Marc Botenga

Marc Botenga (born 29 December 1980) is a Belgian politician of the Workers' Party of Belgium (PVDA-PTB). In 2019, he was elected as member of the Ninth European Parliament as part of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) party group. Botenga is the first MEP to be chosen for the PVDA-PTB.

Marc Botenga
MEP
Member of the European
Parliament for Belgium
Assumed office
2 July 2019[1][2]
ConstituencyFrench-speaking electoral college
Personal details
Born (1980-12-29) 29 December 1980
Brussels
NationalityBelgian
Political partyBelgium Belgium: Workers' Party
European Union EU: GUE/NGL
Alma materIMT Lucca
OccupationPolitician

Biography

Marc Botenga studied law at the Université libre de Bruxelles. In 1998 he engaged in the movement advocating for the step-down of then Belgian Minister of the Interior Louis Tobback, following the assassination of asylum seeker Semira Adamu by police officers. Later, he participated in workers' mobilization against the close-down of the Forges de Clabecq iron works.[3]

In the wake of the European debt crisis beginning in 2010, Marc Botenga began to become more involved in European politics, participating in actions of political support for Greece. In 2016, he became the political advisor of the European GUE/NGL parliamentary group. He is a member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.[4]

Member of the European Parliament

Marc Botenga has been a Member of the European Parliament since the 2019 elections with the GUE/NGL group.[5] He has since been serving as member on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.[6] He supports the European Citizens' Initiative Right to Cure.[7][8]

On 15 September 2022, Botenga voted against condemning President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua for human rights violations, in particular the arrest of Bishop Rolando Álvarez. [9][10]

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Botenga partook in peace demonstrations and actions,[11][12] condemned the invasion and called for diplomatic resolution.[13] On 24 November 2022, he voted against a resolution condemning the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism.[14]

Botenga, spoke at a European parliamentary session following December 12th, 2022 condemning the murder of 16 year-old Jana Zakarna, at her rooftop in Jenin, West Bank by IDF soldiers. The murder erupted response from Palestinian and left-wing solidarity movements as Israeli forces claimed her murder was “probably an accident”. Botenga accused the European Union of turning a blind eye towards Israel’s violence and occupation against the Palestinians, despite Europe’s strong stance for equal human rights.

See also

References
  1. "Key dates ahead". European Parliament. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. "Key dates ahead". BBC News. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. "Marc Botenga, premier eurodéputé belge de la gauche radicale ?". Solidaire (in French). Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  4. "Home | Marc BOTENGA | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  5. Marc Botenga, deputy of the European Parliament Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  6. Activities of Marc Botenga in the EP Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  7. Global vaccine shortages and patent sharing Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  8. No profit on pandemic Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  9. "European Parliament condemns growing repression of Catholic Church in Nicaragua, calls for release of bishop".
  10. "Nicaragua, in particular the arrest of the bishop Rolando Álvarez" (PDF).
  11. Marc Botenga [@@BotengaM] (27 March 2022). "Belle manifestation pour la paix à Bruxelles, à l'appel des syndicats et de 93 organisations de tout le pays. Contre la guerre criminelle de Poutine en Ukraine, l'escalade militaire à coup de livraisons d'armes, et en faveur de négociations et d'accords de paix durable. #Peace" (Tweet) (in French). Retrieved 20 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  12. Villajos, Luis (22 April 2022). "Podemos monta 'conferencia por la paz' tras duplicarse el envío de armas ("Podemos organises 'peace conference' after doubling of arms shipments")". Republica.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  13. "Written explanations of vote European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu (in French). 23 November 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  14. EP Votes 24 Nov 2022
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