{"id":99108,"date":"2019-05-21T17:21:55","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T15:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=99108"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:20","slug":"master-student-koen-is-a-candidate-for-a-new-pro-european-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/05\/21\/master-student-koen-is-a-candidate-for-a-new-pro-european-party\/","title":{"rendered":"Master student Koen is a candidate for a new pro-European party"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Sunday, you could find Koen Janssen in Rotterdam\u2019s city centre, handing out flyers. And enthusiastically trying to get the attention of passers-by in the throng on Binnenwegplein. Janssen talked with them about the coming European Parliament elections and the programme written by Volt, a new political party that presents itself as the \u2018only true European party\u2019.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The Financial Economics master student is number 17 on the young party\u2019s list of candidates. Over the past weekend, he campaigned in no fewer than eight cities, driving around the Netherlands in a big bus, in the company of some 50 volunteers. \u201cAll this activity gives me a lot of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Janssen enjoys travelling across the country and talking about Europe with the people who cross his path. \u201cAt first glance, the European Parliament seems very distant to a lot of people. But when you bring up some of the subjects that are being discussed within the EU \u2013 things like climate change, migration or data security \u2013 everyone turns out to have very strong opinions,\u201d he notes. \u201cYou\u2019re almost assured of an interesting discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young movement<\/h2>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAysha Gasanova<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

The first time Janssen heard about Volt was last year. \u201cI read a newspaper article about the party and immediately felt a click,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was founded by three young people as a positive answer to the rise of populism and nationalism,\u201d Janssen explains. It was exactly the party he was looking for. \u201cAll too often, Dutch politicians use Brussels as an easy scapegoat,\u201d he continues. \u201cAs if everything that goes wrong is the EU\u2019s fault \u2013 but whenever things turn out OK, it\u2019s supposedly our own achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Janssen\u2019s view, a political party that is active in multiple European countries can operate a lot more effectively within the European Parliament. \u201cI find it very strange that the European Parliament is made up of very loose coalitions of national parties, even though they tend to have completely incompatible ideologies and programmes.\u201d He\u2019s convinced that Europe needs transnational parties, which can help solve transnational problems. \u201cOur plan, in other words, is to form a Volt contingent within the Parliament. So while the various candidates who are voted in actually come from different countries, we as a party all follow the same programme.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graduation<\/h2>

These past few months, his calendar was completely dominated by the May elections: learning the finer points of Volt\u2019s party policies and programme, participating in debates, handing out flyers, and campaigning across the country. \u201cBut I always make sure that I can still do fun things over the weekend \u2013 like going out with friends, sports or a festival,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Janssen has put his studies on the back burner for the moment. \u201cBut this doesn\u2019t worry me one bit,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve passed all my subjects and they went really well. So I\u2019ll probably be able to graduate with honours.\u201d After the elections, he plans on getting back into his thesis, after which he hopes to graduate over the summer. In fact, he doesn\u2019t have a choice, because on 1 July, he\u2019ll be starting his new job at an investment firm. \u201cIn other words, I have six weeks to finish my thesis. But I\u2019ll manage.\u201d<\/p>\n

No political ambitions<\/h2>\n\t
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