What Kim spoke about.

12 Mar

2025

EN Answer

EU Consumers Day: filling the gaps in protecting 440 million consumers in the EU (debate)

Watch

Thank you for this question. I think there are very important decisions to be made around what we do with these companies. I think that they are very harmful. I think that these companies are a danger to our democracy and to our health and to our societies as a whole. That's why I think it is very important that we start doing a cost-benefit analysis on what these companies actually bring to the E…

12 Mar

2025

EN Speech

EU Consumers Day: filling the gaps in protecting 440 million consumers in the EU (debate)

Watch

Mr President, today we celebrate consumer protection in the EU. But when I look at addictive apps like TikTok, Tinder, Instagram and Netflix, I don't see so much to celebrate. Too many platforms and websites manipulate consumers into spending time and attention there. This is one of the challenges of our time. Nearly everyone – children, youngsters, students, adults and grandparents alike – feels …

12 Mar

2025

EN Question

Adoption of the proposal for a Parenthood Regulation (debate)

Watch

You are the umpteenth person talking about ideology today, and saying that you're worried about ideology going over biology. And I just want to ask you: what do you mean by this? Because in the animal kingdom we have swans, ducks, geese, dolphins, bisons, giraffes, lions, bats, elephants, whales, monkeys, sheep, hyaena, lizards, dragonflies – and this is a non-exhaustive list – that are also homos…

12 Mar

2025

EN Speech

Adoption of the proposal for a Parenthood Regulation (debate)

Watch

Madam President, dear colleagues, I hope we all agree family life shouldn't be a privilege, let alone something that we deprive a child of, and the same goes for the rights of free movement. Unfortunately, right now, this does not reflect the situation of many rainbow families. When a child in Europe has two mothers or two fathers and moves to another country, from one minute to the other, they ca…

13 Feb

2025

EN Speech

Cross-border recognition of civil status documents of same-sex couples and their children within the territory of the EU (debate)

Watch

Madam President, dear colleagues, this summer I am getting married and I honestly can't wait to call my beautiful fiancée my wife. I can't wait to celebrate with all our friends and family and use our legal rights to be recognised as partners for life. And two weeks later, one of my best friends is also getting married and I know he is as excited as me to tie the knot with his girlfriend. But the …

12 Feb

2025

NL Speech

Silent crisis: the mental health of Europe’s youth (debate)

Watch

Mr President, Commissioner, depression, anxiety, stress, sleep problems, low self-esteem, loneliness, poorer emotion regulation, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, overstimulation, burnout, attention disorders, impulsivity, worse memory and even impact on the development of your eyes. If you, as a young person, have characteristics of a smartphone addiction or excessive screen use, these are the possib…

21 Jan

2025

EN Speech

Need to enforce the Digital Services Act to protect democracy on social media platforms including against foreign interference and biased algorithms (debate)

Watch

Madam President, in this unstable world, we need a strong Europe. We need to stand on our own two feet and that is why, Commissioner Virkkunen, I ask you to be loud and clear on enforcing the DSA. Because types like Trump, Putin, Musk thrive if the EU is polarised, divided and therefore weakened. And we all carry their favourite weapon to influence us in our pockets and stare at it for hours a day…

17 Dec

2024

EN Speech

Misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, such as TikTok, and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe (debate)

Watch

For the first time in Europe, in Romania, elections were annulled because of online foreign interference via TikTok. We need to wake up. Hyper-personalised recommender systems based on clicks and interaction are a threat to our democracy and national security. Whoever knows how to play them can manipulate the information people get to see online. Big fear mongering or extreme narratives – platform…

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 Colleagues, I want to protect children. Unfortunately, we see a trend in Europe where politicians undermine the rule of law, take away basic human rights, and then use the LGBTQ+ community as a diversion tactic: they spread hate about us to disguise corruption, to hide their silencing of civil society or simply just hoping to win elections. But censoring knowledge on gender i…

24 Oct

2024

NL Speech

Abuse of new technologies to manipulate and radicalise young people through hate speech and antidemocratic discourse (debate)

Watch

Mr President, walk into an average school class and most boys have some content online. manfluencers They see it, and they are impressed by it. They also come tradwives More and more online, and of course they glorify a worldview in which women are subordinate to men. We also see that the acceptance of the LGBTI community has fallen drastically. Is this a coincidence or is it our own fault? The al…

23 Oct

2024

EN Speech

U-turn on EU bureaucracy: the need to axe unnecessary burdens and reporting to unleash competitiveness and innovation (topical debate)

Watch

Mr President, colleagues, can the EU do with less bureaucracy? Absolutely, yes. Two examples: we could implement the 'once only' principle so that companies and others only have to report information once, and getting access to EU funds for small youth organisations or social economy actors should be made a lot easier. Slashing climate and nature laws, human rights obligations or data protection –…

21 Oct

2024

EN Speech

Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU citizens (debate)

Watch

Madam President, dear Mr Letta, you stated in your report that further development of the single market can only be successful if it includes a genuine social dimension that ensures social justice and cohesion. I couldn't agree more. In the coming years, we will invest massively to make our industry greener and more competitive. And these public investments can't be blank cheques. They have to com…

