David Hammerstein

David Hammerstein Mintz (September 23, 1955, Los Angeles) is a Spanish environmental sociologist and politician of American origin (he obtained nationality in 1986). He has worked and collaborated with The Confederation of The Greens since 1999, as well as with the formation The Greens of Europe.

He was a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009, the result of the electoral pact between the PSOE and the Confederation of Los Verdes, a formation in which he was a member on that date. He was attached to the parliamentary group of Los Verdes / ALE of the European Parliament, standing out in issues such as the fight against urban corruption, open-pit mining, pollution or the defense of free software, among others.

Biography

She was born in Los Angeles to a Canadian mother and Polish and Belarusian grandparents. In 1978 she finished her studies in Sociology at the University of California (1973-1978), leaving that same year for Spain and obtaining Spanish nationality in 1986. In the 80s and 90s, she stood out as a neighborhood leader in defense of the historic center of Valencia, as well as in numerous campaigns in defense of the urban environment and the agricultural garden. Between 1991 and 1999 he was a secondary school teacher of natural economics and geography at an international cooperative school in Godella (Valencia), and then until 2003 as an environmental advisor. From 1998 to 2003 he was spokesperson for Els Verds del País Valencià, and in 1999 he began working for Los Verdes, being appointed International Spokesperson and Spanish Delegate in the European Federation of Green Parties from 2000 to 2004. These positions allowed him to collaborating closely with European green leaders such as Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Monica Frassoni, Alexander de Roo, Patricia McKenna and Reinhard Buetikofer, a political career that would culminate as an MEP during the Sixth legislature of the European Parliament (2004-2009).

She works for an international NGO on intellectual property issues in the field of access to knowledge, medicines for the poorest and digital freedoms. She also continues to participate in environmental activities and peace initiatives in the Middle East.

Elections 2004

General elections in Spain

Fruit of the electoral agreement between the PSOE and the Confederation of the Greens (defended, among others, by José María Mendiluce, although without unanimity within the Confederation), Hammerstein was the coordinator of Els Verds in the joint campaign in the Valencian Community, participating in press conferences together with Leire Pajín in Alicante and other leaders of the PSPV in Valencia.

European Parliamentarian (2004-2009)

That same year, and as a result of the same political association agreement, Hammerstein was elected MEP number 20 on the PSOE list. He joined the Greens/ALE parliamentary group, which consisted of 42 MEPs out of a total of 785. In Parliament, he was a full member of the Petitions Committee (which promotes the direct participation of citizens) and of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee, where He specialized in issues such as the Internet, telecommunications, intellectual property, scientific research or renewable energy and toxic substances.

Photo denunciation of mass urbanism on the Spanish coast.

He was also a substitute on the Foreign Affairs Committee and specialized in the Middle East conflict, participating in various official and unofficial delegations to Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Syria. He also participated in the Euro-Mediterranean Assembly and the Delegations for Israel and Palestine; and was vice-president of the Parliament Animal Welfare Intergroup.

In Hammerstein's own words during the legislature: I try to cover the entire Spanish state when there is no other political representative willing to represent an environmental or neighborhood concern, which happens very often. It is not easy given the enormous amount of citizen demands that I try to channel towards the European institutions [...] I have presented many and varied parliamentary questions on these issues.

Work areas

As a member of the European Parliament Petitions Committee Hammerstein distinguished himself for his work denouncing non-compliance with European directives on the environment, urban planning in Valencia Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha, Andalucía, Cabo de Gata (Almería), ski resorts in San Glorio and La Covatilla, Puerto de Granadilla in Tenerife, mobility issues such as the M-30, M-501 and Plan de Carreteras de la Community of Madrid or the Vejer-Tarifa highway, open-pit mining in the Laciana Valley (León), phosphogypsum ponds in the Huelva Chemical Complex the importation of panga fish from Vietnam etc.

He supported the Yes to the European Constitution, approved in Spain (February 2005), although it would not finally enter into force due to rejection by France and the Netherlands.

He also participated in visits by the European Parliament to Poland (Via Baltica) and Italy (interalpine rail connection). As a member of the European Parliament, she made visits to the Middle East, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Poland... highlighting the entry into the Gaza Strip during the 2008-2009 conflict, without the express authorization of the Israeli government, together with 8 other MEPs. In Hammerstein's words: There can be no war without witnesses. That is the key to impunity.

In the urban planning section, he highlighted his work denouncing urban corruption in Spain (and mainly in the Valencian Community, which would finally lead, and after 5 years of study, to the approval of the Auken Report in the European Parliament on March 26, 2009. This (although non-binding) report called, inter alia, for the competent regional authorities to declare a moratorium on all new urban development plans that do not respect rigorous criteria of environmental sustainability and social responsibility, recalled that the Commission [...] is empowered to interrupt the provision of structural funds and cohesion funds and criticized the powers with excessive frequency granted to urban planners and real estate developers by certain local authorities, which consisted of a complete criticism of the Spanish urban planning model.The approval of the European Parliament was carried out despite the campaign of the parties majority Spanish PP and PSOE against him.

He was also a member of the Industry and Energy Committee of the Parliament and speaker for the 7th Framework Program for Research and Development in the EU. He is a firm defender of free software, a subject to which he also devoted part of his parliamentary activity.

Controversies

In 2006 he was accused by his collaborator Rosa Santrich of workplace harassment and of having fired him for discovering documentation in which he allegedly falsified the salary paid to his employees. The EU Anti-Fraud Office, after completing an investigation, perceived indications of crime and decided to refer it to the competent courts of Spain and the EU. The report would speak of tens of thousands of euros embezzled. Another member of Los Verdes and former adviser to the Ministry of the Environment, José Santamarta, accused him of using EU funds to buy a house in Brussels for his partner, and to pay his advisers 600 euros while declaring 3,000. Finally, Mr. Santamarta was sentenced in a final judgment for defamation by a court in Valencia. All fraud charges against David Hammerstein were dropped for lack of evidence without any indictment.

He left the Confederation of the Greens two years after taking office, according to Hammerstein, due to disagreement over the measures taken by the party leadership (expulsions from the party of members of the Valencian party Els Verds del País Valencià for supporting the European Constitution and personal attacks on him and his team). However, the opinion of the party was that he left it to avoid the consequences of the open file for not being accountable in accordance with the party's statutes. Later, this same party requested his resignation from the European Greens for the alleged fraud and political scandals.

However, finally the European Parliament ratified the regularity of his accounts and all the processes were closed without any type of condemnation towards Hammerstein.

Related links

• Sixth Legislature of the European Parliament
• Els Verds del País Valencià
• European Green Party