What Tom spoke about.

29

Feb

2024

NL Speech

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Commission recommendation on secure and resilient submarine cables (debate)

Mr President, ‘It is war but no one sees it’: This is the name of Huib Modderkolk's book about digital espionage and sabotage by secret services, which can now also be seen on Dutch TV as a documentary, with our esteemed colleague Bart Groothuis as the star of the show. ‘It is war but no one sees it’: This also applies to everything that happens on the seabed. But the warnings about Russian espion…

5

Feb

2024

NL Speech

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State of EU solar industry in light of unfair competition (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, as rapporteur for industrial policy on behalf of the EPP, I have been saying for a number of years now that climate policy – the European climate policy, the European Green Deal – cannot do without European industrial policy. This is what we are seeing in the solar industry today. Because while we in Europe are increasingly greening and reducing ou…

17

Jan

2024

NL Speech

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Norway's recent decision to advance seabed mining in the Arctic (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the fair story is that we are currently getting the raw materials we need in the energy transition from countries such as China, Russia and Congo. Our dependence on it is being used against us. The supply chain is unstable and the working conditions and environmental requirements in those countries are not up to our standards. In short, if we want to continue on…

16

Jan

2024

NL Speech

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Building a comprehensive European port strategy (short presentation)

Mr President, Commissioner, our ports are the gateways to Europe, but we are giving the keys to China. Under the motto of ‘open world trade’ and market forces, we have seen a startling increase in Chinese investments in European ports in recent decades. We see this Chinese influence in more than 22 European ports. We see it in Hamburg, in Piraeus and also in Europe's largest port, the port of Rott…

11

Dec

2023

NL Speech

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Small modular reactors (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the demand for electricity is growing rapidly. And that electricity, which we need to make our mobility, our industry, our built environment more sustainable and to build a hydrogen economy, we need to produce without greenhouse gas emissions. Together, renewable energy sources and nuclear energy can provide climate-neutral electricity. As far as I'm concerned, …

16

Oct

2023

NL Speech

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Establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) (debate)

Mr President, in recent years we have been under pressure when it comes to our dependence on other parts of the world. Paracetamol became scarce in the coronavirus crisis. Our dependence on Russian gas was used against us and for our economy of the future, for example, we depend on China for batteries and critical raw materials. The 21st century calls for a realignment of our priorities. The propo…

10

Jul

2023

NL Speech

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Industrial Emissions Directive - Industrial Emissions Portal - Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure - Sustainable maritime fuels (FuelEU Maritime Initiative) - Energy efficiency (recast) (joint debate - Fit for 55 and Industrial Emissions)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we in the Committee on Transport have been following this dossier very closely. Energy efficiency is a subject that is actually given far too little attention – including in the public debate – because less use is ultimately essential. We are drawing up all kinds of major strategies in Europe on how we can become less dependent, how we can produce more energy ou…

17

Apr

2023

NL Speech

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Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System - Monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transport - Carbon border adjustment mechanism - Social Climate Fund - Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System for aviation (debate)

Mr President, we are adopting a substantial package of climate legislation this week. That was a long and difficult process and my compliments to the colleagues who played a role in it. I think there are two important lessons to learn. The first lesson is that in Europe we can make far-reaching choices. Choices that will not always be popular because their impact will be felt in many sectors. But …

13

Mar

2023

NL Speech

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Energy performance of buildings (recast) (debate)

Mr President, renovating and isolating the built environment is essential. A very important task, because 40% of our energy consumption comes from that built environment, so we really have a task there for future generations. But the question we have to ask ourselves here in Parliament is whether the regulation that is being proposed is also suitable for achieving these goals. Does it work in our …

15

Feb

2023

NL Speech

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Access to strategic critical raw materials (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we have a responsibility to build a clean energy system and thus to pass on our world to our children. But we also have the responsibility for the raw materials we need to make that transition, the raw materials for our windmills, solar panels and batteries. For many years, Europe has left this to other parts of the world. 98% of rare earths come from China, and…

19

Jan

2023

NL Speech

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The Global Gateway Initiative (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, with the new Chinese Silk Road, China has been making countries dependent on it for years and strengthening its position in the world. It's going to be incredibly difficult to protect our way of life in a China-dominated world. And that while we have the responsibility for the world of our children, our economy of the future, our jobs of the future. In short, a European…

18

Jan

2023

NL Speech

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An EU strategy to boost industrial competitiveness, trade and quality jobs (debate)

Mr President, I have heard the Commissioner and many of my esteemed colleagues today say that there needs to be an answer to the US Inflation Reduction Act. I think that is fundamentally wrong. We don't have to answer. We need to strengthen our own position. In my report on industry from September last year, we called in this Parliament for a genuine European green and strategic industrial policy.…

13

Dec

2022

EN Speech

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Question Time (Commission) - “Protection of strategic infrastructure from China's influence”

