What Hilde spoke about.

1 Apr

2025

FR Speech

Targeted attacks against Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – defending religious freedom and security (debate)

Watch

Madam President, what can we say in a minute about a conflict that has lasted for thirty years? First of all, I would like to express my condolences to all Congolese families. We are at your side. Let's talk about numbers: more than 10 million dead, nearly 7 million displaced, more than 2 million women raped and more than 200 mass graves. The situation is horrific. It is not just about religion. T…

1 Apr

2025

NL Speech

Dramatic situation in Gaza and the need for an immediate return to the full implementation of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement (debate)

Watch

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Madam High Representative, last week saw yet another low point in the horror called Gaza. A mass grave with humanitarian staff of the Red Cross. Let me express my support and condolences to the families of these aid workers. That you can be so cowardly as to kill people who are there to help. It's incomprehensible! To me, it's clear: These are war crimes. Mrs Ka…

1 Apr

2025

NL Speech

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

Watch

Mr President, colleagues, High Representative, all the fires in the world have one thing in common: Europe is not at the table when we talk about peace. Europe does not participate, not in Ukraine, not in the Middle East. What the European foreign machine needs now is a geopolitical engine. What's that engine supposed to look like? Well, three things: First of all, we need to take our foot off the…

1 Apr

2025

NL Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 20 March 2025 (debate)

Watch

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is yet another week that Europe is looking at the Trump light box like a rabbit. My message to the Council and the Commission is therefore clear and clear: Look away from that American light box! Work towards an accelerated decoupling of America. Build on our own European strengths, because we sometimes risk forgetting them in all the pessimism. We have huge …

12 Mar

2025

NL Speech

100 days of the new Commission – Delivering on defence, competitiveness, simplification and migration as our priorities (topical debate)

Watch

Mr President, Minister, Commissioner, in the first 100 days, we can indeed say that Europe has been well off the ground. But frankly, if the Commission moves forward by 100 kilometres per hour, then world politics will move forward by 200 kilometres per hour. As far as I'm concerned, Trump and Putin have once again taken a lead. What interests me most now is the next 100 days. I am going to call o…

11 Mar

2025

NL Speech

White paper on the future of European defence (debate)

Watch

Mr President, Commissioner Kubilius, this is the most important debate in history, because we currently have 27 armies, 27 defence budgets and 27 different purchasing strategies. Now we're all saying together that we're going to spend more on defense. I've been saying that here for ten years. So I say: Yes, spending more, but not more of the same. It will have to be different, it will have to be t…

11 Mar

2025

NL Speech

Presentation of the proposal on a new common approach on returns (debate)

Watch

Mr President, it is a very important proposal that we have debated here this afternoon. You said it yourself: It's actually the capstone. This was missing. National return systems are too fragmented and you mentioned it: We must make sure that if someone is expelled from a European country, he does leave the Union and does not try elsewhere. So I think that is an absolutely necessary step. We, as …

11 Mar

2025

NL Speech

European Council meetings and European security (joint debate)

Watch

Mr President, Mrs Ursula von der Leyen has done her job. It provided €800 billion in additional budgets in the short term and Member States approved it and went home. But I turn to you now, for now the real work begins. I urge you not to just do more of the same. We'll have to do things differently. I'm counting on you to enter into a "coalition of the buying". Buy together. We know what is needed…

12 Feb

2025

NL Speech

Commission Work Programme 2025 (debate)

Watch

Mr President, Commissioner, we debated the long to-do list of the European Commission here all morning. I want to focus on four things that citizens expect from us. First, of course, safety. Without security, we will do nothing. Second, lower energy costs. Thirdly, less paperwork and, finally, easier capital, so that young entrepreneurs can also start their businesses in Europe. Commissioner, it i…

11 Feb

2025

EN Speech

Escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (debate)

Watch

Mr President, just to say, I'm very sorry because we are debating here now more than an hour, all parties with a very strong resolution. Neither the Commission nor the Council can pronounce that Rwanda is making a big mistake in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I am very sorry – we will vote a very strong resolution on Thursday, and I really hope, Commissioner and Council, that you can clearl…

11 Feb

2025

FR Speech

Escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (debate)

Watch

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the dead in Congo are no longer waiting for reports, but for deeds. For more than thirty years now, the Congolese people have been massacred, raped and displaced. This people has nothing to do with our speeches or our timid condemnations. When Russia invaded Ukraine, we reacted immediately and we were right. But today, as the Congo is under attack, where is our …

11 Feb

2025

NL Speech

Wider comprehensive EU-Middle East Strategy (debate)

Watch

Mr President, Europe must take its responsibility in this conflict. In 1948, the Jewish people – rightly so – were given their own state. Today, however, the Palestinian people are threatened with extermination. There is a threat of genocide in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people are expelled. This is no longer a war against Hamas, this is ethnic cleansing. Now Trump even talks about ‘buying Gaz…

11 Feb

2025

NL Speech

Continuing the unwavering EU support for Ukraine, after three years of Russia’s war of aggression (debate)

