"Experienced expert"

Strack-Zimmermann leads Liberals in EU election campaign

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP) is considered a defense expert.(Bild: AFP)

The Liberals have chosen a leading trio for their EU election campaign. In the front row is FDP defense expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann from Germany, who is praised by the domestic NEOS as an "experienced and respected expert".

The Liberals announced on Wednesday that they are running with their joint platform "Renew Europe Now" and a trio. Strack-Zimmermann is entering the election campaign with Renew parliamentary group leader Valérie Hayer and EDP Secretary General Sandro Gozi.

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Strack-Zimmermann is a member of the FDP Executive Committee and the FDP Federal Executive Board. She has been a member of the German Bundestag since the 2017 federal elections and has been Chair of the Defense Committee since 2021. As the candidate of the largest party in the trio, ALDE, she is also likely to be the candidate for the Commission presidency.

All top candidates at a glance:

French MEP Valérie Hayer was only elected as the new RENEW group leader in January following Stephane Sejourné's move to the French government. Hayer has been a member of the EU Parliament since 2019. Italian Sandro Gozi stood in the 2019 European elections on the French Renaissance list. The lawyer was previously Italian State Secretary for European Affairs from 2012 to 2018.

NEOS: "Respected expert"
The liberal Renew Group is currently the third-largest political force in the European Parliament. In fact, it consists of three parties, including the French Renaissance and the European Democratic Party (EDP) in addition to the large Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).

The Austrian NEOS belong to the ALDE. Their lead candidate Helmut Brandstätter is present in Brussels with a four-person delegation and welcomed the election in a statement: "Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann is an experienced and respected expert on the security and defense of our Europe. Today, among the liberal candidates, we also discussed which reforms we need to tackle in the EU in order to become even better."