Treasurer
Below you can find the current published candidacies for the position of Treasurer of JEF Europe.
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Below you can find the current published candidacies for the position of Treasurer of JEF Europe.
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My name is Robin and I am 26 years old. I am living in Prague, Czech Republic, where I have been studying and working over the last four years. I am currently enrolled at the University of Leipzig and at The European Graduate School, furthering my studies at the intersection of art, philosophy and politics as well as working as author, translator and publisher. Originally from Switzerland, I have lived, studied and worked in many parts of Europe, including Paris, Brussels, Berlin and Dresden, but also the Balkans region and I speak or understand a dozen of languages.
In all my work, a clear political stance is present – one always striving for a Europe that is more integrated, more inclusive, more progressive, more sustainable and more federalist. For a Europe that is fit for the future!
I became a member of JEF in 2014 at my then local section in Eichstätt, Germany, whose president I was in 2015/16. After an Erasmus year in the Czech Republic, where I worked towards deeper links between the Czech and the Bavarian sections, I was elected president of JEF Bavaria in 2017 and ran for two mandates. Following my move to Prague, I continued to work on the bilateral relationship and also extended my focus towards wider Central and Eastern Europe. Since 2020, I am finally a member of the working group of JEF Germany which is in charge of political programme matters. In this course, we most recently completed to write and adopt a new Political Programme for JEF Germany.
As a European by heart, I am alarmed, at times even frustrated, by the political and societal developments I observe around myself and on a wider European and global level. This is definitely not the time to lean back and indulge in either nostalgia or cynicism. I couldn’t think of a better place and moment to once again bring in my experience, expertise and enthusiasm in terms of both European politics as well as the Central and Eastern European situation than on the occasion of the upcoming European Congress in Liège. It would therefore be honour and duty alike to support with all my strength and will what I still consider to be one of the most extraordinary political visions – a federalist Europe – as JEF is moving forward at the beginning of this new and at the same time decisive decade for our future.
JEF is an outstanding political organization in that it brings together young people from different geographical and political backgrounds and unites them under the same vision. It is of utmost importance to strengthen its position and ties, especially in times which are marked by growing social divisions and geopolitical tensions as well as a multitude of interrelated crises. Any Executive Board should depart from this critical awareness in order to advance meaningful and truly European positions.
If elected, these are the three main priorities I would like to pursue:
1) Geo-political priority: ensure the political representation to the Central and Eastern European sections, supporting, coordinating, mentoring and linking them so that their important work, which often happens under complicate and tense circumstances, is perceived and adequately backed on a European level. Here, I come as someone who not only has extensively studied the region in question, but who is living in it (Prague) as well as speaking and/or understanding many of its languages (Czech, Slovak, Polish, Croatian).
2) Political priority: further develop strong positions and policy incentives within JEF Europe, with a special focus on climate-related policies and their ecological, social, economical, cultural and political repercussions (complex understanding of sustainability). As someone originally coming from a European Studies background with focuses on history and political philosophy, I do not only know the EU’s institutional framework and governance processes very well, but I have also developed a deeper understanding of the different strategic, ideological and cultural underpinnings of any policy-making process.
3) Agenda priority: in the second semester of 2022, the Czech Republic will take over the Presidency of the EU which is a challenge and a chance for the whole Central European region, and maybe also an opportunity to strengthen and alter its profile. After the French Presidency and the final phase of the Conference on the Future of Europe as well as before the kick-off for the next European elections, we see three major events that need to be accompanied, monitored and acted on by JEF Europe in meaningful ways. Here, I would envisage the establishment of strategic partnerships and ongoing political response-ability of JEF.
As far as I can assess the work of JEF Europe’s Political Commissions and Task Forces, I deem them to run smoothly and provide valuable contributions to JEF in general. In the past, I have been close to the work of the TF Empowerment and Diversity, which I would certainly like to further support. Given my priorities, I would like to propose to transform the existing TF Green Transition into a Political Commission, so as to underline the eminent importance of climate-related policies.
Thank you for taking your time to read my candidacy letter. If you have questions, suggestions or would like to react in any other way, feel free to contact me. Otherwise, à bientôt in Liège!