Frederique Ries has been MEP for the Belgian Liberal Party (MR) since 1999. Ries studied economic sciences and journalism at Belgian universities and went to become TV presenter on RTL TVI (Belgian TV) before entering politics.
Frederique Ries is probably one of the most beautiful and most intelligent woman in the European Parliament.
She was recruited by Louis Michel who was president of the Belgian political Party MR (ex PRL). Louis Michel was European Commissioner and is still a member of the European Parliament. He’s been involved in some shady deals in Africa. His son is the Prime Minister of Belgium.
Ries was enrolled as a celebrity within the MR and was sent to the environment committee of the European Parliament.
Although Ries is not a B-level politician; it was a common practice at that time that B-level or end-of-career politicians were sent to the European Parliament and environmental issues were seen as b-level issues.
Ries has been rapporteur to the Environment Committee of the European Parliament for a very long time….probably too long.
Let’s have a look at some of the facts that happened while Ries was rapporteur of the envi committee:
- Thousand of tonnes of plastic waste were sent to China for recycling but never made it to the recycling plants. They were dumped in the Yangtze instead. Should Ries have known about this? Did she condemn the Chinese afterwards? Read more: The Plastic Recycling Fairy Tale
- Recycled plastic are used for the production of synthetic textiles. Household washing (washing machines) of these textiles lead to micro plastic particles being washed off in rivers and finally ending up in the oceans. Doesn’t Ries know about this? Read more: Is using Recycled Plastics in Textiles Good?
- European countries do not have the capacities to recycle all of their plastic waste since China stoped their imports. Japan is the first country to publicly announce that it will lead to a catastrophe. Read more: Japan Government Promotes Bioplastics
- The EU hasn’t banned polystyrene yet while even China banned it in 1999. Read More: The Future of Polystyrene
- The biodegradable labels are being contested. Read more: The Biodegradable Label Just Received a Huge Blow
- The new EU legislation on plastic ignores all these points and may give a blow to the European Bioplastics industry, while the Japanese and US Governments are actively promoting it. Read more: Japan Government Wants to Become Leader in Bioplastics, USDA Promotes Bioplastics
- The plastic recycling industry faces allegations of fraud and involvement of criminal organisations. Read more: Fraud and Crime in the European Recycling Industry?
