What Tom spoke about.

10

May

2023

NL Speech

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The role of farmers as enablers of the green transition and a resilient agricultural sector (continuation of debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, let me speak about the Nature Restoration Act. Article 14 of that proposal requires farmers to withdraw 10% of their agricultural land from production. For Flanders, this rises to almost 15%. That is 172 000 hectares of fertile land at EUR 100 000 per hectare in my region. Calculate that for yourself. This law does not take into account the densely…

9

May

2023

NL Speech

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Empowering consumers for the green transition (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, businesses – and I am thinking in particular of SMEs – are at the heart of our transition to a more sustainable economic model. But as a consumer, it is particularly difficult today to estimate which companies are making that transition in a true way. As a consumer, you do not always have the necessary information to make a sustainable and environmentally co…

16

Mar

2023

NL Speech

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European Citizens’ Initiative "Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment" (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I find it resolutely positive that citizens can participate in setting our agenda, because citizens' initiatives force us to debate each other, and that can be an incentive to make policy. Democratic renewal with clear potential. But at the same time, the instrument proves that it is our duty as policy-makers to draw up legislation with a sense of …

14

Mar

2023

NL Speech

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Question Time (VPC/HR) - Strengthening the Trans-Atlantic ties in an ever challenging multilateral world

Yeah, short follow-up. This is perhaps – indeed – not specifically about the issue of Eastern Congo, but rather about whether the US and the European Union are actively working on reforming the UN, where it is exactly needed, for example in peacekeeping in areas where it is not happening today.…

14

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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Question Time (VPC/HR) - Strengthening the Trans-Atlantic ties in an ever challenging multilateral world

The question to the High Representative was if, in the transatlantic dialogue with the United States, you have discussed the topic of Eastern Congo, which is a dramatic situation, or where dramatic events are unfolding?…

14

Mar

2023

NL Speech

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Question Time (VPC/HR) - Strengthening the Trans-Atlantic ties in an ever challenging multilateral world

Mr High Representative, welcome to this Question Time on the transatlantic partnership. Multilateralism and international law should be very high on the transatlantic agenda and, of course, the authority and functioning of the UN should be safeguarded by reforms that the transatlantic partners should be the engine of. But where the UN is structurally inadequate, for example in terms of peacekeepin…

16

Feb

2023

NL Speech

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Availability of fertilisers in the EU (debate)

–President, Commissioner, colleagues, we must not underestimate the reality of how many farmers work and live today. We are talking here today about the extreme prices for fertilizer. For many of us, this is just a file like any other. But at farmers' kitchen tables, this is about much more. For some, this is about the energy bill of the family or the cost of the studies of the children. For other…

1

Feb

2023

NL Speech

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Transparency and targeting of political advertising (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, transparency and clear rules will now clarify who sponsors political ads, why users see them, and give more access to data for investigative journalism. Last month, Flemish researchers showed that political parties in my country spend record amounts on advertisements on social media and are therefore by far the frontrunner in the European Union. With the agr…

19

Jan

2023

NL Speech

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The Global Gateway Initiative (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the operational priorities of the Global Gateway initiative for this year have been set. The necessary budget is available and the institutional framework and management have become workable in the meantime. Let's be honest, it took time to roll out the strategy, but it now seems to have gone well in terms of implementation. We welcome this, but ab…

18

Jan

2023

NL Speech

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Terrorist threats posed by far-right extremist networks defying the democratic constitutional order (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, last month saw the largest counter-terrorism operation in German history. More than 50 suspects were investigated over the planned armed attack on the Reichstag, the heart of German parliamentary democracy. It is reminiscent of what we have read and read in our history books about 1933, when the Reichstag also burned and the Nazis took power. It al…

17

Jan

2023

NL Speech

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Implementation of the common foreign and security policy - annual report 2022 - Implementation of the common security and defence policy - annual report 2022 (debate)

Mr President, I too have listened with great attention and interest to all the speeches in this debate and they have made it very clear that an ambitious European security and defence policy may not be able to convince everyone here, but that there is more than enough political support in this hemisphere. Just as there is support from the other European institutions. In my opinion, the debate has …

17

Jan

2023

NL Speech

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Implementation of the common foreign and security policy - annual report 2022 - Implementation of the common security and defence policy - annual report 2022 (debate)

Mr President, Vice-President and High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, last year was a special year in the field of security and defence policy. A year in which the Russian aggression against Ukraine literally and figuratively knew no borders. A year in which geopolitics was back from actually never having gone away. A year of growing strategic and even systemic rivalries. A year in which we …

17

Jan

2023

NL Speech

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Question Time (Commission) - Food price inflation in Europe

