Interview with Friedrich Rößler

With the European elections just around the corner, we took the opportunity to talk to Friedrich Rößler, Policy Advisor to MEP Ralf Seekatz, about the work in the European Parliament, the past legislative period and his outlook on the upcoming elections.

Mr Rößler, you are a lawyer by background. What made you decide to enter the exciting world of European politics as an employee of a Member of the European Parliament?

To be honest, it was rather a coincidence and not part of a specific career plan. During my studies, I had no particular interest in European law and, like many other law students, had to resort to “selective learning” in this area for the first state examination. Then, during my legal traineeship, I had the opportunity to work at the European Parliament in Brussels for three months. After this insight into European politics, I was simply hooked and applied for a job as a parliamentary assistant after completing my second state examination.

You work for MEP Ralf Seekatz. Can you give us an insight into your work? Do you have a usual working day?

As a policy advisor, I am responsible for the committee’s work. In comparison to other parliaments, the MEPs negotiate the current legislative proposals for their respective parliamentary groups and are therefore very involved with their content. For us, the most important dossiers in this legislative period were the new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation and the Retail Investment Strategy. We negotiate these reports with other political groups and later on with the Council. In this context, we also hold talks with the Commission, the permanent representations or stakeholders. The key is to take into account all the concerns from different sectors and countries, and find a balanced compromise. You get to know an incredible number of interesting people in your daily work and learn something new every day. So it never gets boring.

You work on a wide variety of legislative projects in the European Union. Can you briefly summarise the process of a legislative initiative in the European Parliament?

After the European Commission publishes a legislative proposal, it is assigned to the responsible committee in the European Parliament. Each political group then appoints a responsible rapporteur who negotiates on behalf of the entire group. After the vote in the committee and plenary, trilogue negotiations with the Council are being held. The outcome of the negotiations must then be confirmed in plenary.

When you look back on the current legislative period, what are some unforgettable moments or successes that will remain a lasting memory?

From my point of view, the negotiations on the AML Regulation were particularly defining for this legislative period. As we had been negotiating this comprehensive legislative package almost around the clock for the last two years, it was a huge relief when we finally concluded the negotiations. The negotiations were anything but easy. However, in the end, we were able to implement almost all the points that were important to us and created an ambitious European framework without losing the sense for measure and mean.  

The European elections are just around the corner. Will the European Union afterwards still be the same?

Current forecasts assume that parties on the right will make gains. In this legislative period, we mostly had a majority of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals, which made life quite difficult for us. So far, the members of the AfD and the other ID parliamentary groups have completely declared their non-cooperation. If this complete inactivity continues, little will change. At worst, there will be a political stalemate after the European elections. However, less legislation at European level does not always have to be a bad thing. In any case, I do not see the European project in danger.

About the interviewee
Friedrich Rößler is Policy Advisor to  Member of the European Parliament Ralf Seekatz.

About the author

The interview was conducted by Larissa Oebel, notary candidate in the district of the Rhenish Chamber of Notaries and Director in the Brussels office of the German Federal Chamber of Notaries.