Close to You: A career in Europe
82 views · Published 11 February 2013 · 4:53 · Indexed 2 October 2026
Channel: European Parliament · 2013 · News & Politics
The crisis has shown that it was worth investing in Poland as its economy has grown throughout the crisis and I hope it will continue to. As the link between Poland and Brussels, she was elected to the Parliament from the Warsaw area. A professor, economist, once EU Commissioner, she's currently Chair of the Parliament's Regional Development Committee. She takes care of European and national interests. A visit to the Warsaw metro is one of the many items on her agenda. I've always believed that investing in Poland pays off in Europe. The metro is an example of the cleaner air we have in Warsaw and visitors like it a lot more. Co-financed by the EU, the metro line should be ready in one and a half years. Its construction is not an easy task given the highly waterlogged ground in Warsaw. Around the Świętokrzyska station we have a lot of clay in the soil. It behaves a bit like pastry. When it gets a bit of space and there's water it starts to expand. When we put cakes in the oven they stabilise but here the clay destroys the tunnels we've built. These kinds of greetings are not uncommon. Prof. Hübner often has consultations with the Polish government. Current economic issues, banking union, Polish accession to the eurozone are often the subjects of interviews given by Mrs Hübner during her visits to Poland. The perspective of Poland joining the euro means that today we have to participate in all the reforms. When there are solutions that make it possible for a non-eurozone state to participate in solutions for eurozone countries, I think it is a wise choice to participate in those mechanisms. When I decided to work on EU matters in the Polish government in the mid 90s it had an impact on the rest of my life: Later I became a minister, a commissioner, then there was the European Parliament... For me this European path is not just about Europe for the sake of Europe but about Europe as a place where Poland has its future. Danuta Hübner, a university professor, finds time to meet with young people. She willingly explains complicated EU mechanisms to them. It was an honour that such a personality came to speak and found time for us. We appreciated it that she didn't use terms that we wouldn't understand but spoke simply and normally, so we could see that it was for us. Mrs Hübner fights for women's rights. She is Prime Minister in the Congress of Women's Shadow Cabinet, an organisation supporting quotas, equal opportunities and salaries for men and women. This organisation calls for a bigger role for women in politics and business. We feel funny, strange, when during meetings and debates, we hear: 'Mr President', 'Mr Professor', but then the familiar forms of our first names. We don't understand why this difference is made and this lack of respect or excessive familiarity, which isn't appropriate in public. We decided that when someone says, 'a panel of three professors' and then my first name we will address the male professors by the familiar forms of their first names and we'll see what happens then. Many people were wondering how after being a commissioner she would find her place in the EP. It didn't take long for her to adapt. The transfer from the Ministry to the Commission and then to the Parliament gave me a chance to see the EU institutions from all sides. The Parliament gives us much more freedom to speak about tough, difficult issues. We can be more critical. The language of a parliamentarian is braver. She tries to spend her free time actively: skiing, keeping fit... Sometimes she likes to watch a good movie. But books have a special place in her heart. She loves crime fiction and this is how she relaxes best. EuroparlTV video ID: d07a2cb9-f950-4001-9194-a15f00f366f5
