Rebecca Harms

Rebecca Harms ( born December 7, 1956 in Hambrock ) is chairman of the European Green Group in the European Parliament.

Life and career

Harms is a trained nursery and landscape gardener. It was marked politically by the anti- nuclear movement and is declared opponent of nuclear power. After abandoning her studies, she went in 1984 as a staff member of the European Parliament deputies Undine von Blottnitz to Brussels. She lives in a village of the municipality Waddeweitz in Wendland.

Party

Rebecca Harms is a member of the Party Council of Alliance 90/The Greens.

Member of Parliament

From 1994 to 2004 she was a member of the Lower Saxony state parliament and there until 2004 President of the Greens faction. For them, Filiz Polat moved after while Stefan Wenzel new party leader was.

In the European elections in 2004, she moved as a top candidate of the Alliance 90/The Greens in the European Parliament a. There she was spokeswoman for the German group, as well as Vice -President of the Greens / EFA, particularly in terms of climate protection and energy policy active.

For the European elections in Germany in 2009, she was nominated again 90/The Greens of as the top candidate. She was elected unanimously in July 2010 as Chairman of the Group of the Greens / EFA. Your Co - Chairman of the Group, Daniel Cohn- Bendit, who was elected on the French list of Europe Écologie to parliament.

She is a member of the Conference of Presidents and the Delegation to the Parliamentary Cooperation Committee EU -Ukraine.

As a deputy she is in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on Fisheries and the Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly EURO- NEST.

Memberships

Harms is a member of the European Union Parliamentarians European Parliament and founding member of Citizens' Initiative Environmental Lüchow -Dannenberg.

Political commitment

Rebecca Harms protested in June 2013 together with the staff of the Greek state broadcaster ERT in Athens. The staff occupied the broadcaster, whose program was shut down by the police in early June. In connection with the protests against the closure of the station Harms condemned the EU Austeritätspolik.

In November 2012 Rebecca Harms to visit the refugee camps Amygdaleza in Attica, Greece, in which refugee minors are detained. With a letter of protest she turned against the conditions in the camp.

In June 2012, she demonstrated along with the MEP Werner Schulz in Kharkiv Metalist Stadium as part of the EM match between Germany and the Netherlands for the release of Yulia Tymoshenko in Ukraine and other political prisoners.

Positions

Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement

In terms of the under discussion Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement with the United States Harms calls for a suspension of the negotiations. The strict environmental and consumer protection standards of the EU should not be undermined, to prevent and to genetically modified foods.

Global nuclear phase-out

At the Fukushima nuclear disaster Harms renewed its call for an international phase out nuclear power: Fukushima showed that the reactor safety could not be guaranteed.

Repository search

In a commentary in the Tagesspiegel about citizen participation in nuclear waste repository search Harms stated that the meetings convened by Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier Repository Forum, a " Flop " is.

" The haste of the legislative process is actually incompatible with the patience that is needed for serious participation process ."

"Trust is a prerequisite for the goal to solve the problem of disposal of nuclear waste. Citizens must again develop confidence in politics, but politicians must also citizens concede competence in the matter of repository search ".

From a decision to search for a repository Rebecca Harms expects that it is based on broad participation of experts and civil society.

Austerity

As part of their visits Greece Harms criticized the European austerity: "We see that the austerity in the end. We need investment, we need to reduce the pressure to save money, we need direct assistance to the health sector, which is also saved as a basis. What is happening in Greece, must be stopped. "

Relationship EU - Ukraine

Rebecca Harms warned within the planned time being failed, the Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine before, " to postpone indefinitely " the project on. Needed is " a European leadership that can be closed and consistently against both Russia defined interests, but also in Ukraine not just grind the thing ." Moreover, it is considered to be of importance that the EU supported the political opposition Ukraine and the desire of many Ukrainians approximations with the EU take seriously.

In Winter 2013/2014 Rebecca Harms traveled several times to Kiev to support the local protest movement Euromaidan, which advocates for closer linking of Ukraine to the European Union. She is convinced that Ukraine needs a European perspective and believes that it is very important for the EU, that in Ukraine prevail democratic and stable conditions. Harms therefore calls for the rapid convening of a round table, to sit in which not only the government and opposition, but also representatives of civil society.

Krimkrise 2014

In an interview on March 3, 2014 at Radio Bremen Harms had uttered in the context of Krimkrise 2014 for sanctions against the Russian leadership. Russia wants to destabilize the Ukraine and have been preparing for an invasion of the Ukraine.

By means of a tabled in Parliament resolution wanted Harms and Daniel Cohn- Bendit prevent mid March 2014 EU public statements critical of the former Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder Krimkrise. Schröder should " make no public statements on issues that concern Russia " because he is. Due to its relations with Gazprom, located in a unique conflict of interest The application was rejected.

EU agricultural policy

For the EU agricultural reform Harms expressed critical: "If we are not careful, this reform will reinforce the structural change massively. The Great will again be the winner. Direct payments were not vigorously cut. Originally a decoupling and capping of land-related payments should be achieved. The compromise found now continue the injustice of promotion. "