Thank you, Commissioner, for the answer but for the EPP, this is not enough. I would really call for the European Commission to come forward with a European port strategy. We really need to stop the sell-out of our European ports; national intelligence services have already been warning about the risk of espionage, of sabotage, of economic dependence. But definitely for the future, we should stop …

13

Dec

2022

EN Speech

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Question Time (Commission) - “Protection of strategic infrastructure from China's influence”

Madam Commissioner, at a time in which we are blackmailed through our dependence on an autocratic third country on energy, we have to make sure that this will not happen again in the future. Unfortunately, the reality is different, because if we look at the recent decision of the German Government to accept the Chinese investment in the port of Hamburg, we see that we are facilitating this Chinese…

23

Nov

2022

NL Speech

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A truly interconnected Energy Single Market to keep bills down and companies competitive (topical debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in a changing world, people are looking for security. It is our responsibility as politicians to provide that certainty where possible. This certainty is also important in the field of energy. Energy is a public interest that we have left far too much to the market in recent years. There are three things that are important to me now. Firstly: Let's…

22

Nov

2022

NL Speech

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Resilience of critical entities (debate)

Mr President, an important piece of legislation today, because the protection of our critical infrastructure is very important. We have seen how vulnerable our energy infrastructure and our data infrastructure can be. But while we are working on this legislation here at European level, Member States are opening the back door to foreign influence. 22 European ports have joined forces with Chinese i…

15

Sep

2022

EN Speech

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Implementation of the Updated New Industrial Strategy for Europe: aligning spending to policy (continuation of debate)

Madam President, my thanks to colleagues for the debate and I also want to thank the shadow rapporteurs of the other Groups for the intense discussions we had. But in the end, we found each other. We have a broad majority for the call for a clean, competitive and resilient European industry, and that we need to be more strategic. And there are some clear messages in our reports to the Commission. …

15

Sep

2022

NL Speech

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Implementation of the Updated New Industrial Strategy for Europe: aligning spending to policy (debate)

Mr President, colleagues, as a politician, but above all as a father, I see it as my duty and my responsibility to do everything in my power to pass on the world a little better to our children. And that mission seems bigger than ever today. Our way of life on this piece of earth is under pressure. But I believe that we can do it as a European Union, if we start to think more strategically, if we …

12

Sep

2022

NL Speech

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Energy efficiency (recast) (debate)

Mr President, energy efficiency has been a neglected child in energy policy for far too long. And even now – now that we see that the bills for households and businesses are no longer payable – government leaders are still turning around each other without coming to firm agreements in the field of energy savings. And this while more efficient use of energy is really a self-evident choice: for the …

5

Jul

2022

NL Speech

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Objection pursuant to Rule 111(3): Amending the Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act and the Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act (debate)

Mr President, our common goal is to leave the world well to our children. That is why we need to achieve our climate goals. Taxonomy is an invitation to private investors: Invest in our clean energy system of the future. The taxonomy therefore specifies the conditions under which investments can have a positive impact on the climate. For nuclear energy this is quite clear, because nuclear energy p…

3

May

2022

NL Speech

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EU preparedness against cyber-attacks following Russia invasion on Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, the threat of cyberattacks on our critical infrastructure and on our economy has increased. Cybercriminals, for example, have our energy system in their sights and we know that there is a political agenda behind it. I should like to thank the Commissioner for the proposals he has made in this area. In the cyber domain, attackers are always looking for weak spots. And as a defender, y…

5

Apr

2022

NL Speech

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Trans-European energy infrastructure (debate)

Mr President, we have had nights of meetings and difficult compromises, but I would like to thank the rapporteur for the good result, and also the colleagues, the other shadow rapporteurs and, in particular, Commissioner Simson for her personal efforts – also deep into the night. And this file is really about something. It is strategic legislation, because the enormous task ahead of us in terms of…

8

Mar

2022

NL Speech

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Rising energy prices and market manipulation on the gas market (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, the political focus on cleaning up our energy system has rightly been high in recent years. But at the same time, we have left affordability and security of supply too much to the market. And that is now reflected in energy bills, at the pump and in our dependence on Russia. It is morally unacceptable for me in these black days on our continent that we contribute 600 mi…

6

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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The Council's lack of will to move the European cross-border mechanism forward (debate)

Mr President, almost 30% of the EU population lives in border regions. Regions which are often a long way from national capitals and often feel left behind by them. Today’s topic is an example of this. At the same time, these border regions are among those that benefit the most from European cooperation and experience its successes and flaws on a daily basis. Being able to cooperate with regions a…

6

Oct

2021

NL Speech

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European solutions to the rise of energy prices for businesses and consumers: the role of energy efficiency and renewable energy and the need to tackle energy poverty (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ‘Can I still pay the bill?’, that is the question that, with the coming winter, hangs like a dark cloud over very normal households. We have promised the next generations to switch to clean energy, and we have to keep that promise. But the promise of security of supply and an affordable price – a public interest – has too easily left governments alone to the market in t…