Visions for Maastricht: For ‘Trust in the People’, with Patrick Veugen

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Are you a European citizen, and are you registered in the municipality of Maastricht? Then, good news! You can vote in the upcoming local elections on March 18th! 

Our local coverage team invited candidates for interviews, and it aims to give keys to students to make their choice, without any editorial endorsement. 

We are already on our sixth episode! Check out the previous ones on our website. Today, we discuss the program of the Christian Democrat party (CDA) with Patrick Veugen. 

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Between two classes and meetings, we met Patrick Veugen, a 27-year-old civil council member and representative of the Christian Democratic Party, for an interview. We talked about citizens' participation, international students, and bridgebuilding between generations. Here is how it went.  

Maastricht Diplomat (MD): Have you always lived in Maastricht, and why did you choose to stay?  

Patrick Veugen (PV): I grew up here, close to the Belgian border. I have always been interested in the European Union, so European Studies at Maastricht University fit me perfectly. Afterwards, I had built a great social life and did my master’s here. When I found a job in the city, I decided to stay. 

MD: How did you enter politics, and why did you choose the CDA? 

PV: I have been interested in politics since I was very young and was always watching the news. When I was a student, I joined a youth party, and only after University did I start supporting the Christian Democrats. The CDA is, unlike what is often thought, less about Christianity and more about the values behind it: social justice, stewardship, and solidarity. Most important for me personally are healthcare and mental health, for example combatting loneliness and caring for the ageing population. So the choice came to me quite naturally.  

“CDA aims to find its roots again on the local level.” 

MD: Why did you choose to commit to local instead of national politics?  

PV: I think local engagement is not only important for the CDA now, but for the people’s party that it always was. On the local level, we actually make the biggest difference in people’s daily lives. And there we want to find our roots again as a party. For example, almost all of my fellow party members are involved in local sports associations and neighbourhood networks.  

MD: What are the main challenges of being a young politician? 

PV: It was somewhat easier than I thought. I started with volunteering work in the background, but quite soon started to work as a civilian council member. The biggest challenge is getting used to all of the procedures, processes, and fields. I still have a lot to learn!  

MD: What are you most proud of from your actions or your party’s in the municipal council?  

PV: I started as a civilian council member and could properly participate in the council in a way that citizens cannot. We have been able to achieve a lot, for example “Wonen achter wonen”, which allows people to access more affordable housing, by making building easier where it is possible. 

“We want to really encourage people to participate when they have ideas.” 

MD: You want to increase contact points and budgets for local neighbourhoods. How will this increase citizens’ participation, and what can contact points look like? 

PV: Yes, that is a big priority for us, and we have already made new regulations for it. Residents need to receive more help to find their way through the maze of rules, to receive subsidies, or to participate in the neighbourhoods. For that, we want to create more neighbourhood houses and community centres. There are so many people volunteering in such centers already, and they should have more time to do their work rather than having to be occupied with bureaucracy. People here really want to see things moving forward, and we want to really encourage people to participate when they have ideas.  

MD: You also talk about strengthening the organisation of the municipality, for example, by increasing the number of enforcement agents. How will this benefit citizens?  

PV: Yes, we felt like this wish for more organisation is a general tendency among citizens. If there is criminality and wrong behaviours in our neighbourhoods, it’s a necessity to have firm rules and authority. You need enforcement to implement new rules. Only implementing rules without enforcement doesn't work. You should not focus on oppressive measures only, but also on preventive. This will have a good impact on people’s daily lives and will make the neighbourhoods more attractive and livable.  

“I hope to be a bridgebuilder between students and the elderly.” 

MD: Your election manifesto does not mention a lot about international students. Are you happy with the number of students in the city?  

PV: Yes, I think that the university is certainly the most important institution in Maastricht. It brings a lot of economic activity, also from across borders. Keeping students in the city or in the region simply requires more economic activity.  

MD: What do you propose for the student community?  

PV: To make student life comfortable, we should create a common understanding by talking to them. Also, we can learn from other cities, as we are more old-fashioned, compared to Amsterdam or Rotterdam, regarding the approach to students or offering more nightlife. But, of course, this takes more time. 

MD: You want to support student associations. Why is that important?  

PV: Yes, as a party, we want to continue supporting volunteering and entrepreneurship from students. I think that student associations empower students and increase feelings of responsibility for others and for their surroundings. Some residents think that students are only passengers who stop by, but I think that the student community really adds a lot to the city. I hope I can be a bit of a bridgebuilder who can help to connect locals and students more. Mutual understanding is key.  

MD: Students and subcultures want space to express their culture and create a feeling of community and belonging. What is the stance of your party on the future of LBB? What is the stance of CDA on the future of LBB?  

PV: On one hand, we think that rules that apply to other associations and clubs should also be made for the LBB; there cannot be an exception for it. On the other hand, it needs to get a new place. There is such a strong demand for it, and there are a lot of good initiatives that happen there. As a municipality, we feel responsible for finding a new accommodation for this community.  

