What Tineke spoke about.

4

Oct

2023

EN Speech

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Human rights situation in Afghanistan, in particular the persecution of former government officials

Mr President, from me, a very warm welcome to Mr Massoud and his delegation. Welcome in this heart of democracy, which I wish with all my heart for you and your people as well. The people in Afghanistan are suffering the devastating consequences of Taliban rule. Two years after the Western departure, women and girls have been fully erased from public life, subject to gender apartheid, and people a…

4

Oct

2023

EN Speech

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Need for a speedy adoption of the asylum and migration package (debate)

Mr President, Council, Commissioner, asylum seekers face an ever more lawless Europe, a Europe of pushbacks, inhuman reception conditions, unlawful detention becoming the new normal. But make no mistake, this is not due to a lack of EU legislation. It is a result of unequal responsibility sharing and total impunity for the Member States. So yes, we need a new pact, but one rooted in solidarity, on…

3

Oct

2023

EN Speech

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Recent developments in the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, including the situation in the northern municipalities in Kosovo (debate)

Mr President, Council, Commissioner, we were all shocked on 24 September when a heavily armed Serbian gang with seemingly strong links to the government invaded Kosovo and brutally killed a police officer – shocked but not surprised, because this is what the EU appeasement strategy leads to. For years we have silently allowed Vučić to undermine stability in the region, to remain supportive of the …

12

Sep

2023

EN Speech

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EU-Tunisia Agreement - aspects related to external migration policy (debate)

Mr President, Council, Commissioner, tomorrow, at this very spot, President Von der Leyen will claim in strong words that she fiercely defends democracy against autocracy. But at the same time, she proudly presents dirty deals with a ruthless dictator, Saied. The extreme obsession to stop migration to the EU leads to the appeasement of an autocrat who incites violence against black migrants. Migra…

11

Sep

2023

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, how could we not talk about Afghanistan this week, two years after the Taliban takeover? While the situation worsens and the repression is growing, our attention deflects elsewhere. Women and girls are banned from education, banned from working for NGOs, banned from recreation, banned from life. The poverty and the food crisis have reached a new low. Still, humanitarian organisations…

13

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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Public access to documents – annual report for the years 2019-2021 (debate)

Mr President, dear Commissioner, openness enables citizens to participate more closely in the decision—making process, and this makes authorities more legitimate and more accountable to the citizen in a democratic system. This reasoning of the Court dates back to 2011, when it ruled that the Council violates EU law by refusing access to Council documents. The Court has repeatedly held that the Cou…

12

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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The need for EU action on search and rescue in the Mediterranean (debate)

Madam President, Council, Commissioner, the Pylos shipwreck proved again how little value the lives of migrants and refugees hold according to our Member States. Let’s admit that the approach on search and rescue, just like the funding of the criminal and smuggling Libyan Coast Guard, is about deterrence of arrivals and not about the actual saving of lives. Stopping impunity is the only way. So, C…

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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2022 Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, today we commemorate the Srebrenica genocide 28 years ago, when the international community failed to protect the citizens despite the promise of safety. Never again. This is what we promised with the Dayton Agreement. But what do we see now? Stability and peace are again under pressure in Bosnia and the international community is asleep. Milorad Dodik takes a step t…

11

Jul

2023

EN Answer

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2023 Annual Rule of law report (debate)

Well, the problem is that the National Judicial Council is still not independent. The government decides who are in this National Judiciary Council. And the point with the draft law on the Supreme Court means that disciplinary measures are going to be taken somewhere else, but still by judges who are not legitimately appointed. So as long as the Judiciary Council keeps on producing neo-judges, who…

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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2023 Annual Rule of law report (debate)

Madam President, representatives of the Council – congratulations on your Presidency – and Commissioner, this report not only shows the track record of Member States on the rule of law, but also of the Commission’s ability to address rule—of—law risks. And so far, I must be honest, the Commission is failing. Institutions, civil society and journalists are under attack in a growing number of Member…

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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Commemorating the 28th anniversary of Srebrenica (statement by the President)

Madam President, in July 1995 thousands of Bosniak people fled the persecution of the Serb army and thought that they were safe in Srebrenica, a UN—protected area. But the international community had offered false hope. It failed to prevent genocide. Over 8 000 Muslim men and boys were brutally killed and thousands of women and children deported, humiliated and raped. Some wounds never heal, but b…

14

Jun

2023

EN Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 29-30 June 2023, in particular in the light of recent steps towards concluding the Migration Pact (debate)

Mr President, Council, Commissioner, preventing new Morias and push backs and ensuring solidarity, that is how the Commission presented the pact proposals. But look now at the Council agreement. No shared responsibility, but the following message to the border countries: ‘Detain asylum seekers at your borders, after a poor procedure, send them to any country willing to take them for a nice amount …

12

Jun

2023

EN Speech

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Order of business

Madam President, thank you. Of course, we agree that we should talk on the pact and the way forward, but we cannot miss out one essential element that is related to the pact. And we all witnessed yesterday how the announcement was being made by Ms von der Leyen of a migration deal between the EU and Tunisia, which is clearly linked to the Council agreement on the pact. And it means that the EU is …

