Jens-Peter Bonde was elected to the European Parliament (EP) in the first direct elections in 1979, representing the Danish Eurosceptic People's Movement against the European Communities (EC). He remained a Member of European Parliament (MEP) until he resigned his seat in 2008. His papers document his 29 years in the EP, during which he continually opposed the expansion of the EC and the European Union (EU) while also campaigning to fight waste, fraud and secrecy in the European institutions.
The papers were deposited by Jens-Peter Bonde's widow, Lisbeth Kirk, in order to make them available to researchers: "I am very pleased that Jens-Peter's papers are now available at the Historical Archives. The important political issues that he raised while in Parliament continue to be relevant in the EU today, and seeing the development and history of those discussions will be of great value to researchers."
A total of 138 dossiers, mostly stemming from the period 1980-2008, have been retained and are organised following the structure of their original folders and contents. The files have been entered into the HAEU’s online database and are available for consultation, with some exceptions.
A staunch critic of the EC and the EU, Bonde and his Eurosceptic partners continually questioned the introduction of European Treaties and of a Constitution (Bonde was a member of the European Convention). These discussions are well documented in his papers through correspondence and articles. They also pointed out waste, alleged fraud, and excessive allowances—debates that were important to the trajectory of the EU administration and ultimately led to the resignation of the Santer Commission in 1999.
Jens-Peter Bonde's papers could therefore be of interest to anyone interested in Euroscepticism and its political networks; opposition to or debate about the European Treaties and a Constitution; and the meaning and wider significance of calls for reform, transparency and accountability in the development of the EC and the EU.
The papers also contain interesting materials about the practical organisation of the smaller political groups in the European Parliament, which Bonde facilitated throughout his career. Documents detailing the groups' statutes, organisation and correspondence shed light on how the groups are formed and on how their internal negotiations about access to resources take place.
Finally, Jens-Peter Bonde was a prolific writer who published numerous books on important European developments, including commentaries on the new Treaties. More than 50 of his volumes were included in the deposit to the Historical Archives. These works have been transferred to the EUI Library.
Accessibility
Many of Jens-Peter Bonde's papers are in Danish, including correspondence with his political partners in Denmark and the articles and opinion pieces he wrote for Danish papers and magazines. One also finds correspondence with partners in the Nordic countries in Swedish or Norwegian.
In the European Parliament, Bonde frequently lamented the lack of working documents in Danish and other minority languages, arguing that MEPs from smaller countries were at a disadvantage when the primary languages for meetings were English and French. His preferred working language with other MEPs was English, but he also knew German and read French (on a few rare occasions he even gave short, prepared speeches in French). Many of the papers concerning correspondence and cooperation with other MEPs and with the administration are in English or French.
One of Jens-Peter Bonde's most strongly held political issues was openness and transparency in the EU administration. He consistently called for better access to information, and criticised the unnecessary secrecy that shrouded many decisions and complicated understanding of how the bureaucracy worked. Early on, he was labelled “Mr. Transparency” for his insistence that information on important administrative matters should be made available to the public. As Bonde fought for transparency and openness all his life, his own files are immediately accessible. However, some files contain personal and private correspondence he received from others. To protect his correspondents' privacy, the HAEU applies the 30 years rule to such files, meaning they will be open for consultation 30 years after their creation.
Consult the Bonde fonds here.
Image: Campaign jottings on a napkin, by Jens-Peter Bonde