What Bert-Jan spoke about.

Today, the European Parliament voted on a framework for a European Digital Identity (eID). I voted against this report. While a European Digital Identity Wallet may seem easy at first glance, it has major drawbacks and uncertainties. The online use of a European digital identity document poses major challenges to the protection of user privacy. In addition, I have great concerns about the applicat

Mr President, a dangerous escalation with far-reaching consequences: this is how I would like to characterize the recent attacks by the Houthis on Saudi Arabia. They are unacceptable, these attacks on civilian targets, energy infrastructure and commercial shipping. And the consequences extend beyond the Middle East. The disruptions in the Red Sea are threatening crucial trade routes, driving up oi

Mr President, I refer to Rule 10 of the Rules of Procedure. Last week a colleague of the S&D organized an event with the organization Forbidden Colours. A report entitled ‘The Hate Review’ was presented. A very unscientific and awful report. The report reads like one big smear campaign directed against various Christian organizations and politicians. Organizations that want to protect life, that f

Mr President, last month, Mrs von der Leyen presented a real pact against gold plating here in plenary with great bravado, i.e. unnecessary national requirements on top of European regulations. Today we are talking about European nature legislation. If there's any gold plating, it is here. My country, the Netherlands, has in the past classified unnecessarily many fragmented nature reserves as Natu

Mr President, earlier this year I organised a conference with victims of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East. Yazidis, Kurds, Jews, Christians, they all said the same thing: Europe, no longer be naive! The Muslim Brotherhood is trying to gain a foothold everywhere, from politics to education. They actually only want one thing and that is Islamization of Europe, introduction of Sharia and the

Mr President, this debate on overregulation is about a persistent problem: Member States that interpret European rules unnecessarily strictly and thus seriously undermine the competitive position of companies. In my own country, the examples are for the taking. I am thinking of the decision to classify the whole of the Netherlands as vulnerable under the Nitrates Directive. No European obligation,

Thank you so much for this lovely question. You ask about the need for rules and whether there is no need for rules. I would like to say this: I see rules first and foremost as solidified mistrust. And I think we have to go back to the idea that we also have to give the entrepreneur, the fisherman, confidence again. And that means that you have to dare to cut into bureaucracy, that you have to dar

Mr President, reading the evaluation of the common fisheries policy could give the impression that it is mainly the Member States that are failing. What is totally lacking, however, is a critical look at European policy itself. Does that fit in with the practice? That is what the debate must now be about. Our fishermen want to deal responsibly with the sea, but they are also entitled to rules that

Mr President, the case of Maria Shahbaz does not stand alone: Every year hundreds of Christian girls and Hindu girls are kidnapped in Pakistan, forced to convert to Islam and marry an often much older Muslim man. This is a degrading practice which is not only contrary to freedom of religion, but also seriously affects the rights of the child, the rights of parents and the right to freedom and secu

Things went horribly wrong in Nigeria. Now in the village of Kawel, where dozens of Christians died in an attack by extremists. But I am also thinking of the dozens of students who were recently kidnapped in the state of Borno. The attacks and kidnappings continue and only increase in intensity. Our resolution speaks plain language. We call on Nigeria to face the problem, to protect the population

Mr President, if it is difficult to see perspective somewhere, it is in Gaza. Two million Palestinians live in appalling conditions, in a totally hopeless situation. Many say it is all Israel's fault, but of course it is not. Surely, Israel must make every effort to get humanitarian aid to the affected population. But we can't blame Israel for trying to control Hamas, can we? Which brings us to th

Mr President, migration is also on the agenda of the upcoming summit. And for good reason. The asylum and migration pact may have entered into force, but there may be a deal on the return regulation, so the migration flow is of course far from under control. What matters now is compliance with the agreements made. Border countries must stop allowing asylum seekers to travel unscreened to Europe, a

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, keep fertilisers affordable for farmers and reduce dependence on imports of fertilisers. These are two important objectives of the present action plan for fertilisers. A rightful pursuit in this turbulent time with persistent energy prices. However, this action plan is a missed opportunity. Indeed, the measure that can have the most impact is missing: Focus

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Yon-Courtin’s report on maritime spatial planning confronts us with a worrying development, namely the fact that fisheries are increasingly falling short. In the North Sea and the Channel, fishermen are displaced by shipping, wind farms and nature measures. In this way, the space for our food production is shrinking, while the pressure on fishermen and coasta

Mr President, it is a good thing that there is currently a revaluation of livestock farming. After all, livestock farming makes an important contribution to the essential protein sources in our food, and is a crucial pillar of a circular food system. Our sectors are at the forefront of sustainability and efficiency, using the latest innovations for animal welfare and the environment. The point, ho

Budgeting means making choices, and we have to make them. But we cannot, of course, reduce the fisheries budget by 67%, as the Commission proposes. That would not do justice to the challenges faced by fisheries. Funding is needed for fleet modernisation, for innovative fishing gear, but also for generational renewal. As rapporteur on behalf of the Committee on Fisheries, I am therefore pleased tha

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, pumping as much money into the economy as quickly as possible with as little supervision and control as possible. In this way, the EU tackled the coronavirus crisis, resulting in huge debts and interest payments and a lot of fraud. According to the EPPO, €5 billion in fraud has already been committed with money from the Coronavirus Recovery Fund. Colleagues, I w

Mr President, the call for a ban on conversion therapies raises major questions, first of all, the EU does not have competence in this area. That is the only reason why we must reject this request. But the scope of the whole proposal is also very dubious. Coercion or ill-treatment are already prohibited by law. It is therefore clear that the scope of this proposal goes far beyond that. We

Madam President, I can agree because then I think we have more time and we can prepare ourselves better for the debate. So I can agree with that proposal.

Mr President, it does not stop, and it goes from bad to worse. I mean the long series of attacks on the Jewish community – the President already mentioned them – such as recently at a synagogue in Liège, a synagogue in Rotterdam, a Jewish school in Amsterdam and ambulances from a Jewish volunteer organisation in London. Where does this end? Yes, even today we show solidarity with the Jewish com