Watch

Mr President, many have already said it here: Today marks three years since Russia's horrific war against Ukraine began. We supported Ukraine for three years. Unanimous, thankfully. But let's be honest: half-hearted and with the foot on the brake. We have sanctioned Russia. Unified, but also half-hearted. We are now on the 15th package of sanctions. In doing so, we have not only stretched the mise…

22 Jan

2025

NL Speech

Uniting Europe against actors hostile to the EU: time to strengthen our security and defence (topical debate)

Watch

Mr President, in March the Commission will present a White Paper on defence. I am confident that the Commission is doing this very well and ambitiously. However, I have less confidence in the Council and the Member States because of their previous short-sightedness. Since the adoption of the first European Defence Plan in 1954, the Member States have done nothing but obstruction. European defence …

21 Jan

2025

NL Speech

Geopolitical and economic implications for the transatlantic relations under the new Trump administration (debate)

Watch

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it has been about Trump for days and weeks now, but yesterday Trump did not say a word about Europe. And that's not a good sign. We know what he's up to. One: He's going to impose new tariffs, supposedly to protect the U.S. economy, but which will affect our companies. Two: He will suffocate us, his European NATO allies. Three: He will, of course, make deals wit…

20 Jan

2025

NL Speech

Ceasefire in Gaza - the urgent need to release the hostages, to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to pave the way for a two-state solution (debate)

Watch

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, after 471 days of horrific violence, the agreement is finally a step in the right direction. But it's only a first small step, and you feel on all sides that Prime Minister Netanyahu will revert to violence as soon as he can. He admitted it in so many words yesterday. So it is not the time for Europe to sit back and say from the sidelines, "We welcome the ceasef…

18 Dec

2024

NL Speech

Preparation of the European Council of 19-20 December 2024 (debate)

Watch

Mr President, we must dare to say frankly that we are facing a leadership crisis in Europe. Not with you, the Commission, but with the Council. As Mr Gerbrandy said. And our European citizens today have real fears: on Europe's military weakness, on a possible nuclear attack and on their savings. It is safe in our banks. And what will be the advice of the Member States? In the Netherlands, people a…

17 Dec

2024

FR Speech

Use of rape as weapon of war, in particular in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan (debate)

Watch

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we can no longer turn a blind eye to sexual violence as a weapon of war. In North Kivu alone, more than 17 000 women and girls have been raped in the last five months. This is a shocking, brutal reality that can no longer be ignored. Like today, in 2014, we awarded the Sakharov Prize here to Dr Mukwege for treating, or rather repairing, raped women. Today, he…

17 Dec

2024

EN Answer

Toppling of the Syrian regime, its geopolitical implications and the humanitarian situation in the region (debate)

Watch

Well, honestly, I think you didn't listen to my speech – because that was exactly what I'm saying. Europe cannot wait. We have to take the lead. We have to engage with the new people who are in power there and talk to them at the highest political level.…

17 Dec

2024

EN Speech

Toppling of the Syrian regime, its geopolitical implications and the humanitarian situation in the region (debate)

Watch

Mr President, colleagues, the West has failed to prevent the Syrian tragedy. The West has failed to protect itself and create security for the Europeans. Since the outbreak of the Arab Spring, neither we nor the Americans have done anything substantial to support the Syrian people or to oust Bashar al-Assad. The horrifying images of the Sednaya prison will remain etched in everyone's memory. We mu…

27 Nov

2024

NL Speech

Presentation by the President-elect of the Commission of the College of Commissioners and its programme (debate)

Watch

Mr President, you have before you a convinced liberal European who is very happy today, Mrs von der Leyen. You have highlighted two points that we have been asking for for a long time. One: you have put the focus on jobs and the economy, and put the emphasis on keeping the jobs in Europe. Two: The focus on safety. Finally, a European Commissioner for Defence and an incredibly strong woman as our H…

26 Nov

2024

NL Speech

Continued escalation in the Middle East: the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, UNRWA’s essential role in the region, the need to release all hostages and the recent ICC arrest warrants (debate)

Watch

26 Nov

2024

EN Speech

Reinforcing EU’s unwavering support to Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression and the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia (debate)

Watch

Madam President, I really want to make a point of order because we are really debating here a very, very important topic. The rule of this Parliament is that we can have a blue card. If people from the extreme right are really putting the words of Putin forward here all the time, we should have the right to react. Now you say, yes, I have I do not know how many interventions, yet that is why this …

26 Nov

2024

NL Speech

Reinforcing EU’s unwavering support to Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression and the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia (debate)

Watch

13 Nov

2024

EN Speech

EU-US relations in light of the outcome of the US presidential elections (debate)

Watch

Madam President, colleagues, Europe always had a love-hate relationship with the United States. Under Biden there was a lot of love on defence, on Ukraine, and a lot of hate and irritation on trade because of our European trade surplus. Under Trump, we need to enforce this. We need a fundamental shift. Trump is like a godfather, so let's make him an offer he cannot refuse. We need to tell him 'we …