In August 2017, the Finnish government appointed Takkula as the Finnish candidate to the European Court of Auditors. His term did begin in March 2018, while Takkula’s seat in the European Parliament was taken by Elsi Katainen.

In 2014 European Parliament election Takkula lost his seat, but returned later in 2015, when Olli Rehn resigned his seat after being elected to the Parliament of Finland. His work focuses mainly on the areas of International Trade, Agriculture, Education, Culture and Sports. He is a member of the ALDE group (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) and the Centre Party of Finland, currently leading the Centre Party MEP delegation. Since 2008, Takkula has hosted the annual weeklong event Supporting Multilingualism through Language Assessment at the European Parliament together with Vice-President Miguel Angel Martínez.

Takkula was elected to the Finnish Parliament in 1995 and acted as a member on the Education and Culture Committee, Environment Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee until 2004. In 2004 and 2009, Takkula was elected Member of the European Parliament.

Before attending university, Takkula studied music at the Tampere Conservatory and majored in singing. In 1993 he graduated with a Master of Education from the University of Lapland, going on to teach at Anetjärvi comprehensive school in 1992-1995. In 2016, Takkula completed his doctorate degree in the Faculty of Education of the University of Lapland.

Hannu Aapa Takkula (born 20 November 1963) is a Finnish politician and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Finland. He is a member of the Centre Party, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.