Even though the Parliament is the only directly elected EU institution, it's still pretty obscure to the average European citizen. I could hardly name a handful of my country’s members myself.
This summer, let’s get to know its members a little more personally.
I emailed all 718 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) asking them to share their plans for the parliamentary break. I received 124 responses, 93 of which shared their plans – while that's quite good for a cold email with an unusual request, I can only imagine the rest are already lying by the pool.
Who wrote back?
Beyond hearing about summer plans, I was curious to see who would respond at all.
Germans were overrepresented at 32% of responses, despite making up only 13% of all MEPs. Maybe the Germans are particularly excited for summer or just big fans of The European Correspondent, but it more likely has something to do with the fact that I’m German myself, and their teams are more inclined to respond to journalists from their own countries.
Nearly half of Finnish MEPs responded, a much higher rate than any other country. That one, I don’t have an explanation for, but I can tell you that at least three of them are looking forward to time in the sauna. Jussi Saramo (The Left) wrote: “I'm truly hoping not to see any war drones while doing so!” Finnish summers are something else.
Italy and Poland, two of the biggest countries, essentially ghosted me with only one reply each. I'm not offended (I'm a little offended).
As for the political groups, the Greens were overrepresented in my inbox at 19%, while making up 7% of the Parliament. The centrist Renew Europe also responded at a higher rate (17% vs 11% in the Parliament), whereas the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) held back (19% vs 26%).
Heading home
Over half of responding MEPs mentioned using the time to be with their families.
Independent Czech MEP Ondřej Dostál captured what many must be feeling: “I am missing at home way too often, also due to the dual-seat nature of the Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg. And this happens not only to us, but to all our staff who have families. This is why we voted repeatedly, with overwhelming majorities, to have a single seat – but our vote has been so far completely ignored. Therefore, August is the only whole month that we can spend meaningfully together, undisturbed.”
Home is also the theme for their travel plans: more responding MEPs are spending the break in their home country than abroad.
Irish Renew MEP Barry Andrews wrote: “With or without a raincoat, I will be walking the beach in Dublin with my dog during the day and drinking pints of Guinness by night.”
Many emphasised being keen not to have to travel: Spanish EPP MEP Gabriel Mato shared: “After taking around six flights a week during the parliamentary year, my most unusual plan is probably not taking a plane for a few days!!”
Ideology sneaking in?
Green MEPs were the most likely to share outdoorsy plans.
Thomas Waitz (Austria) wrote: “I will spend this summer on my mountain farm in the south of Austria looking after my bees, harvesting veggies from our patch, mowing our steep slopes with my hand scythe, and spending a lot of time with my family. Thanks to the climate crisis the previously steady seasons have changed into extremes. Let's see if I will be able to relax in my natural pond while going through CAP amendments, or protect the bee hives from pesticides and biodiversity loss.”
Six out of eight right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) respondents and four out of five far-right Patriots for Europe respondents are staying in their home country, the largest proportions in my responses amongst all groups.
Tomáš Kubín, a Czech MEP in the Patriots group, was an exception: “My plans for the summer aren’t very adventurous. I’ll try to spend as much time as possible with my family. Me and my wife are going to Croatia to our favourite naturist resort, and we’d like to tour part of Europe on motorcycles with my son.” Sounds adventurous to me…
No days off
Just under a third of respondents are still on political duty during their break.
Lithuanian Social Democrat (centre-left) MEP Povilas Andriukaitis is spending the summer researching and drafting amendments for an EU law proposed last December to strengthen Europe’s biotechnology and biomanufacturing sectors. (The sauna is starting to sound pretty good.)
Irish Renew member Ciaran Mullooly is fighting for workers losing their jobs due to decarbonisation in the coal mining and peat harvesting regions of Poland and Ireland – and celebrating his 60th birthday.
German MEPs like Sabrina Repp (Social Democrats) and Anna Cavazzini (Greens) are busy campaigning for upcoming state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony Anhalt.
Off the clock
All Dutch respondents are traveling abroad: Brigitte Van Den Berg (Renew) is “going backpacking in the jungle, but where? Who knows!”, while Raquel García Hermida-Van Der Walle (Renew) is taking the train from Friesland to Spain: “It's the best and most adventurous way to travel. I always have great conversations with people we meet along the way.”
Hungarian EPP member Csaba Bogdán would disagree. His favourite way to travel “is simply to pick a direction, start driving without a detailed plan, and stop wherever the day happens to end.”
For German MEP Kai Tegethoff (Greens), however, “there's no better way to experience different regions than by bike.” He’s going on a personal Tour de France, cycling all the way from Brussels to Spain.
Some are using the time off to take advantage of the emptied-out city: Before her backpacking trip, Brigitte Van Den Berg is playing tourist: “After almost three years in Brussels, I’ve realised I haven’t seen much of the city yet.”
Andreas Schieder, Austrian Social Democrat MEP, wrote: “While others can’t wait to drop everything, hop on the plane and leave the country after their last meeting before the summer, my plans are to explore Belgium by bike.”
For others, the break leaves time to catch up with hobbies and life events: Ondřej Kolář (Czechia, EPP) will spend most of the time reconstructing a semi-ruined 1920’s house near Prague, Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Denmark, Greens) is expecting a baby girl in August, and Zala Tomašič (Slovenia, EPP) is getting married. While Lukas Sieper (Germany, Renew) is going to a techno festival, Axel Voss (Germany, EPP) is excited to return to the GamesCom in Cologne.
Travel tips
If you’re looking for a spontaneous trip idea, several MEPs shared recommendations. Maybe you’ll run into them?
Dutch Renew MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy gushed about his hometown, The Hague. “This city really shines in summer, with everything from world-class museums to the beaches and the rich natural beauty of the dunes.”
Latvian ECR member Roberts Zīle wrote: “Come to Latvia and enjoy the great summer, you won't regret it.”
His Polish colleague Arkadiusz Mularczyk has a (less breezy) recommendation to visit Poland's Małopolska region: “It is home to several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Historic Centre of Kraków, the Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines, the wooden churches of southern Małopolska, and the German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oświęcim – a place of remembrance and reflection on one of the darkest chapters of European history. You should see all these places.”