A new face in the EU: Anja Hazekamp
Nationality: Dutch
Party: Party for the Animals
European Parliament Group: GUE/NGL
Birthdate: 21 January 1968
Birthplace: Vlagtwedde, Netherlands
Committees:
• Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (Member)
• Committee on Fisheries (Substitute)
• Committee on Petitions (Substitute)
Delegations:
• Delegation for relations with Japan (Member)
• Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee (Substitute)
She is an anti-corporate activist.
Anti-corporate activists hold that the influence of big corporations is a detriment to the public good and to the democratic process. It should be recognized, however, that the EU legislates in many ways that restrict the actions of corporations and lawbreaking companies are usually punished in the form of monetary fines. In addition, from the perspective of business ethics, the point should be made that corporations are not, inherently more evil than any other groups and are no more likely to attempt unethical or illegal activity than other interest representatives.
52% of EU citizens think that the overall influence of companies in society is positive, while 41% think that it is negative. Influence of companies is positive for 85% of citizens in Denmark, 83% in Finland, 74% in the Netherlands, 72% in Sweden, 70% in Estonia and Luxembourg, 67% in Austria and Ireland, 65% in Portugal, 61% in Cyprus, 60% in Latvia, 59% in Malta, 58% in Poland, 56% in Belgium, 54% in Germany and the United Kingdom, 52% in Lithuania and Spain, 50% in France, Slovakia, Romania, 49% in Bulgaria, 43% in Czech Republic, 42% in Hungary, 37% in Greece, 36% in Italy and Slovenia.
The main positive effects of companies on society include: creating jobs, contribution to economic growth, providing training to employees, developing innovative products and services, paying taxes, providing financial or material support to local people, providing return to investors.
MEPs taking a stand against the ‘excessive influence of banks and multinational corporations lobbies in the EU in order to help European institutions which 1) are free from conflicts of interest; 2) do not offer privileged access to decision-making to corporations and their lobbyists; 3) have strong ethics rules for politicians, officials and lobbyists; 4) are open and transparent in the way they work; 5) always operate in the public interest.
