What Michiel spoke about.

13

Mar

2023

NL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

The Netherlands will go to the polls on Wednesday. On Wednesday we will take stock of 12 years of Prime Minister Rutte. People at home are wondering: Am I better off now than I was 12 years ago? Is the Netherlands a better place? Does the Netherlands want to continue with uncontrolled immigration, tax increases, a higher energy bill, increasing debt and suffocating EU rules? Then the choice is cle…

15

Feb

2023

NL Speech

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European Central Bank - annual report 2022 (debate)

President Lagarde, inflation rose to 5% in 2021. We warned time and time again that everything is getting more expensive and that savings and pensions are evaporating. To keep Southern Europe's debt affordable, the ECB kept interest rates negative for as long as possible and continued to buy up sovereign debt. Mrs. Lagarde, you did nothing against inflation. In fact, you threw oil on the fire and …

14

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Amendments to the European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIFs) Regulation (debate)

Mr President, the European Common Market has shown that free peoples and free countries can work together, freely and voluntarily, in areas of trade and economic development to improve the lives of our citizens. Tomorrow is an important day that will mark a new milestone for that Common Market – a new building block for a genuine capital markets Union. European long-term investment funds, ELTIFs, …

14

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Amendments to the European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIFs) Regulation (debate)

Mr President, tomorrow, I hope and trust the European Parliament will vote for the regulatory reform of the European long—term investments funds, commonly known as ELTIFs. The European Parliament has been working on the ELTIF reform for over a year now and, as rapporteur, I am delighted that the result of the negotiations is a reason for celebration: celebration for our common efforts and joint su…

13

Feb

2023

NL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, since 2019, citizens have been experiencing the climate agenda of Commissioner Frans Timmermans, the European Green Deal: an agenda of carbon taxes and increasingly stringent climate and environmental laws that stifle farmers and citizens. In the Netherlands, a red-green syndicate has now emerged that is of the opinion that this does not go far enough. This syndicate advocates even m…

1

Feb

2023

NL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, on the night of 20 to 21 July 2020, French President Macron’s plane was running hot at Brussels airport. Negotiations on the European Covid-19 Emergency Fund are over. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said no. The Netherlands refuses to pay for an EU recovery plan. But then it happens! The phone of European Council President Charles Michel rings. It's Prime Minister Rutte. On the orders of …

18

Jan

2023

NL Speech

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 15 December 2022 (continuation of debate)

Mr President, the statements of CEO Peter Berdowski of the successful Dutch company Boskalis hit the Netherlands like a bomb. Far-reaching laws and regulations make it increasingly difficult for companies such as Boskalis to do business and they threaten to leave. Well, it is mainly the Netherlands that once again suffers from its guideland gland, by implementing the Corporate Social Responsibilit…

16

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, social media enriches our lives in many ways. People are more connected than ever. However, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Algorithms that make us see funny cats, shallow celebrities, pie-eating contests, mediocre influencers and fake news. While at the same time Chinese children see educational videos, science experiments and successful patriots. Colleagues we need to talk …

16

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Rules to prevent the misuse of shell entities for tax purposes (debate)

Mr President, establishing rules to prevent the misuse of shell entities for tax purposes is something that most people will agree on is a good thing. Shell entities operating out of Europe are demonstrated to cost the tax authorities roughly EUR 20 billion per year. In addition to the financial costs, when we talk about the misuse of shell entities, we target a wide range of economic and organise…

16

Jan

2023

NL Speech

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30th Anniversary of the Single Market (debate)

Mr President, in the 1950s and 1960s, German-American political scientist Ernst Bernhard Haas wrote about European integration. He predicted that limited economic cooperation would result in ever-increasing integration, not only in trade, but also in politics, social life and our cultures. This theory, supported by EU federalists, had intergovernmentalism as its counterpart. Inter-Governmentalists…

14

Dec

2022

NL Speech

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Upscaling the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (debate)

Mr President, when I first started in the European Parliament, a prominent former Member of this House advised me: “Traditions are there to be broken.” You can imagine that I was somewhat disappointed when I saw the title of this debate. In line with the tradition of this Parliament, we are again talking about ‘scaling up’ the multiannual financial framework. EU spending is always on the rise. Alw…

14

Dec

2022

EN Speech

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Defending the European Union against the abuse of national vetoes (debate)

Mr President, many here say that vetoes should disappear because they create a so—called ‘gridlock’ in EU decision making. May I remind you that the Member States created the EU, not the other way around? Moreover, it is only logical and legitimate that Member States are and remain in the driving seat. The problem is not the veto. The problem is that you believe it is possible to make one-size-fit…

