Dierk
refers to himself as a "Fish Lawyer."
But,that is only a part of it!
He studied Law at the Universities of Freiburg im Breisgau,
Genève, and Berlin
before receiving his Juris Doctor from the University of Bonn.
Starting in 1967, he was Germany's Negotiator for
German fishing rights (on both sides of the Atlantic),
while working at the
Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture, in Bonn, in its
Division of International Relations and Legal Questions of Fisheries.
This
work subsequently led him on quite a journey!
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Dierk
Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), 1970s
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"You're on the Russian quota list - third net on the right."
Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) NAFO
is a regional fisheries body that incorporates scientific advice
and management. Sixteen countries plus the European Union signed
the NAFO Convention that applies to most fishery resources of
the Northwest Atlantic. NAFO has four coastal countries bordering
the It
was not until the middle of the XX century that fishing nations
recognized
NAFO
Homepage |
Dierk's role included participation in the United
Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea,
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Off
to Brussels...
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Dierk at the European Commission
By
1978 Dierk had extended his career as a negotiator to policy involvement
with
the elaboration of the Common Fisheries Policy of the European
Community.
This meant a move to Brussels, Belgium, where he worked for the rest
of his career.
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As background
I have compiled some brief Information about the
European Union and European Commission...
Click
here
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Department
of Agriculture and Fisheries.
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In
this role, Dierk spent considerable time at the
European Court of Justice
in Luxembourg
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He was very involved in such issues as "Mad-cow" Disease in the UK,
difficult banana- and beef-trade negotiations between the EU and the USA,
and other hot topics of our time.
Read about one of his cases...
against France
Click here
Brief information about the European
Court of Justice
Click here
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European
Court of Justice
Home page
Click here
A primary focus of his work over the years was negotiating
the
Common Agricultural Policy for the European Union.
CAP policy areas included agricultural markets,
rural development,
agriculture and environment, forestry measures, organic farming,
quality policy, promotional measures, financing the CAP,
state aid, evaluation, and research.
Among other things, this work involved negotiations to reduce EU subsidies
to France's notoriously difficult farmers... (see below).
Migraines!
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The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (From an article by BBC News ) was the biggest policy concern of the European Community in its early days, and is still one of the major challenges facing the EU. Although spending on CAP has been reduced in recent years, it still consumes almost half the EU budget. The policy was set up against a backdrop of food shortages and rations following World War II, and had five founding aims: Increased productivity A fair standard of living for farmers Stable markets Regular food supplies Reasonable prices for consumers And it was based on three principles: A single market in farm products with common prices and free movement of agricultural goods within the Community Preference for Community members Shared costs But, by the early 1980s, intervention buying under the CAP had led to Europe's infamous wine lakes and butter mountains. The CAP embodied people's worst impressions of the European community and acquired an image of being a corrupt and bloated bureaucracy. It also stirred up strong passions amongst farmers, making every change and renegotiation of the policy a difficult and emotive issue.
The forthcoming accession of countries like Poland, with its expanse of poor rural areas, has raised concerns about how to adapt the CAP to the conditions of an enlarged Europe. Overview
of CAP history, its philosophy and changes |
From
Agriculture and Fisheries,
Dierk moved on to work on EU enlargement,
negotiating admission and developing agreements with
new countries being admitted to the European Union
after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
He worked particularly on the negotiations with
Norway, Sweden, Finland and Austria in 1993-'94.
Enlargement
of the European Union |
Dierk speaks numerous foreign languages,
with working facility in German, French and English;
written understanding of Spanish and Dutch;
and a basic knowledge of Russian.
Living in Brussels for ovr 25 years has meant
speaking a lot of French!
So, Dierk's French accent is nearly perfect.
We have witnessed puzzled looks from the French in France,
who ask him if he IS French! Those French just don't think
that anyone, but the French, can speak French well!
Of course, I am entirely jealous of this multi-lingual facility!
From a very early age, I always wanted to speak seven languages.
Apparently, it was fated for Dierk to do for me:
he is a great translator on our travels in Europe!
Then, there is the "Pomp
and Circumstance"
that sometimes accompanies his work....
A peak into that world:
Directors' Dinner, European Commission
December
2003
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Dierk
notes that he is wearing a DKNY tie which we gave him.
And he thinks I have added too many photos from this batch and the one
below.
But, I think they give Context to his work. So, I have included them
anyway.
Dierk retired in December 2003.
EC Retirement Party
Dierk's carrer was honored by 200 guests from the European
Commission:
A night with many speeches and musical tributes by longtime colleagues.
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Daughter
Maike and grandson #1, Henrik,
are shown above on the lower right.
Probably
few know, that my father's one-time dream for me was
that I become an interpretor for the UN some day.
Or, perhaps, even how much his internationalist philosophy influenced
me:
" World Peace will come one, international friendship
at a time,"
he once said to me.
But, those of you who know us well will doubtlessly appreciate
the value we place on our long-term relationships with our German family...
and you have doubtlessly seen some consistent trends in
the international friendships that have always been at the core of my
life.
It has been important to all
of us to pass this tradition on
to a new generation!
Dierk
and I still enjoy debating politics, as we have for over 35 years.
That's how we began and probably how it always will be!
He accuses me of being "so ideological;"
and I say, that
"[he] would negotiate away [his] own grandmother!"
Last fall we relished in a bit of Bush-bashing together
and then joined in misery over the US Election Results.
Since his retirement, I have begun to keep Dierk apprised of
developments in US foreign policies,
with a regular batch of articles e-mailed from the
NY Times, Washington Post
and other American and English publications,
to which he often responds with wise comments.
So, the discussions continue over the internet on a regular basis.
Ah, yes, Dierk is also the one who named our back
yard,
"Perry Parc."
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Congratulations,
Dierk, |
To see our
old stomping grounds along the Rhein
and hear the tale of how we met,
Click here
Our most recent trips with Dierk, Germany and France 2005
Click
here
To meet our French friends at the EC...
Click
here
For pages
about the rest of our extended family,
Return to Index
Click here