MEP AWARDS 2007

The Dutch Liberal MEP is no stranger to Brussels: between 1995 and 1998 she worked at the European Commission, in the Enlargement Directorate General. She transferred her skills to the European Parliament after winning a seat in 2004.

Today Hennis-Plasschaert is a member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. The committee is responsible for protecting citizens' rights and fighting to combat discrimination. In May 2005 Hennis-Plasschaert filed a report for the European Parliament concerning the safety of airports. She argued that safety regulations against terrorist attacks should only apply for airports, and not for the neighbouring areas. In March last year she attempted to enter Belarus to monitor the presidential election as an independent observer, but she was refused entry into the country. Most recently her work in the field has seen her call for freedom of expression, freedom to demonstrate and the equal treatment of homosexuals in Russia.

Edit Bauer sits on the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality. Last year, Bauer's parliamentary report on social protection and social inclusion called for a renewed effort to fight poverty and exclusion.

Her parliamentary efforts to fight inequality have frequently focused on improving the rights of the unemployed and single parent households - usually headed by women. Also in 2006, the Slovakian illustrated her commitment to fighting for fundamental rights when she guided her report on Trafficking in Human Beings through Parliament. Bauer's report called for a new EU strategy to fight trafficking. Her work served as a wake-up call, reminding member states that the EU could do more to stamp out trafficking. Bauer is currently a substitute on the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee. She is also a part of the Parliament's delegations to India and South Asia.

Following a distinguished career as an actor and singer that spanned almost 40 years, Michael Cashman turned to the theatrics of the European Parliament in 1999. The MEP for the West Midlands region of England has spent a lifetime campaigning across a wide range of issues, from pensions to gay rights. He lists his principal political interests as fighting to defend human rights, civil liberties and to eradicate poverty. Cashman has used parliamentary motions to express his grave concern about increasing homophobia in Europe, and used his time in Brussels to tirelessly demand that the EU unites to take action against governments which turn a blind eye to discrimination.

For seven years Cashman has also been a senior member of the Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice & Home Affairs Committee; he is the 1st Vice Chair on the Petitions Committee, and a substitute member of the Regional Development Committee and the Sub-committee on Human Rights.