14

Dec

2022

NL Speech

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Tackle the cost of living crisis: increase pay, tax profits, stop speculation (topical debate)

Mr President, the cost of living is skyrocketing. Inflation has become widespread in the economy. Higher wages and benefits are now being demanded here. To pay for that, many are here shouting: "Let's save the little man by taxing companies!" You still do not know that corporate tax is ultimately paid by the customer, at the cash register – a kind of hidden sales tax. Additional public support, su…

12

Dec

2022

NL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, the European Parliament building in Brussels has a stability problem and is sinking – literally – into the swamp. The renovation plans were presented last week. A megalomaniac structure made of glass and steel must pull Parliament out of the swamp and give it more allure. Costs: easily EUR 1 billion. Mr President, we are now in Strasbourg, the official seat of the European Parliament…

22

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges (debate)

Thank you for these questions, and I will try to answer them and I will try to condense them into one answer. The example I gave on medicine, I think it clearly shows that it is possible for women to choose a career and to make a career in a specific type of environment they would like to seek to make their career. But if you look at quotas, if you look at the rationale or the ideas behind quotas,…

22

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges (debate)

Madam President, coming from the financial sector, one of the companies I worked for was looking for a female director. And after a long and proactive recruitment procedure they couldn’t find a candidate. And it wasn’t just the board. The company proactively recruited women. Still, men remained overrepresented. More than three quarters of companies in the financial sector are actively trying to at…

21

Nov

2022

NL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, how much power should the European Union have? When does it end and when do we say: Enough? Since the founding of the Union, many in Parliament have been striving for more EU. Power and budgets have only increased, even after Brexit. We want a smaller, different EU. What does that mean? The starting point should be that the Member States make the EU, not the other way around. Many of…

21

Nov

2022

NL Speech

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Borrowing strategy to finance NextGenerationEU (debate)

Mr President, we have always opposed the so-called Coronavirus Recovery Fund, also known as NextGenerationEU. However, thanks to Prime Minister Rutte, the door was opened to common European debt, with the ‘Triple A’ guarantee from the Netherlands of course. However, it now appears that the feasibility, affordability and transparency of the fund are insufficient. The report shows that the Commissio…

9

Nov

2022

NL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, we cannot control the rest of our economic problems until we have inflation under control. This requires less government, less bureaucracy, less debt and less money printing. However, the Commission's plans bear witness to the opposite: more regulation, more debt and more EU. These are precisely the causes of the problems we are facing today. Citizens are faced with a very simple cho…

18

Oct

2022

NL Speech

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Keep the bills down: social and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and the introduction of a windfall tax (debate)

Mr President, “When the music stops, liquidity becomes complicated. But as long as the music is playing, you have to get up and dance. And we're still dancing.” These are the words of Chuck Prince, CEO of Citigroup, in 2007, just before the financial crisis. Today we are back on the dance floor. The people at home look at us to estimate what the music will do in a week, a month, a year. But if I l…

17

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, freedom of speech is precious. Without it, democracy would not exist. With social media, the marketplace of ideas has been enhanced in an unprecedented way. However, this comes with responsibility. Disinformation and fake news are a threat to the freedom of speech. There is a difference between information and affirmation. We can debate about differences of opinion, and in many cases…

5

Oct

2022

NL Speech

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The Dutch childcare benefit scandal, institutional racism and algorithms (debate)

Mr President, the European Parliament regularly talks about the functioning of the rule of law. According to self-proclaimed EU convert and VVD Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the EU is not only a market, but also a community of values. The prime minister is therefore often at the forefront with his criticism of Poland and Hungary. But today it's about his rule of law, about the Netherlands, about the …

12

Sep

2022

NL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, last week the European Central Bank finally raised interest rates to combat soaring inflation. Too little, too late. In the meantime, people – not only the poorest but also the middle class – have to choose: A hot shower or a hot meal. Life has become priceless. Four months ago, I stood here and warned against stagflation, the deadly combination of price rises and a stagnating econom…

5

Jul

2022

NL Speech

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EU initiatives to address the rising cost of living, including the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (debate)

Mr President! For people at home, life becomes priceless. Inflation is at its highest level in decades. The electricity bill, the gasoline price, diesel, gas and a full shopping cart in the supermarket: It's all getting more and more expensive. There are two reasons for this. The first is energy policy failure. By stubbornly adhering to utopian climate goals and ill-considered sanctions, energy pr…

4

Jul

2022

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, we’ve become accustomed to the EU’s regular condemnation of the State of Israel for allowing Jews to reside in the West Bank. The European Commission claims that this is based on international law. If that is so, why hasn’t the EU ever called any other people’s residential activities in occupied territories an international crime? We are aware that there are many territories that …