New Challenges for the German Security Policy - IFSH
New Challenges for the German Security Policy - IFSH
New Challenges for the German Security Policy - IFSH
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European Parliament, Brussels<br />
April 26, 2006<br />
The group of visitors had <strong>the</strong> opportunity to meet <strong>the</strong> Vice-President of <strong>the</strong> European Parliament<br />
Mrs. Dr. Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann and to talk with her about current problems and challenges of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Parliament and of <strong>the</strong> European Union.<br />
Dr. Kaufmann welcomed <strong>the</strong> group in a conference room<br />
and introduced herself and her major activities as a Vice-<br />
President of <strong>the</strong> European Parliament. She started her<br />
political career in <strong>the</strong> <strong>German</strong> party “Partei des<br />
Demokratischen Sozialismus”(PDS) and was a member of<br />
<strong>the</strong> PDS Executive in <strong>the</strong> period 1991-1993 and 2000-<br />
2002. In addition Mrs. Dr. Kaufmann was a Federal Vice-<br />
Chair of PDS between 1993 and 2000. She had an observer<br />
status at <strong>the</strong> European Parliament in <strong>the</strong> period 1991-1994<br />
and later on in 1999 she became a member of it as a deputy<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Confederal Group of <strong>the</strong> European United Left –<br />
Nordic Green Left. Dr. Kaufmann was also member of three core delegations and respective<br />
commissions: Convention <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> Charter of Human Rights of <strong>the</strong> EU, Vice-Chair of <strong>the</strong> European<br />
Parliament delegation (2000) and Constitutional convention<br />
(2002-2003).<br />
Mrs. Kaufmann pointed out <strong>the</strong> relevance of <strong>the</strong> work of <strong>the</strong><br />
Constitutional Convention and expressed her personal<br />
disappointment with <strong>the</strong> two refusals of <strong>the</strong> European<br />
Constitution in France and in <strong>the</strong> Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands. She offered<br />
various possible explanations and explained <strong>the</strong> resulting<br />
dilemma <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> EU. The Vice-President did not support <strong>the</strong><br />
general redefinition of <strong>the</strong> content of <strong>the</strong> Constitution since<br />
this will take ano<strong>the</strong>r couple of years to be completed, because <strong>the</strong> constitution already reflects a lot<br />
of bargaining, compromise and “package deals”. She stressed <strong>the</strong> importance of <strong>the</strong> EU<br />
Constitution <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> future of Europe. She also outlined <strong>the</strong> shortcomings of EU’s visa and data<br />
security policy. She saw no chance <strong>for</strong> Russia in <strong>the</strong> near future to enter <strong>the</strong> European Union.<br />
Concerning <strong>the</strong> CIA-Committee of <strong>the</strong> EU Parliament, Dr. Kaufmann revealed that <strong>the</strong>re were<br />
several cases of abduction of European citizens through <strong>the</strong> US CIA-agents and made clear that <strong>the</strong><br />
EU Parliament would undertake a thorough investigation about it.<br />
Alexander Tsukev, Qin Yunfeng<br />
European Commission, Brussels<br />
April 26, 2006<br />
Mrs. Trautmann from <strong>the</strong> external speaker team provided us with a warm welcome and an<br />
introduction to <strong>the</strong> European Commission. She started with <strong>the</strong> challenges of work at <strong>the</strong><br />
Commission and <strong>the</strong>re<strong>for</strong>e, gave us an interesting insight into daily life at <strong>the</strong> Commission. Apart<br />
from <strong>the</strong> many languages present at <strong>the</strong> Commission, cultural diversity plays an important role –<br />
creating challenges and making work more interesting at <strong>the</strong> same time. Responding to questions<br />
raised by <strong>the</strong> group, Mrs. Trautmann explained <strong>the</strong> role of interpreters and translators at <strong>the</strong> EU<br />
institutions. Ano<strong>the</strong>r aspect raised by <strong>the</strong> group was <strong>the</strong> chance of employment at <strong>the</strong> European<br />
Commission. Here Mrs. Trautmann spoke freely about <strong>the</strong> enrollment process and <strong>the</strong> difficulties<br />
<strong>for</strong> applicants without working experience.<br />
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