Mr President, Commissioner, you spoke about fertilisers and indeed: I look forward to your action plan on integrated nutrient management and whether there will be room for RENURE products there. But I asked you very specifically about the timing of your European protein strategy. I was hoping to get an answer from you.…

17

Jan

2023

NL Speech

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Question Time (Commission) - Food price inflation in Europe

Mr President, Commissioner, thank you for being here, because everyone who says inflation says energy prices right away. But we certainly have to dare to talk about food prices – you mentioned it yourself. Now, how food prices have risen, we can indeed look at the symptoms, but we must certainly also dare to look at the root causes. Food prices and inflation are, I think, mainly concerned with fer…

17

Jan

2023

NL Speech

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Consumer protection in online video games: a European Single Market approach (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, a few months ago we succeeded in making the world of online platforms a lot safer for consumers, and certainly for minors, with the Digital Services Act. Today, I note that this protection is still insufficient in the European gaming industry. The so-called in-game purchases, or indeed the loot boxes that were already widely cited here today, are o…

16

Jan

2023

NL Speech

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30th Anniversary of the Single Market (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I am a child from the 1990s who grew up with the internal market as we know it today: almost 500 million consumers, immense mobility between European Member States and no more border controls. My region, West Flanders in Belgium, has grown thanks to the European single market. Suddenly it became possible to trade goods in neighbouring countries and…

14

Dec

2022

NL Speech

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The Commission’s reports on the situation of journalists and the implications of the rule of law (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, media freedom and pluralism are at the heart of our European values. No journalist should be allowed to die or be harmed because of his press card. Because journalists create transparency. Because they give us access to a public good, namely information. Their work is essential to our democracy. More than ever, their protection is also paramount, because unfortunately, …

13

Dec

2022

NL Speech

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Prospects for the two-State solution for Israel and Palestine (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, the two-state solution remains a first-order objective for which the Union must continue to work proactively, in the interests of Israel and the Palestinians and of the entire region. In doing so, we should pay more attention to the regional aspect and the external factors that influence negotiations on a viable and sustainable two-state solution, …

21

Nov

2022

NL Speech

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Assessment of Hungary's compliance with the rule of law conditions under the Conditionality Regulation and state of play of the Hungarian RRP (debate)

Mr President, we have fought hard for legislation that protects the European budget from corruption, because corruption is rampant in certain Member States. For example, the situation in Hungary in recent years under the rule of Orbán went from bad to worse. In September, Parliament ruled that Hungary could no longer be considered a fully-fledged democracy and that all European funds for Hungary s…

18

Oct

2022

NL Speech

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Question Time (Commission) - Protecting critical infrastructure in the EU against attacks and countering hybrid attacks

Thank you, Mr Vice-President, also for this reply. I am pleased to see that we are actively moving towards allies to work together on this. We expect the third joint EU-NATO statement later this year. Can I assume that all of this will be included in this statement?…

18

Oct

2022

NL Speech

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Question Time (Commission) - Protecting critical infrastructure in the EU against attacks and countering hybrid attacks

Mr Vice-President, it is a good thing that this debate is on the agenda of our plenary session this week in Strasbourg. Indeed, for too long we have been blind to the protection, the necessary protection, of our critical infrastructure. It is only when accidents happen that we realize how bad it really is with our ability to do so. I think – frankly – that protecting our critical infrastructure in…

6

Oct

2022

NL Speech

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The urgent need for an EU strategy on fertilisers to ensure food security in Europe (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is estimated that Flemish farmers have a record turnover of EUR 7.2 billion this year. But unfortunately, they see that extra turnover going completely into smoke due to exceptionally high invoices for feed, energy and indeed fertilizer. Limited availability and record prices will not only drive production costs to unprecedented heights, but wil…

4

Oct

2022

NL Speech

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The EU’s strategic relationship and partnership with the Horn of Africa (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, I would like to address the specific protracted conflict in Ethiopia, which is also a major player in the Horn of Africa. Recently, there was a striking report from the Ethiopian Ministry of Education about a donation to the Ethiopian army. This has raised questions about cooperation projects between educational institutions of our European Member …

14

Sep

2022

NL Speech

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Existence of a clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the values on which the Union is founded (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European Parliament is actually repeating what the Council and the Commission have already said. The values on which the European Union is founded are being violated by Hungary. And we know the list of breaches of the Hungarian rule of law: - the limitation of judicial independence, - the disruptive effect of the electoral system, - corruption,…

13

Sep

2022

NL Speech

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Renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood – a new agenda for the Mediterranean (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, let us take a moment to look at the focus that this report rightly places on the Global Gateway strategy. Connectivity, both digital and infrastructural, is an essential aspect in addressing the challenges we face globally. Our Southern Neighbourhood partners have a crucial role to play in this. It also encourages them to engage in regional integration, which wi…