What Johan spoke about.

18 Sep

2024

NL Speech

Presentation by the Council of its position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2025 - all sections (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, State Secretary, ladies and gentlemen, the rapporteurs have already dealt with the various parts of the budget for the coming year in quite detail and have also given an initial assessment of the Council's position, so I will not go into that further. It is now up to us to take responsibility with a responsible budget that proves that targeted European spending does hav…

17 Sep

2024

NL Speech

The future of European competitiveness (debate)

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Mr President, Mario Draghi's report provides some interesting insights and objectiveises bottlenecks that we already knew were bothering us. One of the most striking and certainly problematic findings is that, on average, the European Union devises and imposes four times more rules than the United States. That's pure madness. This regulatory burden and the reporting obligations completely undermin…

17 Sep

2024

NL Speech

Continued financial and military support to Ukraine by EU Member States (debate)

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Mr President, we have already debated support for Ukraine on several occasions. I have repeatedly called for continued support and evaluation, and for consideration to be given to how we can make it more efficient. I also believe that adequate control of the use of the funds granted is and remains more necessary than ever. Furthermore, the time has come to evaluate the use of the frozen Russian as…

24 Apr

2024

EN Speech

Amending Directive 2013/36/EU as regards supervisory powers, sanctions, third-country branches, and environmental, social and governance risks - Amending Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 as regards requirements for credit risk, credit valuation adjustment risk, operational risk, market risk and the output floor (joint debate - Banking Union)

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Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, thank you. Let me first express my surprise at the title of this debate because Basel III, as such, has nothing to do with the European Banking Union. You can have a European Banking Union with or without Basel III, and you can have Basel III with or without a European Banking Union. That being said, basically, for Basel III is that banks should have suffici…

23 Apr

2024

NL Speech

The use of Russian frozen assets to support Ukraine’s victory and reconstruction (debate)

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Mr President, High Representative, colleagues, last week the US endorsed a €57 billion military support package for Ukraine. Even Winston Churchill knew it. “You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing — after they have exhausted all the other options.” I repeat my call: we also need to do everything possible from Europe – and that is more than we do today – to support Ukraine in t…

23 Apr

2024

NL Speech

Effective coordination of economic policies and multilateral budgetary surveillance - Speeding up and clarifying the implementation of the excessive deficit procedure – amending Regulation - Requirements for budgetary frameworks of the Member States – amending Directive (joint debate – Economic governance)

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Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, the objective of fiscal rules is to pursue sound public finances for the benefit of our society and our economy. They must ensure that future generations are not burdened with the consequences of over-indebtedness. Moreover, and this is often forgotten today, a monetary union simply cannot survive without fiscal discipline. The new fiscal rules that are now …

13 Mar

2024

NL Speech

Guidelines for the 2025 Budget - Section III (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, next year’s budget layout, and by extension all subsequent ones, including the multiannual framework, are in fact in need of a paradigm shift. We are dragging ourselves from format to revision, when it is abundantly clear that the current budgetary framework is no longer fit to respond to the many real challenges facing the European Union today. We…

13 Mar

2024

NL Speech

European Semester for economic policy coordination 2024 – European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2024 (joint debate – European Semester)

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Mr President, Minister, Commissioner, the European Semester is the cycle through which economic and fiscal policies must be aligned, prosperity and growth must be sustained, and our competitiveness must be safeguarded. Those are the big goals. So let's make the right decisions. Starting with the protection and strengthening of the Single Market. Moreover, this single market can be made much more e…

27 Feb

2024

NL Speech

Multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 - Establishing the Ukraine Facility - Establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) (joint debate - multiannual financial framework revision)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Council Presidency, this revision of the MFF proved to be the most feasible solution. For Ukraine, by the way, our support does not come a day too early and, unfortunately, much more support will be needed to defend the country and ourselves. I deeply regret that this revision also entails a serious reduction in support for the successful Horizon Europe programme. There…

26 Feb

2024

NL Speech

European Central Bank – annual report 2023 (debate)

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Mr President, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the fight against inflation has not yet been fought. Bringing this struggle to a successful conclusion is the most important contribution the ECB can make to solving the many challenges we face today. And there are quite a few. So I call on you to resist the lobbying of the financial markets, and also of politics, to start overturning the interest …

26 Feb

2024

NL Speech

European Central Bank – annual report 2023 (debate)

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Mr President, President, ladies and gentlemen, in the midst of very turbulent geopolitical and economic conditions, the European Central Bank has performed its main task of restoring price stability within the euro area well over the past year. Mrs. Lagarde, you and your team deserve all the credit for that. It remains regrettable that the tightening of monetary policy was not started before, but …

6 Feb

2024

NL Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meetings, in particular the special European Council meeting of 1 February 2024 (debate)

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Presidents, colleagues, the European Council reached an agreement to mobilise additional support for Ukraine through the adjustment of the MFF. That's a very good thing. But let us be immediately clear: That $50 billion won't be enough. Ukraine's non-military budgetary needs amount to at least 3 billion per month. If the EU and the US each cover half of those needs – as agreed – our share will be …

