Gahler has been a politician since 1986, when he won a seat on the city council of Hattersheim.
Member of the European Parliament, 1999–present
Gahler was elected to the European Parliament in the 1999 elections.
Gahler is Vice-President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In this capacity, he is also a member the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG), which oversees the Parliament's election observation missions.[1] In addition, he serves on the Subcommittee on Human Rights.
In addition to his committee assignments, Gahler is a member of the Parliament's delegations to the ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the one for relations with Iran. During his first term in parliament, he also served as his parliamentary group's rapporteur on Iran.[2] In 2014, he was elected chairman of the delegation for relations with the Pan-African Parliament.[3]
Gahler is also a member of the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG), which oversees the Parliament's election observation missions.[4] He headed the EU Election Observation Mission during the 2011 election for a constituent assembly, the first vote in after the Tunisian revolution.[5] He later led the EU-Election Observer Mission for the general election in Pakistan in 2013.
Gahler serves as rapporteur on Commission's communication on defence and as a member of the High-level Group of Personalities on Defence Research chaired by Elżbieta Bieńkowska.[6] In addition, he is as a member of the European Parliament's Sky and Space Intergroup (SSI).[7]
Other activities
Berlin Security Conference, Member of the Advisory Board[8]
Arctic Forum Foundation, Member of the Advisory Council[9]
In a joint letter initiated by Norbert Röttgen and Anthony Gonzalez ahead of the 47th G7 summit in 2021, Gahler joined some 70 legislators from Europe, the US and Japan in calling upon their leaders to take a tough stance on China and to "avoid becoming dependent" on the country for technology including artificial intelligence and 5G.[12]
Gahler also chairs the European Parliament's Taiwan Friendship Group promoting the EU-Taiwan relationship.[13]