Derk Jan Eppink | |
|---|---|
 Eppink in 2014 | |
| Vice-Chair of theEuropean Conservatives and Reformists Dutch Delegation | |
| In office 11 December 2011 – 12 June 2014 | |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 31 March 2021 – 5 December 2023 | |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| In office 1 July 2019 – 30 March 2021 | |
| Constituency | Netherlands |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1958-11-07)7 November 1958 (age 67) Steenderen, Netherlands |
| Party | BBB (2023–present) |
| Other political affiliations | VVD (1999–2018) LDD (2009–2014) FvD (2018–2020) JA21 (2020–2023) |
| Occupation | Journalist •Politician |
Derk Jan Eppink (born 7 November 1958) is a Dutch journalist, politician in the Netherlands, and former cabinet secretary forEuropean CommissionersBolkestein (1999–2004) andKallas (2004–2007). In 2009, he was elected to theEuropean Parliament forList Dedecker, and in 2019 forForum for Democracy. In 2021, he became an MP in the DutchHouse of Representatives for theJA21 party, but in 2023 he switched to theFarmer-Citizen Movement.
He sits on theEuropean Conservatives and Reformists Group Executive.
Eppink was born inSteenderen,Gelderland. He studied Dutch law at theVrije Universiteit Amsterdam (1977–1981) and thereafter European law and International Politics at the University of Amsterdam. In 1984 he moved to Brussels to becometrainee at the European Commission. Thereafter he worked for three years as assistant to Members of the European Parliament.
In 1987, Derk Jan Eppink joined the Dutch newspaperNRC Handelsblad where he was assigned to the foreign desk. He covered South Africa, worked as correspondent in Poland and became political editor reporting on Dutch politics inThe Hague. In 1995, he moved to the Flemish newspaperDe Standaard where he reported on Belgian politics. He wrote two books on his experiences in Belgian politics:Vreemde Buren (Odd neighbors),Avonturen van een Nederbelg (Adventures of a Nether-Belgian).
In October 1999, he started working as member of cabinet of Dutch European Commissioner Frits Bolkestein. He was Bolkestein's liaison with the European Parliament, speechwriter and also assigned to liberalization of postal markets. In 2004, in co-operation with Bolkestein, he published the bookThe Limits of Europe. In October 2004 Eppink joined the cabinet of Siim Kallas, European Commissioner fromEstonia, responsible for administration, audit and anti-fraud. In March 2007 Eppink published his bookLife of a European Mandarin describing his experiences in the European Commission.[1][2] The book has been published in Dutch, French, English, Estonian, and Czech.[citation needed]
In 2007 Eppink moved to New York City as his wife worked for theUnited Nations.[3] He reported on the2008 American presidential election for Flemish magazinesKnack andTrends. He wrote a column on foreign affairs for Dutch weeklyElsevier and is contributor to various Dutch and Flemish radio and television programs, likeVRT,Aktua-TV [nl],NOSMet het Oog op Morgen,RTLBusiness Class. He wrote in 2011-2012 a column forNRC Handelsblad and since 2013 he writes forDe Volkskrant.[citation needed]
His speeches on video can be retrieved through theRoosevelt Academy inMiddelburg, theUniversity of Maastricht, theUniversity of Mississippi and Mississippi National Public Radio.[citation needed]
In January 2007, Eppink received the 2006Prize of Liberty from the Flemish libertarian think tankNova Civitas.[citation needed]
In 2009, Eppink returned to Belgium to run for theEuropean Parliament for the List Dedecker party. He shares similar views to the party's leaderJean-Marie Dedecker.[3]
In an article in November 2013, Eppink made the point that fiscal consolidation in Ireland had worked well, and that the breakdown in Greece could not be blamed on so-called 'austerity'.[4]
Not re-elected in 2014, in July 2019 he was elected a member of the European Parliament for the Dutch right wing partyForum for Democracy (FvD).[5] In 2020, Eppink, along with the FvD's two other MEPs,He subsequently joined theJA21 party and in 2021 was elected to the Dutch House of Representatives for the party.[6]
Eppink signed theMadrid Charter, a document drafted by thefar-right Spanish partyVox that describes left-wing groups as enemies ofIbero-America involved in a "criminal project" that are "under the umbrella of the Cuban regime".[7]
 |
| Year | Body | Party | Pos. | Votes | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party seats | Individual | |||||||
| 2021 | House of Representatives | JA21 | 3 | 2,966 | 3 | Won | [8] | |
| 2023 | House of Representatives | Farmer–Citizen Movement | 25 | 552 | 7 | Lost | [9] | |
 List of members ofEuropean Conservatives and Reformists (2019–2024) | |
|---|---|
| Belgium | |
| Bulgaria | |
| Croatia | |
| Czech Republic | |
| Germany | |
| Greece | |
| Italy | |
| Latvia | |
| Lithuania | |
| Netherlands | |
| Poland | |
| Romania | |
| Slovakia | |
| Spain | |
| Sweden | |
