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I'm Katrin Langensiepen
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from Hanover, in Germany,
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and I am one of the new Members of the European Parliament
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for the Green Party.
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How would your best friend describe you?
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Direct,
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my heart is on my tongue, you can say,
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and I am overminded, interested in everything,
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cultural, music lover, book lover,
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funny, serious, yeah,
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I think, something like that.
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What made you join the Green Movement?
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In 2010 I decided to join the Green Party,
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because of environment protection,
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climate change,
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and of personal reasons.
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I was unemployed, out of job,
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and I am a so-called "victim" of the crisis we had in 2008/09.
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Why EU politics?
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We live in a global world,
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the European Union is the best project we have.
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If you want to solve problems or the kind of challenges we have
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you can't solve it by yourself,
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you can't solve it in Germany
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and forget your neighbors.
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What do you want to fight for in the European Parliament?
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I want to fight for social standards.
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I want to fight for human rights.
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I know how it feels to be unemployed and [well] educated,
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and you are a young European and later [get told]
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"yeah, we don't need you".
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[I want to] fight for labour rights,
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for social standards,
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and for human rights for people with disabilities.
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What was your biggest revelation during the last months of campaigning?
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I was very focused on the aim being an MEP,
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and the people told me during the last time
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"You are so quiet and you look so relaxed!".
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I was like "yeah, I am really focused
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on my appointments, my meetings,
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and the content and my subjects".
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Surprise question
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So, the question:
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"What do you do when you are not working?"
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I am sitting in the train,
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I am with my family,
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relax and enjoy the nature,
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and listen to the birds.
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I need that calm environment.
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The European Parliament goes green!
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This project is a cooperation of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and Green European Foundation.