Dutch MP Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of the conservative VVD party has been named Member of the European Parliament of the Year. She came first in an internet election organised by the weekly magazine European Voice.

While in Brussels, Mrs Hennis-Plasschaert led the opposition against a treaty which would have granted US authorities access to banking data of European citizens in the SWIFT network.

The treaty was scrapped, and Mrs Hennis Plasschaert received a standing ovation in the European Parliament. She left the EP in June after the VVD leadership asked her to stand in the Dutch parliamentary elections.

Twenty candidates took part in the European Voice election, including EU President Herman van Rompuy. Bulgarian Kristalina Georgieva (International Cooperation), was named European Commissioner of the Year as well as European of the Year.

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