HS in France | Enthusiasm kept even Sebastian Tynkkysen awake at night – This is how the first week of the new mepps progressed

Strasbourg

Tram the doors open and the passengers stepping out join the wandering herd of men in suits and women in high heels. Hundreds of politicians, civil servants, lobbyists, political assistants and journalists arrive in an endless stream at the gates of the European Parliament.

Many people stop in front of the entrance to take a selfie and try to fit in the photo the tall conical building of the Parliament and the flags of the EU countries flying in front of it. For many, the moment is definitely worth a picture: the first day in a new, exciting job. It is Tuesday morning, July 16, and the new European Parliament, elected in June’s European elections, begins its work.

As usual, activists hand out flyers in front of the parliament, and you can take one with you as well Aura Salla (cook), who rushes to the place a little late and apologizing for his poor sense of direction.

The building itself is already familiar to Salla. Commission official and commissioner Jyrki Katainen As a (cook) assistant, he trotted here for years. But now, after two unsuccessful European elections, a long-term dream is coming true, and Salla officially begins her work as a member of the European Parliament.

“It’s a really good feeling when long-term work is rewarded,” says Salla.

Strasbourg is a city that most people have a love-hate relationship with.

The city is picturesque, and its riverside restaurants are filled with Eurocrats in the evenings. Alsatian food is terrible, but the region’s white wines are excellent. However, the once-a-month move from Brussels to Strasbourg for the plenary session is for the Parliament’s staff, and over the years MEPs have tried numerous times to put a stop to the Strasbourg rally.

However, there are no complaints on the first morning.

“I’m really excited, really fired up”, Sebastian Tynkkynen (ps) says in the courtyard of the parliament. He says that he woke up early in the morning because he couldn’t sleep because of his excitement.

The night before, Tynkkynen was also getting to know the city’s restaurant offerings with his Nordic party colleagues. And as is typical among expats in EU institutions, co-workers and other new acquaintances quickly become close, because everyone is a little alone in the new city.

“A circle of friends has already been born,” Tynkkynen says.

Tynkkynen has never even visited the parliament premises in Strasbourg before. Fortunately, the newcomer has already been talked about within the party. The most important political instruction is:

“Nothing can be given or offered for free.”

Then you have to run away. The plenary session is about to begin.

In the boardroom the ushers of the parliament advise the MEPs who look lost to their seats. Members shake hands with their new neighbors, take group photos and wave to the fans.

Soon the Speaker of the Parliament Roberta Metsola declares the start of the new parliamentary term. A string quartet performs Beethoven Ode to joy. The atmosphere is lofty and festive, but the first signals of deep political differences simmering under the surface are already visible when a handful of representatives on the right side of the hall do not stand with the others during the EU anthem.

Very soon, the ceremony fades away and the parliament gets down to everyday work. Political differences come to the surface as soon as MEPs start voting on the election of vice-presidents. The other groups vote for the far-right candidates with an inch upside down.

There are plenty of contradictions, because the spectrum of ideas in the European Parliament is large. Polish conservatives and Nordic Greens argue about the rights of sexual minorities, about economic policy Southern European communists and Dutch snoopers, about the Russia line Baltic hawks and Hungarian Orbánists.

The spectrum of views will be revealed later in the week as the parliament prepares to vote on the appointment of Ursula von der Leyen. The chairman of the left group in the discussion Manon Aubry says that von der Leyen would belong to the court because of his Gaza line. Representative of the far-right sovereignist group Ewa Zajaczkowska-Hernik in turn, would send von der Leyen to prison over immigration reform.

Elected to the European Parliament for the first time Katri Kulmuni (centre) draws attention to how tense the atmosphere in the parliament feels.

On the first one during the week, the new MEPs learn the ways of the house, for example how to vote. It’s not quite that simple either. Before the votes, MEPs receive voting instructions from the group office, which are reviewed with the assistant. Each change motion is voted on separately, and it is the MEP’s responsibility to keep up with the pace of the votes.

“Voting is fast, I just noticed that,” he says Mika Aaltola (cook).

“The voting was quite a Rivakka performance. Fortunately, the group management and assistants are experienced”, says the colleague next to him Pekka Toveri (cook).

Week is also spent getting to know colleagues. The corridors of the Parliament are the perfect place to meet political heavyweights, former ministers, commissioners and party leaders.

It’s a mess there Manfred Weber, the chairman of the ruling group EPP, whose laid-back exterior hides a hard-working professional in backroom deals. The superstar of the European far-right, the 28-year-old president of the French National Alliance Jordan Bardella instead it looks sour. It’s no wonder. In the July elections, the goal was to become the prime minister of France, and compared to that, the MEP’s job is a weak consolation prize.

The 720 representatives also include special cases.

Two MEPs were elected from prison: an Italian left-wing activist Ilaria Salis is in pretrial detention in Hungary accused of attacking a neo-Nazi. Greek center-right politician Fredi Beleri sits in an Albanian prison convicted of vote buying.

There are conspiracy theorists, vaccine critics and peculiar minor parties like the Czech one Filip Turek motorist party. Turek, a former racing driver who collects SS artifacts, has promised to travel to Brussels in the most polluting car possible.

Romanian Diana Iovanovici Sosoaca makes himself known at once by staging a scene as parliament prepares to vote on von der Leyen’s nomination. Iovanovici Sosoaca gets upset about the abortion rights speech of the representative of the liberal group and starts shouting over this speech. The chairman escorts the representative out of the hall.

The scene after, the most important task of the first working week lies ahead, the vote on von der Leyen’s appointment. Some of von der Leyen’s supporters are worried that the vote will be held on Thursday afternoon. Many MEPs typically go home on Thursday before the end of the plenary week. That’s why the voting will be brought forward as much as possible, it will be held at 1 p.m.

707 representatives cast their votes. Von der Leyen is elected with 401 votes.

On Friday, the committee seats will be formalized, and the first working week of the new MEPs is over.