What Tineke spoke about.

8 Jul

2025

EN Speech

2023 and 2024 reports on Bosnia and Herzegovina (debate)

Watch

Madam President, dear Commissioner and also dear rapporteur, because I would like to thank you very much for your cooperation, together with the other shadows. The adoption of the annual Bosnia report could not come at a more symbolic moment: in a week that we are commemorating Srebrenica, the horrific genocide of 30 years ago that still keeps the country hostage today, deeply dividing the politic…

8 Jul

2025

EN Speech

2023 and 2024 reports on Albania (debate)

Watch

Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear members of the Albanian delegation that may be here, dear rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs, thank you very much for the report and the great constructive work. Albania is an accession frontrunner, making solid progress to fulfil its aim of entering the EU by 2027. And that could be historic, of course. Albania's EU membership will accelerate economic pros…

7 Jul

2025

EN Speech

Commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide

Watch

Madam President, Council, Commissioner, I'd like to thank our President for this commemoration and special thanks, of course, to Almasa and Almir for their presence and their wonderful work. On Friday, we commemorate how 30 years ago in Srebrenica, 8 000 Bosnian men and boys were brutally killed by the Bosnian Serb army in what was the most recent genocide on European soil. The years before, we wi…

18 Jun

2025

EN Speech

Freedom of assembly in Hungary and the need for the Commission to act (debate)

Watch

Madam President, dear Commissioner, 'You are on your own' – that is what the Commission is telling the Hungarian LGBTI community by not acting against the Pride ban. The Commission has the legal tools but is scared to use them: scared because the Pride organisations could risk a prison sentence; scared while the LGBTQ people in Hungary are treated, in the words of the Advocate General, as if their…

18 Jun

2025

EN Speech

Stopping the genocide in Gaza: time for EU sanctions (topical debate)

Watch

Madam President, High Representative Kallas, my message to our EU leaders today is sound and clear: all eyes on Gaza. It seems evident, but apparently not for our leaders. Because time after time, Netanyahu manages to distract them from his severe war crimes against the Palestinian people, and get them on his side. Because as a mass protest erupts across Europe demanding accountability, and as pol…

21 May

2025

EN Speech

The Hungarian government's drift to Russia-style repression: legislative threats to freedom of expression and democratic participation (debate)

Watch

Mr President, Council, Commissioner, the end of all critical voices in Hungary: that's what Orbán's foreign agent bill could mean. How cynical! Under the guise of fighting foreign interference, he is importing Russian-style repression into the EU, eradicating all actors who promote the values and rights of the European Union, of which Hungary is a member – a membership that comes with obligations …

21 May

2025

EN Speech

Order of business

Watch

Madam President, I present this request for an agenda change in my role as standing rapporteur on the rule of law for Hungary, and in the name – as you said – of the EPP, the S&D and the Greens. I request the addition of Council and Commission statements with the following title: 'The Hungarian Government's drift to Russia-style repression: legislative threats to freedom of expression and democrat…

6 May

2025

EN Speech

2023 and 2024 reports on Türkiye (debate)

Watch

Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear rapporteur, the arrest of Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu is extremely concerning, but unfortunately not a surprise. It reflects Erdoğan's total crackdown on the rule of law and democracy, in which every dissent is met with repression and arbitrary arrests. But I must say the EU is, to a certain extent, a partner in crime, because we turn a blind eye to the human righ…

2 Apr

2025

EN Speech

Recent legislative changes in Hungary and their impact on fundamental rights (debate)

Watch

Mr President, dear Council, Commissioner, Orbán's further crackdown on society follows the next chapter of Putin's playbook. Under the misleading disguise of child protection, he oppresses the LGBTIQ community and even bans Pride. And behind this icon, he is destroying the right to assembly and freedom of expression for everyone. Citizens are gradually getting outlawed, as Orbán can suspend any pr…

12 Mar

2025

EN Speech

Secessionist threats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the recent escalation (debate)

Watch

Mr President, the latest illegal moves towards succession by Mr Dodik are a direct threat to the peace and integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its future into the EU. Mr Dodik is not acting in the interest of the citizens of Republika Srpska or their well-being. Acting as Putin's puppet on the Balkans, Dodik stands ready to fulfil any request from Moscow, even if this means war affecting the c…

11 Mar

2025

EN Speech

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

Watch

Madam President, Commissioner, the EU return system is in dire need of improvement. Only one in five decisions are followed up by a readmission request by the Member States. And meanwhile, waiting times for asylum decisions skyrocket, hampering speedy returns. We need Member States to take responsibility and clean up their act, but the proposed return regulation lets them off the hook. It blames a…

10 Mar

2025

EN Speech

Order of business

Watch

Madam President, colleagues, amidst all major recent geopolitical developments and our discussions about increasing European security, we must make sure to pay attention to the developments in Bosnia. In recent weeks, the situation became extremely explosive after the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, took further illegal steps towards judicial succession from the State of Bosnia and H…

12 Feb

2025

EN Speech

Honouring the memory of Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová: advancing media freedom, strengthening the rule of law, and protecting journalists across the EU (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Commissioner, Ján Kuciak and his partner Martina Kušnírová were only 27 years old when they were brutally assassinated in their own home. This tragedy was the canary in the coal mine for the growing threats that journalists face in Europe, especially those who dare to expose corruption, power abuse and government failure. Did the EU honestly listen closely enough to this deadly wa…