17 Jan

2024

NL Speech

Review of the economic governance framework (debate)

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Mr President, colleagues, Minister, budgetary rules sometimes sound abstract, but they are absolutely necessary for the discipline that a monetary union requires. In recent years, budgets have been created at European level to solve various problems and legislation has been adopted that will cost a lot of money. However, the world around us has also changed drastically in recent years. Europe does…

21 Nov

2023

NL Speech

2024 budgetary procedure: Joint text (debate)

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Mr President, colleagues, State Secretary, Commissioner, all speakers have now taken the floor. I thank them for their input and for this debate. The 2024 budget is, as has been said many times, the best possible under the current difficult circumstances. But of course she would look completely different if we could start from a white leaf. The events around us force us to make adjustments. Our Me…

21 Nov

2023

NL Speech

2024 budgetary procedure: Joint text (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the agreement on the 2024 budget is a good agreement. It is a good deal in difficult and uncertain times. It provides the best solution for both the Council and the Parliament within the limits of the current budgetary framework. The adjustments made by the Council and the Parliament to the Commission's proposal during the conciliation meet the cur…

18 Oct

2023

NL Speech

Presentation of the Court of Auditors' annual report 2022 (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Mr Murphy, colleagues, the annual report of the European Court of Auditors has once again shown that the quality of spending is again declining. As a Parliament, we should also be grateful for the work that the Court of Auditors is doing. It can and must inspire each of us to better shape Parliament's scrutiny task. Year after year, the rate of expenditure irregularitie…

17 Oct

2023

NL Speech

General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024 - all sections (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this report on the 2024 budget is in the good hands of the rapporteurs, who have done and are still doing what they can, taking into account the necessary mid-term MFF revision launched by the Commission. With all the commotion and uncertainty that besieges us today, a serious budget for 2024 is hardly possible without setting out the broad lines i…

16 Oct

2023

NL Speech

Establishing the Ukraine Facility (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, since February 2022, Ukraine has been fighting a war against an evil power that threatens our Western values in every way. There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves our unconditional support in this fight against barbarism and for freedom. Our commitment initially translates into support for the military, and it has also become clear that we, as the European U…

3 Oct

2023

NL Speech

The 10th consecutive increase in reference interest rates decided by the ECB and its consequences (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, inflation is an insidious but deadly poison. When not fought decisively and consistently, inflation undermines job creation, investment and growth. Finally, as history has shown, severe social and political destabilisation follows, not least because it is precisely the least well-off who suffer the most from price increases. Three points about the …

3 Oct

2023

NL Speech

Interim report on the proposal for a mid-term revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 (debate)

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Minister, Commissioner, President, a thorough overhaul of the multiannual financial framework is required. This budgetary framework for the period 2021–2027 is no longer adapted to today’s needs and challenges, let alone those of tomorrow. With the succession of the pandemic, the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine, budgetary vehicles were created over and over again, which are separate from the …

13 Sep

2023

NL Speech

Framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, the Critical Raw Materials Act is a comprehensive and welcome package of measures to ensure the EU’s access to those critical raw materials – essential throughout the EU’s geopolitical approach. The demand for these raw materials is increasing and we are far too dependent on imports. Moreover, greening and industry can go hand in hand perfectly in the development of com…

13 Sep

2023

NL Speech

Presentation by the Council of its position on the draft general budget - 2024 financial year (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, State Secretary, colleagues, the rapporteurs have already gone into some detail on the different parts of the budget for the coming year and have given you an assessment of the Council’s position. Of course, the design of the 2024 budget cannot be separated from the need to break open the current multiannual financial framework and to adapt that existing framework to th…

13 Sep

2023

EN Speech

Composition of the European Parliament (A9-0265/2023 - Loránt Vincze, Sandro Gozi) (vote)

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Madam President, as Chair of the Budget Committee, I would propose a statement in the resolution to make clear that the draft decision on the composition of the European Parliament is without prejudice to the prerogatives of the European Parliament and the Council in the annual budgetary procedure, and that recital 5 of that draft decision concerns matters that do not fall within the scope of the …

12 Jul

2023

NL Speech

Delivering on the Green Deal: risk of compromising the EU path to the green transition and its international commitments (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, the sustainable transition and the reduction of carbon emissions are a necessity. Extreme positions or approaches, let alone dogmas – from any side – do not help to achieve those objectives. The policy around the Green Deal focuses too much on ideology. We must dare to ask ourselves more often what is being achieved with this and whether more regulation is needed to mee…

14 Jun

2023

NL Speech

Make Europe the place to invest (debate)

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Mr President, ensuring an attractive investment climate is one of the core tasks in which the EU can make a difference. The return on investment for citizens and businesses, but also for the Union as a whole, is many times greater than what can be achieved with fragmented subsidies and outdated programmes. High investment risk is inherent in innovation. Governments can reduce this risk by facilita…