Frédérique Ries (born 14 May 1959) is a Belgian politician and former Member of the European Parliament for the French Community of Belgium with the MR/MCC/PRL, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
She was a member of the delegation of the European Parliament for relations with Israel.
She is vice-president of the Israel lobby group European Friends of Israel.
Early life and career Ries graduated in Economics and mastered in Journalism at the University of Liège 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 on a proposal to restrict cultivation of genetically modified organisms in 2014Toby Vogel (11 September 2014), Committees choose rapporteurs European Voice. and on the reduction of single-use plastics in 2018.Bard Wilkinson (25 October 2018), European parliament backs single-use plastics ban CNN.
Ries served on the Subcommittee on Human Rights from 2004 until 2009 and on the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality from 2009 until 2012. In 2019, she joined the Committee on Petitions.
In addition to her committee assignments, Ries has been a member of the Parliament's delegation for relations with Israel since 1999. She is also a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights,Members European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights. the European Parliament Intergroup on Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal AreasMembers 2019-2024 European Parliament Intergroup on Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas. and the MEPs Against Cancer group.MAC MEPs in the 2019-24 legislature MEPs Against Cancer.
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'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.Peter O’Donnell (6 November 2014), MEPs seek coherence on health policy European Voice.
Since the 2019 elections, Ries served as one of eight vice chairs of the Renew Europe group, under the leadership of chairman Dacian Cioloș.ALDE Group becomes Renew Europe Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), press release of 18 June 2019.
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: Member of the European Parliament 2004: State Secretary for European Affairs and Foreign Affairs 2004-2024: Member of the European Parliament
Other activities Fondation EuroMedA, Member of the Board of DirectorsBoard of Directors Fondation EuroMedA.
References
External links
official personal website of Frédérique Ries