What Sara spoke about.

5 Jul

2022

NL Speech

Common European action on care (debate)

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Mr President, as a young mother, I am concerned about the safety of our children. Unfortunately, this concern is justified today. Nowhere in Europe are there as many children per caregiver as in Flanders. The workload is also unsustainable for the caregivers themselves. We invest too little in childcare and that leads to unsafe situations. However, quality and warm care, that is really where Europ…

9 Jun

2022

NL Speech

A new trade instrument to ban products made by forced labour (debate)

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Mr President, the EU must not be a market for products made through modern slavery. We must take responsibility and ban products that can be linked to forced labour. I would therefore ask you to work on this as soon as possible. After all, we know that such a ban is not only possible, but also works. We can see this in the countries that preceded us, such as the US and Canada, where tens of millio…

7 Jun

2022

EN Speech

Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System - Social Climate Fund - Carbon border adjustment mechanism - Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System for aviation - Notification under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) (joint debate – Fit for 55 (part 1))

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Madam President, colleagues. Commissioner Timmermans, we’ve always said the Green Deal should also be a social deal and we have now a unique opportunity to actually make that happen. We have to support the most vulnerable in the climate transition and at the same time make the biggest polluters pay. Now we managed to protect families from a new carbon price and we will invest EUR 44.5 billion EU f…

4 May

2022

EN Speech

The social and economic consequences for the EU of the Russian war in Ukraine - reinforcing the EU’s capacity to act (debate)

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Madam President, , Commission President, we’ve condemned the horrible and unjustified invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military forces many times before, and the European Union was highly united in its response. Severe actions were implemented, and just last plenary, this Parliament demanded an embargo on all Russian fossil fuels, including gas. However, these sanctions will not only harm the Ru…

7 Apr

2022

NL Speech

Right to repair (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, many people tell me that their aircraft are becoming less and less durable. That seems to be a gut feeling, but no, it's true. On average, devices break down 20% faster than they did 20 years ago. That is a direct attack on the environment and on people's wallets, because they always have to buy new ones. It is therefore not surprising that eight out of ten Europeans wa…

24 Nov

2021

NL Speech

The EU's role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic: how to vaccinate the world (topical debate)

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Mr President, we see that Covax is failing hopelessly. The promised surplus vaccines will not be delivered or will be delivered too late. These are often doses that we want to get rid of ourselves, because they are close to the expiry date or offer too little protection. Charity, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, does not offer a structural solution. The promised cooperation with Africa and the …

23 Nov

2021

NL Speech

Multilateral negotiations in view of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva, 30 November to 3 December 2021 (debate)

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Mr President, it is time for the WTO to take action on health and climate. To achieve this, we need to get multilateralism back on track. With the new Director-General, a trail of innovation has started, but she needs the help of the European Union to get solutions on the table. Unfortunately, the Commission remains the main obstacle in the negotiations on a suspension of the TRIPS Agreement, a po…

22 Nov

2021

NL Speech

A European strategy for critical raw materials (debate)

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The demand for critical raw materials is increasing. But how do we get those larger quantities? Let me be very clear: Mining in protected natural areas is not possible. We cannot replace or restore these rare areas. They are crucial to preserve the little we have left of European biodiversity. There is also no public support for it and that risks weakening support for our Green Deal. Colleagues wh…

20 Oct

2021

NL Speech

UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, the UK (COP26) (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we are going to the Glasgow Climate Conference with a very painful observation. With the current climate plans, the temperature rises by no less than 2.7 degrees and that is very far from the 1.5 degrees we promised in Paris. Are we serious about that? What do we say to the people who were victims of the floods this summer in Belgium and Germany, for example? Bu…

18 Oct

2021

NL Speech

Protecting workers from asbestos (debate)

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Mr President, asbestos is not a problem of the past, but of the future. In Flanders, for example, nine out of ten homes contain asbestos. Chances are that this is also the case in your home. Throughout Europe, millions of tons of asbestos are in our homes, in our schools, in our social housing. The renovation wave is the chance to remove all asbestos and make the whole of Europe asbestos-free. Fin…

18 Oct

2021

NL Speech

Farm to Fork Strategy (debate)

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Mr President, after the failure of a genuine reform of our agricultural policy, the Farm to Fork Strategy is finally good news for farmers and for nature. After all, the current model is a disaster for our climate, for biodiversity and for small farmers. With this strategy, we will expand organic farming to 25% by 2030 and also give farmers a higher income. We are halving pesticide use by 2030 and…

6 Oct

2021

NL Speech

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)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, in the long term it is clear: the best protection against increases in energy prices is more – because cheaper – renewable energy. But that's not enough. Four out of five Europeans today are concerned about rising energy bills, and they want to see solutions now. We must therefore support people who are struggling to make ends meet with a cheaper social rate for…

5 Oct

2021

NL Speech

EU Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority: ensuring a coordinated EU approach for future health crises and the role of the European Parliament in this (debate)

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Mr President, I am glad that there is a European approach to future health crises, because that is necessary. Pandemics have no boundaries. It is a good thing that we are going to invest in essential medical equipment, for example. However, HERA is not moving in the right direction and will not be a fully-fledged independent public interest agency. After the complete lack of transparency with the …

5 Oct

2021

EN Speech

The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression (continuation of debate)

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Mr President, Lukashenko has committed a coup in Belarus. Violent repression by his regime continues: political prisoners, raids on peaceful protesters, a media crackdown. These fundamental attacks on democracy must stop now. So let’s hit them where it hurts. Let’s cut off the flow of EU money to the regime with strong sanctions in crucial sectors and against companies that support the illegitimat…

14 Sep

2021

NL Speech

Presentation of the Fit for 55 package after the publication of the IPCC report (debate)

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Mr President, this is the moment of truth. There is a climate package before us today that we should have had ten years ago. You can count on the Greens to make it a success together. The ingredients are already there: We have a climate law, a big pot of money to invest and this package of climate legislation. This is certainly the merit of the Commission, but especially of the hundreds of thousan…

13 Sep

2021

NL Speech

Fair working conditions, rights and social protection for platform workers - New forms of employment linked to digital development (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, a bicycle courier is on his way to your home with a pizza, but he has an accident and no insurance. An Uber driver is immediately fired because he was not online for a while and is not entitled to a benefit. Platform workers today hardly have any protection, because they are supposedly self-employed. But colleagues, nothing is less true. However, a…

8 Jul

2021

EN Speech

Labour rights in Bangladesh (debate)

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Mr President, while Bangladesh has sent in its action plan, the European Parliament has until now received zero information on the contents of the final roadmap on labour rights. That is unacceptable. The Bangladesh Accord – the voluntary programme that made factories safer after the Rana Plaza disaster – is expiring. Without clear commitments, we risk ending up with nothing, exposing workers yet …