What Anja spoke about.

9

Jul

2026

NL Answer

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Evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy and follow-up (debate)

Yes, the Dutch fishermen. Let me say first of all that they have the largest ships in the world, which in many other parts of the world are called ships from hell and which indeed fly under other flags, for example those of Panama. And let us not forget that of all fishing, let us look at the Baltic Sea, there is almost no cod anymore. Mediterranean Sea: More than half of the fish are still overfi…

9

Jul

2026

NL Speech

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Evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy and follow-up (debate)

Mr President, billions of fish are caught from the sea every year worldwide and then thrown overboard again. Fishermen throw those fish back when they are too small, or simply because they make too little money. More than 70% of all fish thrown overboard die afterwards. For nothing. In 2015, Europe banned this wasteful practice. But now, eleven years later, unwanted fish are still being thrown ove…

17

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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Plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed (A10-0175/2026 - Jessica Polfjärd) (vote)

Mr President, this legislation undermines the very foundations of our food system. This is not by accident. This is deliberate. This law is a direct result of the aggressive lobbying by the big agro-biotech companies. They hope to increase their already-obscene profits, as they can patent these new GMOs. This gives the multinationals even more power over our food system at the expense of farmers a…

18

May

2026

NL Speech

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The multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea and ways forward (debate)

Mr President, the survival of many animals in the Baltic Sea is under serious threat. The last herrings and cods fight for their lives. Entangled and caught in fishing nets, gasping for oxygen as they swim in one of the ‘dead zones’. These are areas so polluted by chemical factories and the livestock industry that no life is possible. As these animals fight for their lives, the industrial ships sa…

30

Apr

2026

NL Speech

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How to secure a sustainable future for the EU livestock sector in light of the need to ensure food security, farmers’ resilience and the challenges posed by animal diseases? (debate)

Mr President, do you ever have that, that you walk into the supermarket and suddenly get the idea that you are being cheated? Well, that's right, too. You're being tricked by the meat and dairy industry that sells fairy tales. Behind beautiful packages of happy animals in a green meadow lies a very ugly truth of animals locked in mega stables without daylight and without space. And these false ani…

9

Feb

2026

NL Speech

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World Cancer Day (debate)

11

Mar

2025

NL Speech

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Clean Industrial Deal (debate)

Mr President, the disastrous effects of climate change are becoming increasingly visible and are also costing more and more lives. Animal and plant species are dying out at an unprecedented rate. Pollution of soil, water and air threatens the basis of our existence. But while we only have one generation left to keep our planet liveable, the European Commission is putting forward an agenda of green…

13

Feb

2025

NL Answer

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EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement (debate)

I share your concerns. The Farm to Fork Strategy was very clear: more organic farming, less use of agricultural poisons, more animal welfare, and more consumption of fruit and vegetables instead of meat and dairy. However, we see that the agreement between the EU and Mercosur does exactly the opposite. This will allow us to re-export dangerous agricultural poisons and lower the standards for agric…

13

Feb

2025

NL Speech

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EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, every year, Europe imports millions of kilos of wrong horsemeat from Argentina and Uruguay. Meat from severely abused horses that are also treated with hormones and medicines. That is processed here in bitterballen and other snacks. But instead of stopping these imports, Europe is only making the trade in faulty horsemeat easier with the agreement with Mercosur. That is…

22

Jan

2025

NL Speech

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Stepping up international action to protect whales following Iceland’s decision to extend commercial whaling until 2029 (debate)

Mr President, the hunt for whales is horrific. Whales are slaughtered with harpoons containing explosives. On average, it takes two hours and several harpoons to kill a whale. This is terrible. Fortunately, there has been a worldwide ban on whaling for almost forty years. However, some countries, including Iceland, do not comply with this ban. After killing 1,500 whales in recent decades, Iceland …

18

Dec

2024

NL Speech

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Challenges facing EU farmers and agricultural workers: improving working conditions, including their mental well-being (debate)

Mr President, gosh, the self-proclaimed interests of the farmers are busy again. Above all, I hear that we need to listen more to farmers and, above all, that we need to support them more financially. Meanwhile, the agricultural lobby is shutting down the Commission and Parliament to raise even more money for the biggest companies. And to top it all off, these outspoken MEPs, and even the European…

18

Dec

2024

NL Speech

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Restoring the EU’s competitive edge – the need for an impact assessment on the Green Deal policies (topical debate)

Mr President, the disastrous effects of climate change are becoming increasingly visible and costing more and more lives. Animal and plant species are dying out at an unprecedented rate, and pollution of soil, air and water is affecting the basis of our existence. Every day of procrastination brings us closer to irreversible destruction of our planet. Doing nothing is associated with sky-high cost…

13

Nov

2024

NL Speech

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Deplorable escalation of violence around the football match in the Netherlands and the unacceptable attacks against Israeli football fans (debate)

Mr President, last week a football match was used as an opportunity to import the horrific violence in Gaza to Amsterdam. We should never tolerate that. We cannot accept that different groups are set up against each other by rioters. Or even by politicians who want to profit politically from the suffering of the victims. That's what's gonna hurt everybody. The Party for the Animals is deeply conce…