9 Oct

2024

EN Speech

Ensuring sustainable, decent and affordable housing in Europe - encouraging investment, private property and public housing programmes (debate)

Watch

Mr President, in January 2021, as rapporteur of the European Parliament's report on access to decent and affordable housing, I called on the EU to address the housing crisis, to treat the right to housing as the human right that it is. And I'm happy to see that we have made some progress. We are now working towards ending homelessness, and we made sure cities can combat illegal rentals on Airbnb. …

19 Sep

2024

EN Speech

The historic CJEU ruling on the Apple state aid case and its consequences (debate)

Watch

Mr President, Commissioner, last week, the Court of Justice sent a clear message: Apple is not above the law. Apple has to pay the EUR 13 billion of taxes they owe, just like any other business. But somehow Apple still thinks they are more special than other companies. Their latest tantrum? They won't release their artificial intelligence in Europe because of the AI Act and other rules – rules wri…

17 Sep

2024

EN Speech

Global measures towards social media platforms - Strengthening the role of DSA and protecting democracy and freedom in the online sphere (debate)

Watch

Mr President, dear Commissioner, big social media platforms have become our main space for public debates. And because we did nothing for a very long time, the algorithms of a few powerful, money-hungry corporations are now the referees of this debate. And their only goal is to keep us online as long as possible. But last year the DSA entered into force and we hoped we would see a big change: that…

24 Apr

2024

EN Speech

The anti-LGBTIQ bill passed by the Ghanaian parliament with implications for human rights, freedom of expression and democratic principles (debate)

Watch

Mr President, dear colleagues, dear Commissioner, a year ago we adopted a resolution calling on universal decriminalisation of homosexuality and transgender people after the horrendous law in Uganda was adopted. We are standing here today because another horrible law was adopted, this time in Ghana. And we are seeing that the anti-gender movement, the movement that is against the democratic value …

24 Apr

2024

EN Speech

La Hulpe declaration on the future of social Europe (debate)

Watch

Mr President, the EU’s top five billionaires have seen their wealth almost double since 2020, from EUR 244 billion to EUR 429 billion. Meanwhile, many struggled to afford housing or basic necessities in Europe. And we can’t accept this gap growing wider and wider between the have-too-much and the have-nots. But I’m very proud that strides towards a more social Europe were made in the past five yea…

22 Apr

2024

NL Speech

Common rules promoting the repair of goods (debate)

Watch

Do you have to recharge your phone at lunchtime? Is there a crack in your screen or can you no longer download apps because your device no longer allows updates after a few years? Let's just buy a new phone. That's pretty much the only option Apple or Samsung are giving you right now. Phones and other products are made in such a way that they are difficult to repair and if possible, buying a new d…

13 Mar

2024

EN Speech

Rising anti-LGBTIQ rhetoric and violence: recent attacks in Thessaloniki (debate)

Watch

Mr President, I stand here today in solidarity with the victims of the attacks last Saturday. One of whom was attacked again only two days later. In solidarity with a community that has sadly seen a sharp rise in violence for over a decade. In solidarity with all victims of hate speech. Please know that you are seen, know that you are loved, know that you deserve to walk on the streets and be safe…

12 Mar

2024

EN Speech

Artificial Intelligence Act (debate)

Watch

Mr President, colleagues, let’s first state what this is: this vote is a revolutionary step, and from left to right, we bridged our differences – and there were some – and we fought together an unprecedented lobby against rules. Today, the EU is taking the lead worldwide with binding rules for artificial intelligence, including for ChatGPT. And with clear rules on how to design and use AI, we’re p…

11 Mar

2024

EN Speech

Substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims (Green Claims Directive) (debate)

Watch

Mr President, plastic-free, no palm oil, free from recycled plastic, carbon neutral – walking around in a supermarket, you could easily think that most products are sustainable already. And that is why 61 % of consumers find it difficult to know which products are the best for the environment. And their intuition is correct, because 50 % of green claims are vague or misleading. Companies are abusi…

11 Mar

2024

EN Speech

Order of business

Watch

Madam President, we want to stand in firm solidarity with the victims of last weekend’s attacks, so we don’t accept the proposal.

11 Mar

2024

EN Speech

Order of business

Watch

Madam President, this past Saturday, two people were violently attacked in Thessaloniki by a mob of close to 200 people, including minors. Only because they were trans, they had to fear for their lives and flee into a restaurant where they then again were attacked. And from here I want to state our solidarity with the victims. And I wish this was just one attack, but unfortunately, this is a trend…

28 Feb

2024

EN Speech

Data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services (debate)

Watch

Madam President, I think this debate has made very clear that there is very strong support for this regulation, and that the impact of the growth of short-term rentals is a concern shared by many colleagues here in the House. So let me take the opportunity of this debate to raise one point concerning market access requirements. Whilst market access requirements – and therefore the interpretation o…

28 Feb

2024

EN Speech

Data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, we all know the wonderful and well-crafted founding myth of Airbnb – the dream of having your own bed and breakfast, even if just an air mattress in your apartment. And, sure, short-term rentals created opportunities, be it for the development of tourism in areas that were previously unfindable in tourist guides or by providing hosting alternatives t…