Moritz Körner (born August 3, 1990) is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019.[1] He is member of the board of the Free Democratic Party in Germany. Since 2024, he has been a member of the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and a member of the Delegation for relations with Israel.

Moritz Körner
Moritz Körner in 2019
Member of the European Parliament
for Germany
Personal details
Born (1990-08-03) August 3, 1990 (age 34)
Wiesbaden, Germany
Political party German:
Free Democratic Party
 EU:
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Alma mater

Early life

edit

Körner was born in Wiesbaden, Germany.[2]

In 2014 Körner received a BA in social sciences from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, and in 2017 he received an MA in political management, public policy, and public administration from University of Duisburg-Essen.[2]

Political career

edit

Career in state politics

edit

Körner joined the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in 2008. In 2009 he became District Vice-Chair of the FDP in Mettmann district.[2] From 2013-18, he was Chair of Junge Liberalen Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V. (FDP youth organisation in North Rhine-Westphalia).[2] Since 2014, he has been a member of the Executive Committee of the FDP in North Rhine-Westphalia, under the leadership of successive chairmen Christian Lindner (2014-17) and Joachim Stamp (since 2017).[2] 

From 2017 to 2019, Körner served as a member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, representing Mettmann. At the time of his election, he was the parliament's youngest member. During his time in parliament, he served as his parliamentary group’s spokesperson on universities. Since 2019, he has been a Member of the Bureau of the FDP.[2]

Member of the European Parliament, 2019–present

edit

Körner has been a Member of the European Parliament since the 2019 European elections. He has since been serving on the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. In this capacity, he served as the Parliament’s rapporteur on a 2020 scheme that linked member states’ access to the Budget of the European Union to respecting the rule of law.[3] On the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, he also follows digital surveillance issues.[4] In 2022, he joined the Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware.[5][6]

In addition to his committee assignments, Körner is part of the Parliament's delegation for relations with China.[7] He is also a member of the Spinelli Group;[8] the European Parliament Intergroup on Anti-Corruption;[9] the European Parliament Intergroup on Artificial Intelligence and Digital;[10] the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights;[11] the European Parliament Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals;[12] the European Parliament Intergroup on Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas;[13] and of the URBAN Intergroup.[14]

In the negotiations to form a so-called traffic light coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Green Party and the FPD following the 2021 federal elections, Körner was part of his party's delegation in the working group on financial regulation and the national budget, co-chaired by Doris Ahnen, Lisa Paus and Christian Dürr.[15]

In January 2022, Körner was nominated as Secretary General of the FDP in North Rhine-Westphalia, succeeding Johannes Vogel.[16]

Since 2024, Körner has been leading the group of FDP members in the European Parliament, succeeding Nicola Beer..[17] Since 2024, he has been a member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and a member of the Delegation for relations with Israel.[2]

Other activities

edit

Personal life

edit

Körner is gay.[19]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Alle Gewählte in alphabetischer Reihenfolge". Der Bundeswahlleiter (in German). Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Moritz KÖRNER," European Parliament.
  3. ^ Gabriela Baczynska (September 28, 2020), Exclusive: EU chair Germany proposes adherence to rule of law as key to getting bloc's cash Reuters.
  4. ^ Laurens Cerulus (21 December 2021), Polish spyware scandal stokes tensions with Brussels Politico Europe.
  5. ^ Members of the Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware European Parliament.
  6. ^ Parliament names MEPs to sit on three new committees European Parliament, press release of 24 March 2022.
  7. ^ Moritz Körner European Parliament.
  8. ^ Board & Members Spinelli Group.
  9. ^ Intergroup on Anti-Corruption European Parliament.
  10. ^ Intergroup on Artificial Intelligence and Digital European Parliament.
  11. ^ Members European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights.
  12. ^ Members European Parliament Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals.
  13. ^ Members 2019-2024 European Parliament Intergroup on Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas.
  14. ^ Members URBAN Intergroup.
  15. ^ Ampel-Koalition: Das sind die Verhandlungsteams von SPD, Grünen und FDP Deutschlandfunk, October 27, 2021.
  16. ^ Kirsten Bialdiga (10 January 2022), Wechsel an wichtiger Stelle: Moritz Körner wird NRW-FDP-Generalsekretär Rheinische Post.
  17. ^ FDP im Europaparlament stellt sich neu auf Free Democratic Party, press release of 10 January 2024.
  18. ^ Board of Trustees Institute for European Politics (IEP).
  19. ^ Christian Knuth (3 May 2017),Moritz Körner: „Wir sind der schärfste Kontrast zur AfD." Männer.
edit