Welcome

My name is Hannu Takkula and I am a Finnish Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Thank you for taking time the to visit my website.

It is my honour to represent the people of Finland in the European Parliament where I am the Coordinator of the ALDE group (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) on the CULT (Culture and Education) Committee. This is my second term in the European Parliament and before coming to Brussels, I was a Member of the Finnish National Parliament for ten years.


Education

I am a teacher by profession and am convinced that education holds the key to Europe's future. As an MEP, I am working to ensure that cooperation between Member States is successfully fostered within the EU's competence in the field of education. I believe that this must be done in a way that enables the pursuit of mutual benefits while respecting local context and national interests. The importance of improving educational outcomes across Europe cannot be underestimated and I sincerely believe that if done properly all, Member States, including Finland, have much to gain from further cooperation in all areas of education.


Research and Innovation

Furthermore, as a substitute Member on the ITRE (Industry, Research and Energy) Committee, I am working in particular to influence the EU's research and innovation policies. Research and innovation, alongside education, constitute the three components of the so-called knowledge triangle. They are considered crucial to the Europe 2020 vision of creating a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy, and in my view, they are also important in pursuit of much wider societal benefits.


External Activities and Cooperation

In addition to my Committee work, I also sit on the Delegation for Relations with Israel, as well as the Delegation for Relations with Australia and New Zealand. I believe this work is a crucial part of my role as an MEP. Europe's strength is its diversity, but we still have much to learn and give beyond the current borders of the EU. International cooperation is, therefore, essential and for this reason I would like to please encourage anyone reading this, whether from Finland, Europe or indeed, further abroad to contact me at hannu.takkula@europarl.europa.eu with your ideas, questions or comments.