What Assita spoke about.

1

Apr

2025

EN Speech

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Crackdown on democracy in Türkiye and the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, if there is anyone left here who trusts Erdoğan, I wonder what possesses him. In his relationship with the EU, Erdoğan has sufficiently demonstrated that he can only be trusted in one area: he will stab you in the back. What did he not do? Abuse of power at home, interference in conflicts, violation of international law, failure to respect agreements, so on. After…

1

Apr

2025

EN Speech

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Presentation of the New European Internal Security Strategy (debate)

Mr President, shootings in Brussels, threats in our ports, drugs in our schools, illegal migration and modern slavery in our cities, rape crimes even in daytime. Organised crime knows no boundaries and criminals too often are still outfoxing us. They use borders, busy trade routes and technology to hide their activities. I welcome the awareness that started emerging in recent years, particularly s…

11

Mar

2025

NL Speech

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

Mr President, Commissioner, this is historic. We've been waiting for this for so long. Citizens want to see courage and decisiveness, and any immigration system that cannot deport 80% of asylum seekers who have been expelled is unbelievable. We can then talk endlessly about six weeks or twelve weeks for this or that procedural step, or about two or three chances of a review of the decision in cour…

11

Mar

2025

EN Speech

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European Council meetings and European security (joint debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, for energy we used to look at Russia; for trade we depend on China; for defence we rely on the United States. When we fail, we blame someone else. The truth is that we are weak because we neglected our potential power. Because by not investing enough, or soon enough, in defence and industry, we gave up the right to be respected. We abandoned our primary duty, which i…

12

Feb

2025

NL Speech

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Collaboration between conservatives and far right as a threat for competitiveness in the EU (topical debate)

Mr President, this debate makes no sense. What is destroying our prosperity is the policy of the left. We all know very well that this pampering policy is the life insurance of the left-wing parties, with a newcomer as an eternal victim who is never responsible for himself, but always needs help. This is not only racist and paternalistic, but clearly a huge loss of income for society as a whole. T…

12

Feb

2025

EN Speech

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Commission Work Programme 2025 (debate)

Madam President, dear Commissioner, last time it was going to be a 'Geopolitical Commission'. Regarding the results, obviously none of our enemies or allies is impressed. This time it's about the simplification of regulation and economic competitiveness. Yet our businesses are not hopeful, and we have spent time recently chasing American tech companies instead of growing our own. We are so excelle…

17

Dec

2024

EN Speech

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

Madam President, Madam Commissioner, I am very sorry that I had a little accident on my phone. I am grateful that we are having this debate. And as you see, it makes us nervous because we feel powerless. We have been speaking about this situation for so many years. Colleagues mentioned Doctor Denis Mukwege, who even won the Nobel Prize, and we should also mention the Yazidi victims who also went t…

17

Dec

2024

EN Speech

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

Mr President, Madam High Representative, we all agree that Assad was bad news. Bad news for Europe, and certainly bad news for the people in Syria and in the region. We should all know that the HTS is no better news. Not for us and not for them. The fall of Assad means less fuel for Hamas and Hezbollah, less power for Iran, a new balance with Russia in the region and an opportunity for something e…

16

Dec

2024

EN Speech

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Approval of the minutes of the previous sitting

Madam President, advocating for female genital mutilation is nothing more than calling for violence. The fact that this can happen in mosques in Europe without consequences says so much. It happened in the Netherlands. It is the women and girls who are being abandoned and that makes me incredibly angry and sad. How is it that we still have to make so much effort today to achieve results against fe…

27

Nov

2024

NL Speech

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Election of the Commission (vote)

Mr President, ‘What we want above all is freedom, and not to be burdened by endless taxes,’ writes Guillaume on Facebook. "How can my company survive if Europe continues like this?" sighs a CEO. "I want to be heard", whispers a woman who was raped and never got justice. ‘Why am I treated differently?’ We Europeans must dare to choose our values and norms, not allow sharia practices and not give mo…

25

Nov

2024

EN Speech

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International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (debate)

Mr President, Madam Commissioner, how many women and girls still undergo female genital mutilation today? How many are treated as second‑rank citizens? How many are economically deprived? How many are sexually assaulted without ever seeing justice happen? Too many. 'It's time that the macho, patriarchal society that trivialises rape changes' – Gisèle Pelicot said that. Her case in France has right…

14

Nov

2024

FR Speech

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UN Climate Change Conference 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP29) (B10-0156/2024) (vote)

Madam President, I just want to speak to my colleague Bellamy and because I'm very kind, I will even speak French. As Belgians, we propose that there should still be votes in Brussels.

