EuroparlTV went to Greece and Germany to meet Sofia Sakorafa and Sven Schulze, two new MEPs from very different political groups and professional backgrounds.

New faces on their way to the European Parliament

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/11813668/m003-0288-enxx.srt

New faces in the European Parliament  since the elections of last May:

Sofia Sakorafa, a 57 year-old Greek MEP  from the left-wing party SYRIZA

and Sven Schulze, 34 years old,  a Christian Democrat from the CDU,

In principle everything opposes  these two new MEPs.

Former Olympic javelin athlete  Sofia Sakorafa is a determined woman.

She's the holder of a world record  and 17 national records.

Her motto in sports and in politics:  exceed yourself to reach your goals.

You don't choose athletics.  It's athletics that choose you.

You like exercise,  you like being in a team,

you like trying to exceed yourself  and your limits.

After her career as an athlete  she goes into politics

A bit later the crisis hits the country:  the economy collapses.

The International Monetary Fund and the  EU impose tough sacrifices on the Greeks.

Sofia Sakorafa refuses the austerity policy  accepted by the socialist government.

She leaves PASOK  and joins the left-wing party SYRIZA.

Everybody has to understand that the debts  imposed on us have to be controlled.

These debts have been created  until 2012.

They're huge and have been imposed on  the Greeks though it's not their fault.

but I don't think so,  it was wasted by a few.

With about 27% of the votes  at the European elections and six MEPs,

SYRIYZA and Sofia Sakorafa  are determined to make their voice heard.

Personally I've promised to fight  for the 1.5 million unemployed,

to fight for the reduction of this figure,

to fight against the fact that the country  is being destroyed at the moment.

Unemployment is also an issue  in wealthy Germany.

We're in the city of Magdeburg  in former East Germany,

Here unemployment is almost twice as high  as the average in Germany.

Young people aren't that much affected  by unemployment.

It's rather a certain group  of long-term unemployed

who have many difficulties  finding again a regular job.

I think that's our biggest problem  on the job market.

At the age of 34, Sven Schulze  is familiar with the world of work.

Before his election as an MEP  he was an engineering manager

in a company that produces machine tools.

Over a month ago he left his job  to dedicate himself entirely to politics.

Today he's meeting the Minister of  Science and Economy of Saxony-Anhalt.

The election campaign is over  and now the real work begins.

We're happy about this  in Saxony-Anhalt.

What's missing here is larger enterprises

and the area of tourism  could be significantly improved.

The European programmes  help us here of course.

I'm a newcomer in politics,  it will be my job.

In the last couple of years I've been in  close contact with professional politicians,

with people in charge  here in Saxony-Anhalt,

But I will have to extend my network now.

On the agenda: a meeting with the  members of the CDU's Women's Union.

Juncker visited  our political group yesterday

and said we should tell our governments  that there aren't enough women.

So if one of you is interested in becoming  a member of the Commission...

An election is of course  also won at grassroots level.

Sven Schulze has received  about 31% of the votes in his region.

He's easily accessible;  you can also go for a beer with him.

You can always tell him  if you like something or not

and he doesn't take it badly,  he will talk to you about it.

In my previous job as a Sales Manager  I also had to be very open

just like in an election  campaign and in politics.

If you're not able to  then you're not a good politician.

Now on the way to Brussels,  where many challenges are waiting for him.

If you drive to the motorway here  you'll see many rural areas,

and then you suddenly drive  to the Parliament, this huge building.

our two MEPs discover their new workplace  and fill in the necessary papers.

Sofia Sakorafa sees the hemicycle  for the first time.

It's very big. There are  about 750 MEPs. It's huge.

I don't know how intensively  we can work here

or how much time we will be allocated  to speak, to express our feelings.

And her feelings go to the Greeks  and their huge debts:

We're experiencing a huge crisis in Greece,  not an economic but a humanitarian one

because of this and the tough reforms  that have been imposed on a people

that has become poor  from one day to the next.

Sven Schulze remembers the economic  problems in East Germany

I think it's not easy  for the Greek people at the moment.

For the people in East Germany,  in the region where I grew up,

it wasn't easy either after the political  change in 1989, after the fall of the wall.

They had to learn and reconstruct  many things from the beginning.

A Greek woman and a German man:  they will now learn to work together.

No matter if opponents or allies, they're all  in the same parliamentary assembly.