“We should use what already exists to make green projects here.” 

MD: You claim that it’s important to have “sufficient and high-quality” housing for the people of Maastricht. What is CDA’s plan? Building something new or reusing what could be used today?  

PV: As a party, we want to implement new forms of housing, for example, shared housing with the elderly and students. I want to encourage shared living because the experiences and sharing of responsibilities teach you so much. Also, the community that you gain from it is so valuable and important for your mental health. For student housing, we need to make sure that students live safely in proper spaces, especially because it can be hard to live on your own for the first time. We want to invest more in people’s initiatives, because there are many.  Also, I think that there should be more equality between house renters and house buyers. However, though we can build new houses, most competencies and concrete solutions for housing are national, so there is not much we can do.  

MD: How do you want to link this to a green strategy? 

PV: Against the political consensus in Maastricht of expanding the city, I think we should ask: “How can we expand inward?” We want to preserve the city in its small size, like it is today, and not go beyond the city’s limits. We want to make use of what already exists to make green projects here. Limmel aan de Maas is a great example of a green project in the borders of the city. For new housing, we want developers to focus on making green projects in the city.  

MD: You want to strive for neighborhoods with a “mixed composition” for an “integrated” approach. What does integration mean in that sense? How will you make this possible?

PV: We think that social housing should be more widespread and could be key in preventing more segregation. Segregation is negative for everyone, and there must be different groups in one neighbourhood. We are missing social housing, something where the national government should do more. If we want people to connect and mix in their own neighbourhood, we need to create a community and make it more desirable.  

“The city needs more high-quality tourism and entrepreneurs.” 

MD: You attach great importance to strengthening Maastricht's cultural offer, mainly by preserving its heritage (monuments and churches, public art collections...) You also talk about the “intangible” heritage, such as local traditions and dialects. Could you expand on that?  

PV: There is a vibrant cultural life in Maastricht, for example, in the carnival celebration, and the Maastricht dialect. However, often the different groups in society feel disconnected from each other, even though there is so much potential for connection and for a community, for example, between students and the elderly. We can work on supporting community housing, supporting new initiatives, and enabling an easier start for newcomers to join the community in Maastricht. Dutch classes for students could work to facilitate connection, but that is not a task for the municipal government.  

MD: Maastricht has some tourism issues. Do you think we should continue to attract tourists as we’re doing now or put a limit on it?  

PV: I would like the city to attract more high-quality tourism and entrepreneurs who want to bring their ideas to Maastricht and help preserve the city’s character. I think we should move away from filling the city center only with larger international brands, because it takes away the city's charm. What makes Maastricht unique is its old city center with its own charm and its local shops.  

“The Brightlands campus is the most important driver of economic activity.” 

MD: Which environmental measures would you like to implement? 

PV: We can encourage environmental entrepreneurship and attract sustainable economic activity. We want more green infrastructure and less stone, because the heat gets trapped in summer.  But we need to be careful with putting the emphasis only on being ‘green’. Challenges like poverty and housing also need to be addressed. If proposals are too ambitious and not realistic enough, we should concentrate on what we can do best locally.  

MD: You do not mention mobility and transport in your programme. Is that a priority for your party? 

PV: The city needs to become more accessible. We want to improve public transport connections. Also, we need to find better solutions with cars, for example, by restricting the center to only those who need it and as little as possible during the week. However, public transport is not regulated by the municipality; it is provincial.  

MD: What are your positions on the creation of bike parkings and a car-free city centre?  

PV: There are certain moments when the city is completely stuck in the city centre due to traffic. So we want to strive for as few cars as possible. P+R Noord works really well, and we want to expand that. For this, we need to make sure that public transport keeps up with the higher demand. We also, of course, encourage biking.  

MD: What could be done to make the economy stronger in Maastricht? 

PV: For example, we can improve the connection with surrounding cities like Liege, Aachen, and Cologne, and economic development could also be stimulated more easily, which is what the national government is looking at when deciding what to invest in. Economic activity can be increased, especially with the Brightlands campus. Lastly, energy prices have become a big problem, so new opportunities need to be created to bring new industries.  

Small note for you, readers: Brightlands is a collaborative campus, bringing together more than 30,000 entrepreneurs, researchers, and students in Maastricht and across Limburg. It is a place for research and scientific experimentation, where researchers are working in strong collaboration with companies. It provides a vast network of businesses and universities, participating in stimulating the economy.  

“We want to compose a community with people from all horizons.” 

MD: Could you summarise your campaign for Maastricht shortly?  

PV: We trust in society and want to build a community composed of people from all horizons. We stand for governmental transparency and want to be able to explain more why we make decisions the way we do.  

MD: In one sentence, why should students vote for CDA? 

PV: We are a people’s party, focusing on all groups in society, because we believe that we can achieve more things in collaboration.