22

Oct

2024

NL Speech

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Question Time with Commissioners – Situation of animal health in Europe: how to prevent and prepare for future sanitary crises in agriculture

Commissioner, the question is: How can we prevent health crises caused by agriculture? There is really only one possible answer: Many, many fewer animals are kept in the livestock industry. I hope you agree with me. These animals are crammed together, still in cages or in mega stables and are also dragged throughout Europe. This leads us from crisis to crisis. Q fever, foot-and-mouth disease, swin…

10

Oct

2024

NL Speech

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Consequences of the devastating forest fires in the Amazon and the importance of the Amazon for climate change (debate)

Mr President, South America is on fire, with record fires raging even in humid ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest: Worst in 20 years. The savannahs of the Cerrado have also been severely affected, as has the Pantanal, one of the largest tropical swamps in the world. With the burning of these unique and carbon-rich ecosystems, not only plants, animals and people are under pressure. Huge amoun…

16

Sep

2024

NL Speech

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Outcome of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture (debate)

Mr President, if we want to remain within the limits of the planet, urgent action must be taken in the agricultural sector. This is also stated in the opinion. A drastic reduction in the number of animals in livestock farming and a switch to a plant-based future are inevitable. It is outrageous that Mrs von der Leyen has postponed, watered down or wiped out much-needed laws, such as the animal wel…

14

Mar

2024

NL Speech

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Promised revision of the EU animal welfare legislation and the animal welfare-related European citizens’ initiatives (debate)

Mr President, where are the promised laws for animals? Where is the ban on cages in livestock farming? Where are the new rules for animals locked up in stables and slaughtered after a short and miserable life? Pigs need their tails. Calves should be able to grow up with their mother. Ducks should be able to swim in the water. Over the past ten years, the Party for the Animals has fought for this t…

28

Feb

2024

NL Speech

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Need for an urgent Council decision in favour of amending the protection status of wolves in the Bern Convention (debate)

Mr President, for a very long time the wolf was extinct in the Netherlands and in large parts of Europe, shot by hunters and deprived of its habitat. Thanks to the strict protection, the wolf has recovered somewhat, but the wolf is still vulnerable. I therefore call on the Commission to: Get rid of the absurd plan to exterminate the wolves again. Your proposal undermines the protection of wildlife…

26

Feb

2024

NL Speech

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Detergents and surfactants (debate)

Mr President, when we wash our clothes and clean our homes, we pollute the environment and the planet. This cynical reality needs to change. Too often there are harmful chemicals in cleaning products that pose a danger to humans, animals and the environment. Phosphates from laundry detergents pollute our water. The plastic packaging is also not sustainable. With this legislative change, we make a …

6

Feb

2024

NL Speech

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EU2040 climate target (debate)

I'm going to go straight to the door: Commissioner Hoekstra then shows his true face. Climate action is urgent and we need urgent action, the Commissioner said just four months ago. But less than a week after the farmers in Europe blocked the roads in protest against environmental and climate measures and set everything on fire, this Commissioner is dropping everything out of his hands to give the…

6

Feb

2024

NL Speech

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Plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed (debate)

Mr President, the Party for the Animals is often criticised for wanting to determine what people may or may not eat. That's partly true. We want everyone to have access to healthy, safe and sustainable food. That everyone can choose without worries for affordable food without agricultural poison, without genetic engineering and without animal suffering. It is our job, here in the European Parliame…

18

Jan

2024

NL Speech

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Recent EU-Audits identifying that Uruguayan and Argentinian meat from horses with unreliable sworn declarations and unknown drug history is entering the EU (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, every year the European Union imports thousands of tonnes of horsemeat from Argentina and Uruguay. Since 2012, international animal welfare organisations such as the Tierschutzbund Zürich have repeatedly provided evidence of major welfare problems and mistreatment of horses in these countries. Sick and injured horses are not cared for and they are cruelly treated and ne…

18

Jan

2024

NL Speech

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EU Action Plan: protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries (debate)

Mr President, healthy oceans are the basis for all life on earth, but pollution with plastic, manure and chemicals threatens life underwater. The biggest threat is fishing. With devastating bottom trawls, the world's oceans are plundered deep into the soil. Even marine protected areas are not safe and are being emptied. Finally, there is now an action plan to ban at least the most harmful fishing …

17

Jan

2024

EN Speech

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Norway's recent decision to advance seabed mining in the Arctic (debate)

Mr President, Norway’s decision to allow the seabed mining in the Arctic is very destructive for the vulnerable Arctic environment, even at the exploration state. The deep sea is the most extensive habitat on our planet and it supports high biodiversity. Scientists believe that as many as 10 million species inhabit the deep sea, an ecosystem that may be as rich as the tropical rainforest. The majo…

15

Jan

2024

NL Speech

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Ozone depleting substances - Fluorinated gases regulation (joint debate - Gas emissions)

Mr President, thank you to both rapporteurs for their excellent work. During my childhood, I heard ominous reports in the news almost daily about the hole in the ozone layer and that led to action. CFCs, among others, were curbed very quickly. Fridges and aerosols have long been free of these propellants. The Montreal Protocol to save the ozone layer is a good example of the fact that if we put ou…