What Hilde spoke about.

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EN Written Statement

Breaches of EU law and of the rights of LGBTIQ citizens in Hungary as a result of the adopted legal changes in the Hungarian Parliament - The outcome of 22 June hearings under Article 7(1) of the TEU regarding Poland and Hungary (continuation of debate)

The overwhelming majority of the Council members were outraged by the anti-LGBTIQ law Orbán introduced in Hungary. Rightfully so. Orbán has crossed redlines before but that was a new low. I welcome the response by most heads of state and government but it should not stop here. The Council needs to trigger Article 7 against this Hungarian Government. All legal means should be applied in order to sh…

8

Jul

2026

FR Speech

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Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda: EU solidarity and preparedness in global health (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the Ebola outbreak in the DRC is one of the most serious in history. Moreover, the armed conflict in eastern DRC makes fighting almost impossible. Without security, it is impossible to stop the epidemic. Africa, ladies and gentlemen, is a key partner. He is our neighbour. Faced with a virus that threatens an entire region, we cannot remain spectators: we need…

8

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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The EU’s role in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the accountability of Israel under international law (topical debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, Madam Commissioner, the world spends more on weapons in one single day than it spends on tackling sexual violence as a weapon of war in an entire year. For the first time, the UN has listed Israeli forces among the parties suspected of conflict‑related sexual violence. At the same time, the UN has recorded, colleagues, the highest number of grave violations against c…

16

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, dear High Representative, two weeks ago in the West Bank, Sam, a seven-month-old Palestinian baby, was shot in the face by an Israeli soldier. He is dead and almost no one is speaking his name. Sam is dead because impunity in Israel and the occupied territories has made the lives of Palestinian children expendable. Where soldiers and settlers kill without conseque…

15

Jun

2026

NL Speech

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EU-US trade deal (joint debate)

Mr President, ‘take the deal and shut up’ was Trump’s message to Europe for months, from his entourage and, frankly, from many people here in this Parliament. Well, Europe has responded, not on its knees, but with conditions. We say very clearly: We want this agreement, but we want it for our strategic autonomy and conditionality. Thanks to this Parliament – and Mrs Van Brempt, you say: “That's th…

15

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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Order of business

Madam President, colleagues, our President said the title of the debate is outdated, since we have the announced agreement between the United States and Iran. Therefore, I propose that we update the title also, colleagues, because this House should not only reflect on what is happening, but this House should have the courage to put forward what Europe needs to do in this conflict. For that reason,…

20

May

2026

EN Speech

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Recruitment of children by organised crime (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, a few figures: In Antwerp alone, twice as many minors were arrested last year as in the previous year. The youngest was 13 years old. In Rotterdam and Marseille, children of eight years old are used as drug couriers. Those aren't edge cases. This is a structural crisis. Organized criminal networks strategically recruit children through algorithms, gamification and encry…

19

May

2026

EN Speech

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Recommendation on the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (debate)

Madam President, High Representative, colleagues, late in the evening, but a very important topic: the United Nations General Assembly and recommendations from this House. We all know peace and security, human rights and justice are three of the core values of the United Nations, but unfortunately, we must admit the system has failed. It has failed in providing peace and security, and it has faile…

19

May

2026

EN Speech

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EU governance under pressure – institutional responses to global challenges (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, what a lively debate. I heard very good interventions. The first one, of course, from my colleague Sandro Gozi and then from Van Lanschot. Very good. I also heard some interventions which I didn't like. I don't know where to look, but it was more on that side. (The speaker gestured to the right) I think colleagues Sandro and Van Lanschot, you were right. It …

29

Apr

2026

NL Speech

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EU strategy in response to the ongoing Middle East crisis, its implications on energy prices and the availability of fertilizers (joint debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, every new crisis, whether in Russia or in the Middle East, raises energy prices again. Again and again we say: We are too dependent on foreign countries and unstable regimes. Time and again it is our families and our companies who pay the price in cash at the pump or at home. Every geopolitical shock today translates directly into a higher bill for citizens and …

