Manfred Weber
| Manfred Weber MEP |
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| Leader of the European People's Party in the European Parliament | |
| Assumed office 4 June 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Joseph Daul |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| Assumed office 13 June 2004 |
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| Constituency | Germany |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 July 1972 Niederhatzkofen, Germany |
| Political party |  German:Christian Social Union  EU:European People's Party |
| Alma mater | Munich University of Applied Sciences |
Manfred Weber (born on 14 July 1972) is a German politician and Member of the European Parliament for Bavaria with the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, part of the European People's Party.
In the Bavarian state elections in 2003, Weber became the state’s youngest parliamentarian at the age of 29.[1] Currently heading the European People's Party Group, he is the youngest group leader in the current Parliament as well as the youngest-ever group leader of the EPP.[2]
Contents
Education[edit]
- 1996: Graduate engineer (Fachhochschule)
Career[edit]
- 1996: Founded DG Beratung GmbH consultants
- 1998: Founded G+U GbR
- 2003-2007: Regional Chairman of the Bavaria Junge Union
- Member of the CSU executive board and Chairman of the CSU of Lower Bavaria
- since 2002: Member of Kelheim Regional Council
- 2002-2004: Member of the Bavarian Regional Assembly
Member of the European Parliament, 2004–present[edit]
Weber serves on the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. He is a substitute for the Committee on Regional Development, a member of the Delegation for relations with India, a substitute for the Delegation for relations with the countries of the Andean Community and a substitute on the Subcommittee on Human Rights. As rapporteur, he negotiated in 2008 for the European Parliament Directive on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals (Return Directive), the first Directive in the field of home affairs to be adopted through the ordinary legislative procedure.[3]
After his reelection in 2009 Weber became Vice-Chairman of the Group of the EPP in the European Parliament, and was responsible for setting the political strategy and the policy in the area of Justice and Home affairs.[4]
In 2015, Bavaria's Minister President Horst Seehofer nominated Weber as one of his deputies in the office of CSU chairman, making him part of the party’s leadership.
Political positions[edit]
European integration[edit]
On 7 June 2014, Weber dismissed demands by British Prime Minister David Cameron to put the brakes on European integration.[5] Weber stated that "The EU is based on an ever closer union of European peoples. That is set out in the treaties. It is not negotiable for us... We cannot sell the soul of Europe... if we grant every national parliament a veto right, Europe would come to a standstill."[5] However, he supports Cameron’s demand that Britain, as a non-euro country, should be empowered to influence eurozone policy decisions. Also, he told The Guardian in early 2015 that the United Kingdom’s drive to freeze welfare payments for EU immigrants was justified and set an example for the rest of the union.[6]
In July 2013, when the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) issued the Tavares Report criticizing the erosion of fundamental rights in Hungary, Weber dismissed it as a politically motivated attack on the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán by leftist parties.[7]
Relations with Russia[edit]
In a 2016 letter to Sigmar Gabriel, German economy minister, and Miguel Arias Cañete, EU energy commissioner, Weber criticized that the proposed Nord Stream 2 pipeline project would undermine the EU’s foreign and security goals by increasing dependence on Gazprom, Russia’s gas export monopoly. Rather than new supplies across the Baltic, Weber called upon the Commission to accelerate its efforts to import more gas across Turkey from the Caspian Sea, and even potentially Iran and Iraq.[8]
Other activities[edit]
- Institute for European Politics (IEP), Member of the Board of Trustees
References[edit]
- ^ Toby Vogel (November 20, 2014), Manfred Weber – calm conciliator European Voice.
- ^ Toby Vogel (November 20, 2014), Manfred Weber – calm conciliator European Voice.
- ^ Speakers at Harvard Kennedy School 2015 European Conference at Harvard, February 27-28, 2015.
- ^ Speakers at Harvard Kennedy School 2015 European Conference at Harvard, February 27-28, 2015.
- ^ a b reuters.com: "New head of European conservatives dismisses Cameron's EU demands" 7 Jun 2014
- ^ Ian Traynor (January 5, 2016), EU reform: senior German politicians move to support David Cameron The Guardian.
- ^ R. Daniel Kelemen (June 18, 2015), EPP loves Orbán Politico Europe.
- ^ Christian Oliver (May 1, 2016), Top German MEP joins foes of controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline Financial Times.
External links[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manfred Weber. |
- Official website
- Personal profile of Manfred Weber in the European Parliament's database of members
- Declaration (PDF) of financial interests (German)
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Joseph Daul |
Leader of the European People's Party in the European Parliament 2014–present |
Incumbent |
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Parliamentary group: European People's Party Group
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