13

Nov

2024

NL Speech

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

Mr President, can we be honest today about this issue, the American elections and our relationship with the US? So far, Trump has not destroyed Europe: We did it ourselves. The chaos in Amsterdam resulting in ‘Jew hunting’: We have done so because we have repeatedly chosen multiculturalism over citizenship. The bureaucracy that suffocates our businesses: We have done this ourselves, because we lik…

23

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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Managing migration in an effective and holistic way through fostering returns (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, 'They do nothing for our safety.' This was the heartfelt cry from German families about the many knife attacks in their country. They feel powerless and abandoned by us. Citizens are deeply concerned about the EU's failing migration policy. Integration is non-committal and border control barely exists. Taboos about protecting external borders and the…

9

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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Prevention of drug-related crimes, their effect on European citizens and the need for an effective European response (debate)

Madam President, Vice-President Schinas, drug-related crime is eating away our society. Laundering money. Funding terrorism. Destroying our neighbourhoods. Bringing drugs into our schools. Disrupting our maritime transport. Creating healthcare issues. Threatening businesses and killing innocent people. Exhausting police resources. Killing journalists and lawyers. Trying to muzzle the politicians w…

8

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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Escalation of violence in the Middle East and the situation in Lebanon (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, what' is going on in the Middle East today is nothing new, unless we are blind. Didn't we see the explosion in the port of Beirut? Where were we when the rockets fired by Hezbollah were threatening families and communities? Iran has never hidden its intentions. It kept financing and pushing its proxies and we have always answered with the same lame talks and kept giv…

7

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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One year after the 7 October terrorist attacks by Hamas (debate)

Madam President, High Representative, dear colleagues, can anyone tell me how raping, mutilating and kidnapping an innocent woman, parading with her half-naked body on a lorry, chanting 'Allahu Akbar', spitting on her, can improve the life of anyone? How was this supposed to be something good for the Palestinians? The truth is that this was never about love for the Palestinians, but hatred for the…

18

Sep

2024

NL Speech

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Organised crime, a major threat to the internal security of the European Union and European citizens (topical debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, I would first like to emphasise that, both in Flanders and in the Netherlands, we find that the drug problem does not only exist on paper, but also takes place in the streets and in reality. You often hear that something has happened: an explosion, someone who was shot or a container that arrived somewhere unchecked. We talk about it very often, but so far there has bee…

17

Sep

2024

EN Speech

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War in the Gaza Strip and the situation in the Middle-East (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, Hamas is a terrorist organisation. This is not something that I'm saying. This is something that we all know. It is a reality. A reality studied and legally confirmed by the European Union, who clearly recognises Hamas as it is ‑ a dangerous Islamic terrorist organisation. Dangerous to whom? To all of us, a threat to our security. This is why an organisation is put o…

16

Sep

2024

EN Question

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Persistent problems of anti-Semitism in Europe and of other forms of hate speech and hate crimes (debate)

Mr President, Madam Commissioner, why are the people sitting in our parliaments and supporting radical Islam, fuelling anti-Semitism in Europe, resisting and destroying European values, supporting hatred in our streets and encouraging submission in our universities? Because they were elected by people who have passports and voting rights in Europe, but who hate us and find terrorism admirable. You…

16

Sep

2024

EN Speech

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Announcement by the President – Election of the European Ombudsman

Madam President, dear colleagues, I would like you – I would like all of us Europeans – to hear this name: Rebecca Cheptegei. Rebecca Cheptegei was a runner from Uganda. She was one of the best in the world. She ran the marathon at the Olympic Games in Paris; held the Olympic spirit high. She was also an independent woman, and for that she was murdered: burned alive by her former partner in Kenya.…

18

Jul

2024

EN Speech

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Statement by the candidate for President of the Commission (debate)

Madam President, Madam Candidate, ‘I am a woman. I am a mother, I am European, nobody is going to take this away from me.’ These are words from Giorgia Meloni. Words that touched my heart. I feel the same as a European by choice. As a woman, as a mother and as a Member of this Parliament, I feel you too, Madam von der Leyen. Like many of us, I cannot unsee the Sofagate and the fact that one of the…

24

Apr

2024

NL Speech

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Advance passenger information: enhancing and facilitating external border controls - Advance passenger information: prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime (joint debate - Advance passenger information)

Mr President, I would like to thank colleagues for their contribution. It is clear that we have a solid majority in favour of this regulation. I am pleased that we have been able to build this constructive majority together, from the beginning of this process. I would like to thank all my colleagues in this majority and look forward to the vote on my report. This is my last speech in Parliament be…

24

Apr

2024

EN Speech

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Advance passenger information: enhancing and facilitating external border controls - Advance passenger information: prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime (joint debate - Advance passenger information)

Mr President, thank you, colleague Oetjen. I would also like to thank my good colleague Jan-Christoph and all the shadow rapporteurs. I think we made a very effective negotiating team. We found compromises, first within the Parliament and then with the Council, in a very positive atmosphere. And we brought in a lot of good points for Parliament and, more importantly, for our European citizens. I b…

24

Apr

2024

EN Speech

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The proposed repeal of the law banning female genital mutilation in The Gambia

Mr President, female genital mutilation is a brutal practice that breaks and destroys girls on the basis of sex, making them a property of the community or a man. Female genital mutilation has happened to 200 million women worldwide. I’m one of them. Believe me, no one can imagine such physical and mental pain or the lifelong consequences you have to bear. Today, female genital mutilation continue…