Heads • Europe.Table

At just before two on the night of December 17 to 18, 2022, sparkling wine was served in coffee cups: During the trilogue negotiations, Parliament, the Council and the Commission had agreed on the new rules for the European Emissions Trading System (ETS). Emma Wiesner from the liberal Renew Group helped negotiate on behalf of […] continue reading →

In 2011, Florian Hassler could have entered the Bundestag as a successor for the Greens. But the then 34-year-old decided against it. Many others would have preferred to start a career as a member of parliament on their own account instead of continuing in the second tier of politics. Hassler, however, felt obligated to the […] continue reading →

Volker Löwe has been following Berlin state politics for more than 20 years. For some time now, he has been representing its interests at the European level. He is head of the Berlin state office at the EU in Brussels. Among his tasks is the Europeanization of the administration. Here, he says, it is important […] continue reading →

Anyone who reads or listens to interviews with Sophie Pornschlegel discovers a European with a mission: “German taxpayers are helping to finance an autocracy like Hungary.” That is the kind of sentence she says. The EU? Lets itself be blackmailed. It warns of an emerging mob rule in Europe. And persistently repeats its messages in […] continue reading →

When the construction of the French nuclear power plant in Cattenom near the border was announced, thousands demonstrated against nuclear energy in Saarland. Among them were the teenager Simone Peter and her entire family. “I am a classic child of the 1980s,” says the current president of the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE). Awareness of […] continue reading →

Every day on her way to work, Verena Fennemann walks past where, as she says, big politics is made. She has made a remarkable career path: Today, she heads Every day on her way to work, Verena Fennemann walks past where, as she says, big politics is made. She has made a remarkable career path: […] continue reading →

The year 2022 was the year in which Sven Rösner received more attention than ever before. Like so many changes this year, this was due to the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine and the accompanying energy crisis in Europe. “Before, we were primarily dealing with individual units,” says Rösner: “Now, the German Chancellor’s Office […] continue reading →

Anna Cavazzini is passionate about climbing. Since she was elected to the European Parliament in 2019, she says her skill has deteriorated. She only makes it to the climbing gym two or three times a month. In the Parliament, however, the 40-year-old has climbed a long way: In 2020, she took over the chairmanship of […] continue reading →

“I really hate to apply somewhere,” Werner Patzelt said in an interview. “I like being invited.” His latest invitation takes the political scientist to Brussels – on behalf of Budapest. Here, Patzelt heads the Brussels office of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), a Hungarian think tank with close ties to the policies of Hungarian Prime […] continue reading →

When things grate between German and French politicians, few people are better placed than Sabine Thillaye to explain why. Thillaye is a Remscheid-born French member of the National Assembly. She is a member of the Defense Committee, the European Affairs Committee and part of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly. She discusses Franco-German misunderstandings, explains why problems […] continue reading →

By his own admission, Klaus Müller has been “in crisis mode” for a long time. He took up his new post on March 1 – Russia had just invaded Ukraine. “It was clear right away that energy supply would be the most urgent issue. A crisis was looming,” says the 51-year-old. As the new president […] continue reading →

A few weeks ago, his latest book “Wir und die Flüchtlinge” (We and the Refugees) was published. A few hours before this interview, he was sitting in a conference at the Federal Ministry of the Interior to win over German politicians to his ideas. And two days later, he was scheduled to leave for a […] continue reading →

Anyone who wants to make a career in a public authority usually needs patience above all else. One step follows the other, grade after grade. It’s no different in a ministry than in the EU Commission. Things were different for Renate Nikolay. At the end of the 1990s, the lawyer started working for the German […] continue reading →

When Johannes Lindner was 25 years old, he shook hands with Jacques Delors – the former President of the European Commission – for the first time. A photo of that moment hangs on the bulletin board in his office at Berlin’s Alexanderplatz. Lindner has been the co-director of the Jacques Delors Centre at the Hertie […] continue reading →

Behind Mechthild Wörsdörfer lie a few very busy months. The top official is currently the most important German manager of the energy crisis in Brussels. As Deputy Director General of the Directorate-General for Energy, the Hesse native has been shuttling from meeting to meeting since February. Wörsdörfer explains the crisis policy and, together with her […] continue reading →

Walburga Hemetsberger sees Europe as a pioneer in the energy transition and climate action. And the goal of defending this role – also when it comes to competitiveness. The urgency to expand renewables is just as clear to her as the competition “not only with China but also with the USA and India“. As CEO […] continue reading →

Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg followed the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal from her home office in Stuttgart. She had decided against participating on-site so as not to worsen her carbon footprint. Moreover, she did not expect a strong agreement. She was all the more pleased that it happened after all: “This is a real ray of hope […] continue reading →

The call from Berlin reached EU Director General Carsten Pillath a few days before his retirement. On the other end of the line, Christian Lindner: “On behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany, I would like to make you an offer. I would like you to become my state secretary.” Pillath, who is now 66 […] continue reading →