Posted on 18 December 2017
“I saw that all those tons of papers that I have accumulated over my life might all disappear one day. So when I discovered the opportunity of giving my papers to the Historical Archives, I found it extremely important that my contribution to Europe will also stay in history” says Professor Danuta Hübner, MEP.
Prof Hübner visited the Historical Archives of the European Union on 17 November 2017 to sign the deposit agreement allowing the transfer of her documents, speeches and notes which are linked to European politics – from her time as Polish Minister for European Affairs, European commissioner for trade, European commissioner for regional policy, Chair of the Committee on Regional Development (MEP) and Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (MEP) - to the Historical Archives of the European Union.
Prof Hübner calls this process “archiving myself” and says it is an emotional moment for her. “Today when I look at these documents it shows how much emotion - how much of my heart - I put into the creation of European integration after we joined,” she says.
Prof Hübner has backed Europe from the very beginning even before her home country of Poland had joined. She not only helped the Polish government to prepare for accession to the European Union, but also spoke at the Constitutional Convention established in 2001 to give her input on the future of the EU.
Thus, Prof Hübner says the most important and difficult moment in her professional life was when Poland held their EU accession referendum in June 2003. “I remember on the Sunday waking up for the results: more than 70 percent were in favor. That was probably the biggest joy in my life, aside from my personal life, my kids and family” she explains.
Although the majority of the Polish public clearly supported the EU in 2003, she believes that some citizens today have lost faith in the EU. The biggest challenge for Europe today from her point of view is getting “citizens back on board” and getting them involved in the decision-making processes of the EU. “It is very important because only when people are involved, do they develop this feeling of ownership of the whole project. Then they care, they protect it and want to be involved further,” she adds.
She also thinks that sometimes politicians fuel the anti-EU sentiments and she finds this particularly frustrating. The biggest priority on her agenda at the moment, as Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, is “if I can say it bluntly, just the future of Europe”. Therefore the committee is working on important reforms of the Eurozone architecture and functions, improving the legislation on the European Citizen’s initiative and on the role of European Political parties. Finally, they are also working on regulations for the new composition of the European Parliament after the 2019 elections.
Prof Hübner’s plans do not end there, she hopes to achieve much more. One of her ambitions is that Poland will take steps towards a deeper integration with the European Union and that it will one day become a member of the Eurozone. She says: “I regret very much that we are not there yet”.
Finally after visiting the Historical Archives at Villa Salviati, Prof Hübner also added a much smaller task to her agenda. “I think what I will do now is talk more about the archives when I have meetings with European citizens,” she says. “I think that this is important because anybody, from future generations, who wants to reach out to the history of European integration, can see that it was a difficult process, which engaged so many people, so many hearts and so many minds and that also adds value to what we have today.”