31

May

2023

EN Speech

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Threat to democracy and the rule of law in Poland, in particular through the creation of an investigative committee (debate)

Mr President, Council, Commissioner, the Polish ruling party is on a warpath against democracy to win the elections at all costs. The Law on the Commission on Russian influence exploits the Russian aggression with the sole purpose to remove opposition candidates from the election list and to silence critical voices. A committee of politically—appointed members that would simultaneously investigate…

10

May

2023

EN Speech

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Externalising asylum applications and making funding to third countries conditional on the implementation of return agreements (topical debate)

Madam President, Council, Commission, more than four years ago, most states worldwide committed to offer refugees sustainable protection and future and to guarantee equitable responsibility sharing because the largest hosting countries cannot be left alone. And look at us now. It has become common to call for fences, to push back refugees and deny their rights, and conclude shady deals with repres…

19

Apr

2023

EN Speech

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The crackdown on the right to education and education rights activists in Afghanistan, including the case of Matiullah Wesa

Mr President, Commissioner, the detention of education activist Matiullah Wesa is yet another display of the crackdown on all freedoms in Afghanistan under the Taliban’s rule. Especially for women and girls, the country has turned into a real nightmare. Banned from education, banned from the labour market and erased from public life. While this should ring all our alarm bells, the EU’s support and…

18

Apr

2023

EN Speech

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The need for European solidarity in saving lives in the Mediterranean, in particular in Italy (debate)

Mr President, Council, Commissioner, the UN recently concluded that the Libyan coast guard, which is heavily funded by the EU, is deeply involved in slavery, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, detention and torture of migrants. But migrants who managed to escape this horror in Libya are pulled back by their perpetrators and returned to hell. And NGOs who save their lives and bring them to saf…

30

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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2022 Rule of Law Report - The rule of law situation in the European Union - Rule of law in Greece - Rule of law in Spain - Rule of law in Malta (debate)

Mr President, the Polish dismantling of judicial independence is almost done. The draft law on the Supreme Court, tabled to unblock the RF money, will not solve the problem. No, it will actually worsen it. Legal experts, therefore call it the ‘Law on the destruction of the Supreme Administration Court’, as it will kill the last piece of independence. And, at the same time, the politically captured…

15

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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Deaths at sea: a common EU response to save lives and action to ensure safe and legal pathways (debate)

Mr President, the Mediterranean Sea is the deadliest migration route in the world. And this is not a law by nature; it’s caused by mankind. But the political decision to ignore search and rescue obligations, shift responsibility to the Libyan coastguard, obstruct the work of NGOs saving lives, this is a policy of deliberate disengagement, a lack of solidarity and a shameless evasion of one’s own o…

14

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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This is Europe - Debate with the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda (debate)

Madam President, dear President Nausėda, you are very welcome to our House. You refer to summer 2021, when Lukashenko brutally instrumentalised migrants by sending them to your border. The EU stood behind your country as it was an attack on the EU and also an attack on our values. But the only right response is a value-based one. The Court of Justice last summer was crystal clear: Lithuania’s legi…

15

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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EUCO conclusions: the need for the speedy finalisation of the Road Map (debate)

Madam President, Council Commissioner. The EU Council conclusions are just another chapter of the dystopian Fortress Europe playbook. Deterring arrivals, ramping up border surveillance and shifting our responsibility to third countries. This will not lead to solutions; it will lead to more deaths, more human rights violations and more suffering. That’s not leadership; this is panic and it is campa…

14

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Question Time (Commission) - Strengthened EU enlargement policy to the Western Balkans

It’s good to hear that you keep the pressure on Bulgaria. I think it’s important to protect North Macedonia. Of course, what has been agreed should be implemented, but that they can be safeguarded, that the EU responds in a credible and consistent way afterwards. Now, one question you did not answer yet, and that’s about what’s happening in the Republika Srpska – Mr Dodik. You talk about the hopef…

14

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Question Time (Commission) - Strengthened EU enlargement policy to the Western Balkans

The Russian aggression has woken us up. A credible enlargement policy is not only key for our neighbouring citizens, but also for protecting our security and European values. But as my colleagues already said, granting the candidate status is only one step. It needs to be followed by a more active engagement – increased economic cooperation and support to countries with the necessary reforms. But …

13

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Following up on measures requested by Parliament to strengthen the integrity of European institutions (debate)

Madam President, the Qatar and the Morocco scandal has shocked our societies and shaken the confidence of citizens in the Democratic Institute of the EU. If directly elected politicians appear not to be resistant to external attempts to buy their votes, buy their influence and their political activities, our credibility is heavily under attack, because it not only ruins the reputation of the MEPs …

1

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Situation in Afghanistan (debate)

Madam President, dear Commissioner – there is no one from the Council – since our last resolution on Afghanistan, both the human rights and the humanitarian situation have dramatically worsened by new radical measures taken by the Taliban against women and girls. Girls from the age of 12 were already banned from schools, deprived of their future, their dreams and their ambitions. But women have no…