Manfred Weber

Manfred Weber
MEP
Leader of the European People's Party in the European Parliament
Assumed office
4 June 2014
Preceded by Joseph Daul
Member of the European Parliament
Assumed office
13 June 2004
Constituency Germany
Personal details
Born (1972-07-14) 14 July 1972
Niederhatzkofen, Germany
Political party Christian Social Union
Alma mater Munich University of Applied Sciences

Manfred Weber (born on 14 July 1972) is a German politician and Member of the European Parliament for Bavaria with the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, part of the European People's Party.

In the Bavarian state elections in 2003, Weber became the state’s youngest parliamentarian at the age of 29.[1] Currently heading the European People's Party Group, he is the youngest group leader in the current Parliament as well as the youngest-ever group leader of the EPP.[2]

Education

Career

Member of the European Parliament, 2004–present

Weber serves on the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. He is a substitute for the Committee on Regional Development, a member of the Delegation for relations with India, a substitute for the Delegation for relations with the countries of the Andean Community and a substitute on the Subcommittee on Human Rights. As rapporteur, he negotiated in 2008 for the European Parliament Directive on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals (Return Directive), the first Directive in the field of home affairs to be adopted through the ordinary legislative procedure.[3]

After his reelection in 2009 Weber became Vice-Chairman of the Group of the EPP in the European Parliament, and was responsible for setting the political strategy and the policy in the area of Justice and Home affairs.[4]

In 2015, Bavaria's Minister President Horst Seehofer nominated Weber as one of his deputies in the office of CSU chairman, making him part of the party’s leadership.

Political positions

On 7 June 2014, Weber dismissed demands by British Prime Minister David Cameron to put the brakes on European integration.[5] Weber stated that "The EU is based on an ever closer union of European peoples. That is set out in the treaties. It is not negotiable for us... We cannot sell the soul of Europe... if we grant every national parliament a veto right, Europe would come to a standstill."[5] However, he supports Cameron’s demand that Britain, as a non-euro country, should be empowered to influence eurozone policy decisions. Also, he told The Guardian in early 2015 that the United Kingdom’s drive to freeze welfare payments for EU immigrants was justified and set an example for the rest of the union.[6]

In July 2013, when the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) issued the Tavares Report criticizing the erosion of fundamental rights in Hungary, Weber dismissed it as a politically motivated attack on the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán by leftist parties.[7]

Other activities

References

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Party political offices
Preceded by
Joseph Daul		 Leader of the European People's Party in the European Parliament
2014–present 		Incumbent
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