Party for the Animals renominates MEP Anja Hazekamp as lead candidate for the European Parliament elections
Europe is preparing for new elections. From 6 to 9 June, all residents of the European Union with voting rights will be able to choose which 720 MEPs will make up the European Parliament. With the climate and biodiversity crisis, these elections are extra important: we can vote en masse for politicians with guts and decisiveness. So, it is good news that the board of the Dutch Party for the Animals has once again nominated MEP Anja Hazekamp as the leading candidate for the European elections!
In 2014, Hazekamp was elected as the first MEP from an animal rights party. She was re-elected in 2019. In the European Parliament, Hazekamp is vice-chair of the Committee on the Environment, Food Safety and Public Health. She is also a member of the parliamentary committees on fisheries and agriculture. And so, now, she is nominated for her third term as party leader.
Anja Hazekamp: "The liveability of our Earth and the well-being of billions of animals in Europe are at stake. Are long animal transports really banned? Is the end of the horrific fur industry in Europe in sight? Will climate, nature and environmental measures make it to the finish line? We will fight like lions to make the European Green Deal and animal welfare plans happen."
Food Hero
Hazekamp was recently named one of the twenty Food Heroes of 2023 by the vegan and vegetarian V-label, due to her tireless work to improve the lives of animals in Europe and her mission to create a sustainable and affordable food system that empowers both consumers and farmers.
In an interview with V-label about her work and love for animals, she prefers to call herself an activist rather than a politician. "But an activist occupying a seat in the European Parliament." That activism began at a young age, when she brought injured animals home to care for and became a vegetarian. And during her biology studies, she volunteered at various animal rights organizations.
When the Party for the Animals was founded in the Netherlands in 2002, Hazekamp knew that this was her place. She quickly became active in the party and was elected as a member of parliament in 2007. "And as a member of the European Parliament from 2014, my mission has not changed," she explains in the interview. "I'm here to make the world a better place and to make sure there is a liveable future for everyone on this planet."