US congressman calls on MEPs to ensure staff diversity

US congressman Alcee Hastings is calling on MEPs to lead by example in their hiring practices to promote minority group representation in European politics.

Hastings was in Brussels to attend the first black European summit on Thursday, a Socialist initiative to bring together racial and ethnic minority American and European parliamentarians and policymakers to exchange information on policies to address racism, discrimination and inequality.

He told TheParliament.com that the aim of the meeting was to "contemplate the experience of black people in Europe" as well as those in America, and the group hoped to produce a declaration on positive action from all those attending in due course.

The meeting was held between European deputies, academics, journalists and government figures from across the racial spectrum, and Hastings said he was "particularly pleased that attendees are from across Europe and includes organisations that span everything that the parliament has in the way of member states".

Calling on MEPs to set a precedent in their hiring practices, he said, "Parliamentarians… should make their staff be diverse, and they have the opportunity to do that. They can hire Moroccans, they can hire Roma and they can do that. I know that because I do that."

He explained that as part of his role in the Helsinki committee, which works on US cooperation in the world, he had visited Brussels many times. "This building itself is not representative, not only of Brussels but it certainly isn’t representative of all the people of colour," he added.

"People just need to look and say, do these people look like Europe, hell no they don't, and guess what, neither does the US congress."

He said, "In America the Barack Obama phenomenon did not occur just because of black people, it occurred because of a particular number of people who chose to have change."

In the spirit of transatlantic dialogue he noted, "From Europe the US can learn about election methodology, and the kind of space that is created here for participation.” He added, “In America money becomes the primary object. We can learn from you how to drain this out of the system."

On the other side, "Europe can learn from America on voting techniques and accessibility. There seems to be movement in some countries toward limitations of people being able to achieve the status of citizen so that they can participate and to a degree that is a significant problem in America and in the context of understanding that we can share information”

He says he believed Europe needed to address these issues because "there is always an evolutionary process ongoing and I think that Europe needs to ready itself for an extraordinary infusion of substantial numbers of persons of colour".

Speaking about how we can push such an agenda, he said, "MEPs can set aside appropriate funding so that the areas of greatest need are met."

He puts education at the top of this list and he hopes, for he hopes all EU states and the US "will understand that adequate and substantial education is provided - primarily for little children as they build on it if they have good foundations."

Hastings concluded, "This world is a world of diversity, and it ain't no white world or black world."

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