU Leuven Public Governance Institute where he is also the Chairman of the Wilfried Martens Fund since 2014. He studied philosophy and political science at the universities of Leuven (Belgium) and Hull (UK) and obtained a PhD in social sciences. He is currently also President of the KU Leuven KADOC, a Documentation and Research Centre on Religion, Culture and Society, since 2017 and Chairman of the KU Leuven Metaforum working group ‘Futuring Europe’ since 2018. His research agenda is at the intersection of comparative politics, EU studies and political history.