What Bert-Jan spoke about.

Mr President, Minister, it is clear that we must work together to denounce human rights violations worldwide. Whether it is the persecution of faith, modern slavery or the erosion of democracy, we cannot and must not look away! The Magnitsky Act is an important addition to our toolbox in this regard. However, the abolition of the unanimity rule advocated by many in this House is not the right way forward. The EU Treaty simply does not allow for this. Moreover, it is not necessary at all. Indeed, it is also possible to impose sanctions against companies and individuals in countries such as Russia, Belarus and China by consensus, as practice teaches. The abolition of the unanimity rule is, above all, highly undesirable. Then the big Member States will be the service and small Member States will be sidelined. Foreign policy is just too important for that! Consensus provides support. And that is precisely what is crucial for this to be a powerful instrument.