So flying the EU top candidates to Brussels

the EU elections in 2019 takes place in the middle of a big debate on flygskam and the problems with rail transport in Europe.

The commute to Brussels and Strasbourg will get very, very difficult to keep up the front and back if he or she should avoid the flight.

" If it would take me 8-10 hours to go to Brussels so I had chosen the train. But today the flight is not to avoid, " says Soraya Post of the Feminist initiative.

is not very helpful.

" I have asked about this twice and have received absolutely impossible answers. The travel service is capable of high-speed in France, between France and Belgium, perhaps Germany and Holland, but beyond that, it is quite sparsely, " says vänsterpartisten Malin Björk, who has been in parliament since 2014.

the EU parliament in Brussels. Foto: Olle Sporrong/TT

She thinks that the parliament would be able to see over the technology and schedules.

– You might need to update. How often must we meet physically? We should meet physically, but maybe not everything needs to happen exactly as it always has been.

Alice Bah Kuhnke has chosen a far-reaching solution. She is planning to settle in Brussels with the family to avoid having to fly.

the Question is how she will be able to have contact with the electorate at home.

" I think the both take the train. A lot and often. And also home to Sweden. I love to be at home and travel around in Sweden and build movements. I am best with three aunts in Skövde, and out on the streets and squares. Our medlemsrörelse and our associations and districts need a lot of strength to be built up to the next general election, it is a big issue for me, " she says.

the christian democrat top candidate Sara Skyttedal - previously ruled out those boycotting the airline industry as ”dumpuckon” - think she makes a difference by choosing airlines that invest in new technology.

– There are far too many that smears the flight as a means of transport in itself. The flight is a problem, because it today has a lot of emissions. It is the one that should be fought, not the flight itself, " she says.

Fredrick Federley says he wants to use policy tools to make air travel more environmentally friendly.

– We've added intra-european flights in the emissions trading scheme. We should demand that fuels should be taxed in the whole of Europe. We should stimulate the production of more renewable fuels.

Read more: Transfer Brussels-Strasbourg, expensive and persistent problem

DN:s toppkandidatintervjuer about the way they think about their flights as EU parliamentarians.

" I have a principle to go by train. A prerequisite for me to take on this assignment is that I am not forced to fly. And I have therefore taken the decision that if I am elected to the EUROPEAN parliament, so I will move to Brussels. Then I will go train. A lot and often. And also home to Sweden.

– I have commuted between Skåne and Stockholm, it was probably half train, half flight. I had a hope that it would be possible to commute to Brussels, but now I'm not so sure that it is so simple. Then there is the flight that remains for completing the responsibility for the committee meetings in Brussels and plenary sessions in Strasbourg.

– I'll veckopendla to Brussels, so I will definitely fly more. However, I tend to choose airlines that invest in new technology. I think it is important with the consumer power, but I may be thinking a little differently than those who think it is important to boycott the flight.

– There are not really any alternatives to flying, as I see it. The car would be the fastest vehicle, and it is not an option. The train is so hopelessly slow and it takes such a long time and it is complicated system also. But I am flying so much also appreciate when I can take the train.

– My flights are more than I would like. I fly to and from Brussels. Parliament travel service is capable of high-speed in France, between France and Belgium, perhaps Germany, and the Netherlands, but beyond that, it is quite sparsely. You would have to add about our meeting schedules, but may also add about the technology around our meetings.

– I live in Gothenburg, sweden. If I were to take the train, it would take me 1,5 hours to get to Brussels and 1.5 hours back. I would be able to have about six hours in Gothenburg, if I choose to go home on Friday. I believe that high-speed rail is a solution.

" I do not see in front of me that we end up in a situation where you are travelling less. What can we use for stimulansverktyg to ensure that as soon as possible we can travel in a more environmentally friendly way? We have not reached in the flygdebatten than.

– I will fly.

– I will fly to Brussels and I will compensate. Unfortunately, the flight is not as climate-friendly as it should be. I always try to choose the klimatvänligaste resealternativet - go by train, travel by public transport, using biofuel, and if there are no reasonable alternatives, to compensate.

Link to the graphics

Then you can listen to all the hearings here.