What Assita spoke about.

I am a Belgian Member, I ask a question here and I have answered your question with a question. You know, a question is also an answer. And you know very well, you are French, you have seen what is happening in France, and what you are doing today, not to condemn violence against the police, is something that is problematic. And I say that I support the fact that young people want a better life. W

Dear colleague, I have a very simple question for you. I was in Paris last night. I saw cars burned, I saw fire and smoke in the streets. I have seen people worried about their work, those who work to pay for what is destroyed on a daily basis. I understand that young people – I was young, too – I understand that we are fighting to improve society, but burning a car, destroying a business or setti

Mr President, what we have seen in Paris, Limoges, Brussels or Milan in recent days were not one-off incidents. It was an attack on the foundations of our society. The police have been under attack in Western Europe for some time, now sometimes literally. But that politicians from the radical left, from French mayors to MEPs, hardly condemn that violence from flat electoral opportunism, is really

He was barely 41. Born and raised in Brussels and for many years a mainstay in the anti-robbery brigade of the Brussels police. Nordin El Talbi was killed in Brussels last week with a bullet in the head on the street, while he wanted to check a torn vehicle. Six suspects of the murders were arrested, three of them in Almeria, Spain. They may have been on the run to Morocco. According to figures fr

Mr President, with their addictive algorithms, large social media platforms have taken over the head of our children. We warn them of the risks of online contacts and we show concern about the harmful impact of some video games. Why do we keep accepting that? Growing up safely is not a luxury, it is a right. For decades we have laid down all kinds of rules for this as adults, as politicians, but a

Mr President, we are at the start of a new political year. A crucial year in which the credibility of politics in general and the EU in particular is at stake more than ever. Citizens are right to ask themselves what the EU really stands for and to what extent we are solving the problems of which they are really awake. The electorate expects us politicians to finally tackle effectively the problem

Madam President, in all what you said, presidency, I haven't heard much about antisemitism, yet a big issue in Europe. As you know, we still need to protect Jewish schools and institutions in many European cities, and that is a fact. You speak of the importance of our European way of life and I totally welcome that. I must say what it means today, though. You need to give faith to European people

Dear colleague, I really appreciate all your work on behalf of many people for human rights. That's why I would like to ask you this question, based on the situation in Brussels, which is also known in Sweden and other European countries. A lot of young people who are underage are actually staying illegally in Europe, and they are used by organised crime to sell drugs or to perpetrate other kinds

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, I would like to ask you this: imagine a young girl, sitting somewhere, defenceless, full of life and joy. But someone decides at that very moment that you are their prey. They impose themselves on you because they can. And because they know that they can get away with it. Too many people got away with it already. In this situation, only the law can m

Madam President, dear colleagues, Madam Commissioner, the Mythos affair showed what we already knew: that sadly, the EU lives in the stone age of AI. Very embarrassing. Our mindset is that of bureaucracy and of isolationism that we confuse with sovereignty. We fail to invest in energy innovation. We struggle to reduce bureaucracy. There is no vision. We act as if advanced AI is the enemy, but it i

Madam President, colleagues, this Monday, a man was attacked by three other men in the Brussels metro and his Star of David was ripped off. They did not steal anything from him; they wanted to take his dignity and his right to exist away. Let's be honest, we all know deep down why in Europe we need to protect Jewish schools, neighbourhoods and institutions. Some of us have the courage to say it ou

Mr President, dear Commissioner, I would like to say first that all human beings indeed should have the same rights – not only in speeches, not only in history books, not only in declarations that we make, but in the reality that we shape. I would like to tell you that, today, in the European Union, there are still many women and girls who are captive in a marriage that they cannot leave without f

Madam President, Commissioner, we all here agree that women need to be protected against rape. Only, my feeling, my impression is that we fight rape a lot in our imagination – by speaking to each other like we are doing today. And it's very frustrating because, in reality, women are still suffering. There has been little progress since we negotiated the law last term against violence against women

Madam President, dear colleagues, dear Commissioner, I think it's pointless to waste time listing all the arguments that underscore the necessity of the Global Gateway initiative. Recent geopolitical developments are perhaps the strongest argument of all. If we in Europe wish to put ourselves back on the world map, strategically well‑considered investments in infrastructure, technology and energy

Mr President, dear colleagues, Commissioner, once again, the Kurds in Syria are being sacrificed on the altar of cynical geopolitics. Their communities that heroically defeated ISIS are being displaced, shelled and coerced into perilous negotiations in Damascus by a regime backed by extremist militia, freed ISIS fighters and groups supported by our own NATO ally, Türkiye. These are the same Kurds

Madam President, dear colleagues, the only Russian assets existing in Belgium are sitting in Euroclear, not in the office of the Prime Minister. Belgium has been and remains a steadfast supporter of Ukraine. I deeply regret that last week, Belgium was singled out for raising legitimate legal and financial concerns about the EU plan to use frozen Russian Central Bank assets parked at Euroclear to s

Mr President, Madam Commissioner, dear colleagues, we are here today because Sudan is bleeding. Just four weeks ago, the Rapid Support Forces attacked a women's hospital, resulting in hundreds of deaths. They stormed a fragile health care facility: the last hope for so many women who had no access to anything else. We must think of them today, which is a day against violence against all women. The

Madam President, can any woman or girl today walking the streets of Europe tonight feel that she is safe? No. We cross the road when it gets dark. We clutch our keys like they're our weapons. We ask our daughters to text us when they get home, because it can happen to any of us – the President shared the data – on a quiet suburban road in France, in a flat in Rome, behind closed doors in Madrid or

Madam President, dear colleagues, so many women have been sexually abused and abandoned in the hands of criminals for too long. This regulation is not just another file. It is a weapon to smash the criminal empires that traffic in human lives and destroy women. It forges unbreakable cooperation between Member States, Europol and now national police forces, so that together we can hunt down and des

Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear Minister, migration policy is not just a policy file. It is the heartbeat of our continent's future, touching lives, economies and security across borders. Thank you for your report. I welcome this report and its clarity on the annual solidarity pool. Yet, to progress demands balance. Regarding return policy, for example, in 80 % of the cases we fail. It le