Pina Picierno in her office at the European Parliament, Brussels, December 12, 2025. JAN A. STAIGER FOR M LE MAGAZINE DU MONDE
Pina Picierno is Italian, but Ukraine is everywhere in her vice president's office at the European Parliament in Brussels. Awards resting on the window ledge recognize her fight "for freedom and democracy in Ukraine," like the one she received in 2022 from the Istituto Affari Internazionali, an Italian think tank. There are books and novels devoted to Russia and its unfortunate neighbor, invaded by Kremlin troops in February 2022 and struggling ever since not to be carved up and subjugated. There is also a curious painting, a gift from Ukrainian army veterans, depicting their country's yellow and blue trident, into which real bullets have been embedded.
But what visitors do not notice at first glance is the small red button beneath the meeting table: a "panic button" meant to alert the Parliament security teams in case of danger or intrusion. The surveillance camera at the entrance, filming comings and goings, is just as discreet. Whenever she leaves the building, the MEP is always accompanied by a police escort. "I can't just wake up and go for a walk or suddenly decide to see a film," she said on Friday, December 12. "But there are people who risk far more than I do. Ukrainians, in their trenches, are under bombardment to defend their freedom."
