EU Policy Officer
French and Dutch, city-born but nature-loving: Tess Hartmann-Hergott unites many different interests in one person. Growing up in Marseille, she loved the multicultural ambiance of the southern French metropolis. Yet she also was a frequent visitor to the amazingly beautiful nature that surrounds it, going to the sea and up into the hills. And in the Netherlands, she often went on birdwatching trips with her grandmother.
After school, Tess Hartmann-Hergott began a degree in Business Studies, because, as she says herself: “I hadn’t got a clue what I wanted to do.” Tess soon realised that it didn’t fit; there was no point in selling more just for the sake of consumerism. Because she wanted to study something based more on values, she decided to change her subject to European Studies – an ideal qualification for working as EU Policy Officer for Biodiversity Finance in EuroNatur’s branch office in Brussels.
Tess Hartmann-Hergott’s role here is primarily to ensure that nature conservation is funded appropriately across the EU. For example, she is fighting for the EU’s LIFE programme to be given proper consideration in the next budget and to ensure that EU funds are not directed to environmentally destructive projects. “Sure, you can criticise some things about the European Union, but I am firmly attached the values that it was built on: peace, democracy and human rights,” says Tess. “These are universal values that should not stop at borders, just like nature conservation. Working to achieve that is pretty interesting.”