11 Feb

2025

EN Speech

Protecting the system of international justice and its institutions, in particular the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Commissioner, Council, I have just returned from a visit to Palestine where, in Gaza, 60 000 people were killed, where, in the West Bank, people are outlawed, exposed to violence from the Israeli army and the colonists and where humiliation, deprivation of freedom and treatment as second‑class citizens is their daily experience. They fail any protection and are let down by the int…

22 Jan

2025

EN Speech

Links between organised crime and smuggling of migrants in light of the recent UN reports (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Commissioner, I'm glad to have this debate today because we really need to have a discussion on the reasons why people end up in the hands of smugglers and criminal gangs. And the reason is that they are forced to. The EU-wide anti-immigration policy hype has caused people fleeing war and persecution to resort to desperate measures to reach the EU in the absence of legal routes to…

21 Jan

2025

EN Speech

The Hungarian government’s illegal espionage of EU institutions and investigative bodies (debate)

Watch

Mr President, dear Council, Commissioner, the Hungarian Government's secret service spying on EU officials – a violation straight from the playbook of adversarial dictatorships, now happening on EU soil. Undermining EU institutions because it may reveal Orbán's corruption actually reveals Orbán's disloyalty and readiness to sabotage the work of OLAF. Commissioner, you refer to OLAF itself to do an…

20 Jan

2025

EN 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, after fifteen months of bombings, massive killings and total destruction, a ceasefire in Gaza has finally been reached and we celebrate the end of this horror, but at the same time, we really must make sure that this fragile peace lasts. We need to ensure speedy, massive and unhindered humanitarian assistance, including from UNWRA, a full military withdrawal from Gaza, and a quick st…

18 Dec

2024

EN Speech

Preparation of the EU-Western Balkans Summit (debate)

Watch

Madam President, summit after summit, we are presented with heartwarming words about how the Union is not complete without the Western Balkans. But the fact is that we have let down the region for the past 20 years due to internal struggles, disinterest and for electoral gains. We desperately need action, gradual integration into our single market. Massive green investments ‑ make citizens feel th…

17 Dec

2024

EN Speech

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

Watch

Mr President, High Representative, welcome. After 50 years of repression, escalated in a 13-year-long brutal war, the Assad regime has fallen. Finally, Syrian citizens have a chance at building a safe and free country. The EU must do everything in its power to help make that really happen and also to hold the Assad regime accountable. But we are still far from true celebration. Look at the unstabl…

27 Nov

2024

EN Answer

Recent legislation targeting LGBTQI persons and the need for protecting the rule of law and a discrimination-free Union (debate)

Watch

I am really happy to hear that you are very well aware of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, because this is what all citizens of the EU should be protected by and can invoke. And that is very clear in the Treaty of the EU: that our Union is based on those fundamental rights, and one of the fundamental rights is the right to be who you are, to celebrate and express your identity. And thi…

27 Nov

2024

EN Speech

Recent legislation targeting LGBTQI persons and the need for protecting the rule of law and a discrimination-free Union (debate)

Watch

Madam President, dear Commissioner, last week the EU wrote history. The Commission, Parliament and 16 Member States stood united in the courtroom to fight against Hungary's anti‑LGBTIQ law. The silent majority finally spoke out loud and clear that the attack on the human rights of the LGBTIQ community undermines the core values of our Union. That was what the community in Hungary, after years of h…

13 Nov

2024

NL Speech

Deplorable escalation of violence around the football match in the Netherlands and the unacceptable attacks against Israeli football fans (debate)

Watch

Mr President, Commissioner, everyone in the Netherlands must be safe, but the insecurity is widely felt. By aggressive Maccabi hooligans who applauded the destruction of Gaza. By the groups of people who targeted and threatened Jewish people. And now also because of the aftermath, in which politicians in power incite, unadulterated racism and whole populations against each other, purely for their …

23 Oct

2024

EN Speech

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

Watch

Madam President, dear Commissioner, return policies have been the talk of the town for years now. Member States complain about the lack of cooperation by countries of origin, but they are silent about the very small number of readmission requests that they make. They insist on harsher rules to deport people, but they don't mention their bureaucratic failures to return people under the current rule…

22 Oct

2024

EN Speech

Situation in Tunisia (debate)

Watch

Mr President, dear Commissioner. Today we must deplore the total destruction of Tunisian democracy and the rule of law after high hopes following the Arab Spring. We must criticise the detention of opposition journalists, activists and academics; the systematic torture, rape, expulsion and death of migrants and refugees. But what we should condemn the most is the contribution of the Commission and…

9 Oct

2024

EN Speech

Protecting the EU budget and ensuring that EU funds do not benefit entities or individuals linked to terrorist or Islamist movement (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Commissioner, upholding international law obliges us to protect and facilitate the UN bodies. And that is why I stand here with a feeling of embarrassment – embarrassment that through this debate, our democratic House is being instrumentalised for Netanyahu's extremist campaign against UNWRA. The Commission did a full review of all financial assistance to Palestine at the end of 2…