The EU is a constantly evolving system as member states grapple with their inter-dependence and with a growing number of problems that are better tackled jointly. The tools it has for facing these challenges vary in their effectiveness, but the EU frequently surprises onlookers by - eventually - finding solutions.
Richard was an MEP from 1996-2009 and 2014-2020, during which time he was the Parliament’s rapporteur on the Constitutional Treaty and on the Lisbon Treaty. He was also several times rapporteur on revising the EP’s Rules of Procedure, Vice-Chair of the Constitutional Affairs Committee, coordinator of the S&D Group on constitutional questions and Labour Party Leader in the EP. Between 2010 and 2014 he was Principal Advisor to Herman Van Rompuy, the first full-time President of the European Council. He has authored a number of books and many articles on European affairs.
education
- Doctorate, Political Science - University of Hull
- B.A., Philosophy, Politics & Economics - University of Oxford
languages
- English
- French
- Dutch
- German