Frédérique Ries (born 14 May 1959) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

politician and

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

for the

French Community of Belgium In Belgium, the French Community (french: Communauté française; ) refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation (french: Féd� ...

with the MR/ MCC/ PRL, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. She is a member of the delegation of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

for relations with Israel. She is vice-president of the Israel lobby group

European Friends of Israel European Friends of Israel (EFI) was a Brussels-based organization of European parliamentarians whose stated mission is "forging a stronger political relationship and a deeper understanding between Europe and Israel." History Established in Septemb ...

Early life and career

Ries graduated in Economics and mastered in Journalism at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

in 1981. Ries worked as commercial director at Radio FM56 from 1981 to 1984. In 1984, she was hired at RTL (Radio Télévision Luxembourg) first in Luxembourg, as a producer and TV presenter from 1984 to 1987, then in Brussels where she edited and presented the news from 1987 to 1998.

Political career

In 1999, Ries joined the MR (PRL at the time) to become a candidate on the European elections list. Elected Member of the European Parliament since 1999, she has since been a member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. In this capacity, she was the Parliament's

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

on a proposal to restrict cultivation of genetically modified organisms in 2014 and on the reduction of single-use plastics in 2018. Ries served on the Subcommittee on Human Rights from 2004 until 2009 and on the

Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality The Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) is a committee of the European Parliament. Membership Chair Vice Chairs *Eugenia Rodríguez Palop *Sylwia Spurek * Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi *Robert Biedroń Members *Regina Bastos ...

from 2009 until 2012. In 2019, she joined the

Committee on Petitions The Committee on Petitions (PETI) is a permanent committee of the European Parliament to offer a petition process including a web portal to create and admit petitions. Its current chair, elected on 10 July 2019, is Dolors Montserrat, member of the ...

. In addition to her committee assignments, Ries has been a member of the Parliament's delegation for relations with

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

since 1999. She is also a member of the

European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights The European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights is an intergroup of the European Parliament's legislators which focuses on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons both inside and outside the European Union ...

, the European Parliament Intergroup on Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas and the

MEPs Against Cancer MEPs Against Cancer is a group of 130 Members of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parlia ...

group. Re-elected in June 2009 with more than 116,000 votes, she is the 5th French-speaking political personality through all political parties in Belgium. In 2014, Ries supported

Françoise Grossetête Françoise Grossetête (born 17 May 1946 in Lyon) is a French politician who served as Member of the European Parliament for the South-East of France from 1994 until 2019. She is a member of The Republicans; part of the European People's Party. ...

’s (unsuccessful) proposal to establish a European Parliament Intergroup on Health for Citizens, including stakeholders such as the European Cancer Patients Association and the Organisation for European Cancer Institutes. Since the

2019 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2019. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a calendar of upcoming elections around the world, and the National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections in coun ...

, Ries has been serving as one of eight vice chairs of the Renew Europe group, under the leadership of chairman

Dacian Cioloș Dacian Julien Cioloș (; born 27 July 1969) is a Romanian agronomist who served as Prime Minister of Romania from November 2015 to January 2017. He previously served as Agriculture Minister under Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu between October 2007 and ...

Overview

* 1981-1984: Commercial director, Radio FM56 * 1984-1987: Producer and presenter, RTL-TV Luxembourg * 1987-1998: Journalist, RTL-TVI (editing and presenting the news and other programmes on topical events) * 1999-2004:

* 2004: State Secretary for European Affairs and Foreign Affairs * 2004-today:

Other activities

* Fondation EuroMedA, Member of the Board of DirectorsBoard of Directors
Fondation EuroMedA.

References

External links

* *
official personal website of Frédérique Ries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ries, Frederique 1959 births Living people People from Balen University of Liège alumni MEPs for Belgium 1999–2004 MEPs for Belgium 2004–2009 MEPs for Belgium 2009–2014 MEPs for Belgium 2014–2019 MEPs for Belgium 2019–2024 20th-century women MEPs for Belgium 21st-century women MEPs for Belgium