27

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Order of business

Madam President, dear colleagues, I would like to make a point of order based on Rule 150. Saturday, 25 April marked 10 years since Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali was sentenced and arrested in Iran. Ten years! He is currently the longest‑standing EU citizen held hostage by the Iranian authorities. And like Hannah asked, we have to continue to demand his release. On this heartbreaking a…

11

Mar

2026

NL Speech

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Child sexual abuse online: protect children, not perpetrators (topical debate)

11

Mar

2026

NL Question

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EUCO and situation in the Middle East (joint debate)

10

Mar

2026

FR Speech

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Single Market: how to move from an incomplete single market to one market for one Europe (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, the completion of the internal market is no longer a technocratic project. It is an economic and geopolitical necessity. The debate over the last hour has shown that there is a very broad area of support. It's very clear to me. The completion of the internal market must be the number one priority. If it depends on me, we're going to have a one-stop-shop debate over the …

10

Feb

2026

FR Speech

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Violence in the Great Lakes Region, particularly in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (debate)

10

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Urgent need to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan and to achieve a sustainable peace (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, how many more times will we stand here and say we are concerned about Sudan? While people are being slaughtered every day, the reality becomes worse – intensified fighting in Kordofan, new horrors in Darfur, no ceasefire in sight before Ramadan, and growing foreign interference pushing Sudan towards regional collapse. Humanitarian aid matters, sanctions matt…

22

Jan

2026

NL Speech

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Drones and new systems of warfare – the EU’s need to adapt to be fit for today’s security challenges (debate)

Mr President, colleagues have already said it here: Europe needs to accelerate. Now. Drones are the soldiers of the future. I think that's very clear. Look at Ukraine, how they are deployed there. How these small machines can do enormous damage. Look closer to home, how they're shutting down our airports, shutting down Zaventem, spying on civilians. I think we really need to look at that. How thes…

21

Jan

2026

FR Speech

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Case of Joseph Figueira Martin in the Central African Republic

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, good evening! This debate is one of the most important. It is a debate about the life or death of a man. Joseph Figueira Martin, Belgo-Portuguese, a respected humanitarian worker, has been detained for more than six hundred days in the Central African Republic. He was arbitrarily arrested, detained by the Wagner Group, tortured and sentenced on 4 November to …

20

Jan

2026

NL Speech

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CFSP and CSDP (Article 36 TEU) (joint debate)

Mr President, High Representative, almost all afternoon was devoted to foreign policy. How did the year 2026 begin? My children ask me what kind of world we live in. Every day we see tweets from a world leader threatening us and trampling on the international world order. People wonder where Europe is and what it does. Today we are voting on two important reports on a common foreign policy. It is …

20

Jan

2026

NL Speech

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Situation in Venezuela following the extraction of Maduro and the need to ensure a peaceful democratic transition (debate)

Mr President, High Representative, the European Parliament has already awarded the Sakharov Prize twice to the Venezuelan opposition, in 2017 and 2024, to Edmundo González Urrutia and María Corina Machado. Since then we have hesitated, hesitated and waited. As a result, Machado is now seeking rapprochement with Trump. She does this not out of conviction, but out of necessity. She desperately uses …

20

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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Brutal repression against protesters in Iran (debate)

Mr President, High Representative, colleagues, let us stop pretending we do not see what is coming. The United States will bomb Iran; it's only a matter of time. So the real question is, why is there still no real united European strategy towards Iran? For three years, we have clung to an appeasement strategy that has achieved nothing. How many more Iranians must be beaten, tortured, executed befo…

16

Dec

2025

NL Speech

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EU Defence Readiness (joint debate)

26

Nov

2025

NL Speech

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EU response to the continuous airspace violations and sabotage of critical infrastructure in the EU originating from Russia and Belarus (debate)

26

Nov

2025

NL Question

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EU position on the proposed plan and EU engagement towards a just and lasting peace for Ukraine (debate)

25

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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Escalation of the war and the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan (debate)

Mr President, thank you very much, colleagues, and especially thank you, Commissioner, for your very strong words and for your very strong actions. As a Belgian Member of this European Parliament, I am very proud that we have you as a Commissioner on this post, so thank you very much. Sudan is living through one of the darkest chapters of this century. Millions have been displaced, communities are…