EU Views: Jacqueline Cramer
Name: Jacqueline Cramer
Nationality: Dutch
Occupation(s): Professor in sustainable innovation at Utrecht University, strategic advisor of the Utrecht Sustainability Institute, member of the Amsterdam Economic Board; and director of the consultancy firm ‘Sustainable Entrepreneurship: strategy and innovation consulting’.
Connection to Europe: Former Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment for the Labour Party (February 2007 – February 2010); Member of various (inter)national advisory boards of the government, industry and non-profit organisations (e.g. previous crown member of the Dutch Social-Economic Council, member of the Advisory Board of the WWF for NatureWorld Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)/Netherlands, non-executive board of Shell Netherlands, ASN Bank and FMO, chairman of the Plastic Soup Foundation, Nudge and the ESCo (Energy Service Companies) Netherlands network).
Date of interview: March 6, 2017
In this episode, Dr. Jacqueline Cramer discusses her belief that EU Member States can pursue common goals at ‘different speeds’, allowing countries to act as frontrunners in fields such as sustainability and circular economic practices. Cramer emphasized the need for Brussels to reconnect with and engage citizens in order to foster a community of Europeans within an increasingly globalized world. She emphasized the threat of populism, arguing that “democracy is the key of European culture – it should be nourished all the time in order to show what the enormous merits are of our democracy.” Cramer ended by commenting on the strength of diversity and the need for Europeans to find a balance between national identity and common EU values of democracy and socioeconomic stability.