What Raquel spoke about.

12 Nov

2025

EN Question

The new 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework: architecture and governance (debate)

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Thank you, colleague, especially for your first reaction to the colleague from ESN and for presenting such a strong pro-European voice. I listened very attentively to your speech. I am very happy that you highlight the need to work together also with our regions. And at the same time, I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed because when I look around in this room and when I look at the speakers'…

21 Oct

2025

EN Speech

Commission Work Programme 2026 (debate)

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Mr President, I really listened very carefully to the Commission President earlier this afternoon. I heard her saying that she will always listen, and I listened to her saying that she will always be open to find common solutions. I also heard her speaking of a sense of frustration among citizens, and also that in Europe we want to be 'masters of our own destiny'. And that's exactly what our regio…

21 Oct

2025

NL Question

Commission Work Programme 2026 (debate)

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It's not campaign-related at all, Mr. Berendsen, but go ahead. You are talking about future-proof economy and competitiveness. We agree, I think, that this is very important. Do you also think that our regions should be at the heart of these plans? And do you agree with me that the European Commission's current proposal for the multi-annual budget reform is, however, pushing the regions aside and …

21 Oct

2025

ES Speech

Delayed justice and rule of law backsliding in Malta, eight years after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination (debate)

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Mr President, I was going to say something else, but, Mr López Aguilar, I am surprised and very sorry that the implicit accusation of your contribution is that we are incorrectly using the tribute to Mrs Caruana Galizia to accuse the Government of Malta of something for which it is not guilty. No, no, we are here denouncing that not enough has been done to bring justice to Daphne, her children and…

21 Oct

2025

EN Speech

Delayed justice and rule of law backsliding in Malta, eight years after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination (debate)

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Mr President, thank you for allowing me the right to answer. You say that the Corruption Perceptions Index is not facts, but it is from Transparency International, the most respected index to measure corruption in its perception among citizens, which is important to us as representatives of the people. How can you say that that index does not reflect facts? What index would you like to choose inst…

21 Oct

2025

EN Question

Delayed justice and rule of law backsliding in Malta, eight years after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination (debate)

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Thank you for taking my blue card. First of all, I would like to repeat what some colleagues have said: this Parliament is not acting against the Maltese people. The Maltese people are a European people and deserve our protection, just like in any other Member State, and that's what we're doing here. And now my question: you say there is no backsliding in Malta. How do you explain that? In the Cor…

21 Oct

2025

NL Speech

Changing security landscape and the role of police at the heart of the EU’s internal security strategy (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, Mr Lenaers just said it very well: Our agents are being harassed and spit on. But how are they being harassed? Attacked? Very often this happens with explosives that have the power of a hand grenade. Explosives that are legally produced in the EU and then sold. A Cobra 6 can be found online for a pinch. It has nothing to do with fireworks. Criminals like to …

21 Oct

2025

EN Question

Changing security landscape and the role of police at the heart of the EU’s internal security strategy (debate)

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Thank you, colleague Düpont, for taking this blue card. I am sure that you are also very familiar with the latest terrorist threat report – also from Europol from last year. We both share the concern that radicalisation on the extreme left and the extreme right poses a security risk for our Union. So, I wanted to ask you if you agree with me that any sort of cooperation with any parties on any sid…

9 Oct

2025

NL Speech

Declaration of principles for a gender-equal society (debate)

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“Woman dies after stabbing incident in Groningen. Man arrested.’ ‘Woman shot and died in Sneek. The perpetrator: ‘Women stabbed and died in Lent. Man arrested.’ ‘Woman shot dead at home in Purmerend. Man arrested.’ ‘Deceased woman found in house in Heerlen. Man arrested.’ Five fatalities in one month, in my country, where the perpetrators were often in the picture. Femicide is a preventable epidem…

9 Oct

2025

EN Question

Declaration of principles for a gender-equal society (debate)

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Thank you, colleague – I listened very attentively to what you said; you said equal rights have been achieved in Europe, and that's a good thing. But that's a lie. It's a lie that equal rights have been achieved in Europe. There are more than 20 million European women who are forbidden by law to decide on their choices and their own bodies, because abortion is forbidden for them. Why do you lie to…

7 Oct

2025

EN Question

Situation in Afghanistan: supporting women and communities affected by the recent earthquakes (debate)

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My question is as follows. I think that you gave a very, very good description of the horrible situation in which the women of Afghanistan are at this moment. So my question to you, given your very good perception of how grave the situation is, is if you agree with me – and with the European Court of Justice – that the women of Afghanistan have the right to protection as refugees in the European U…

7 Oct

2025

EN Speech

Situation in Afghanistan: supporting women and communities affected by the recent earthquakes (debate)

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Mr President, dear Minister, Commissioner Lahbib, dear Hadja, dear colleagues, last month, an earthquake took the lives of at least 2 200 people in Afghanistan, swallowing villages whole and leaving entire communities devastated. Now imagine being a woman, a girl, in this situation, under the Taliban regime. Food and water are being handed out in the valley below your village, but you are not allo…

10 Sep

2025

EN Speech

Rule of law and EU funds management in Slovakia (debate)

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Madam President, we have heard a lot of good things tonight, and the rest, because it will be about the people, I will say it in Dutch for also the people at home. Because I want to talk about the people, the people that this is about. These are the Slovak people. I was there, in Slovakia, this summer. I spoke there with people who are fed up with Prime Minister Fico's corrupt mismanagement. Just …

10 Sep

2025

EN Speech

After 10 years, time to end mass migration now - protect our women and children (topical debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, I actually came here to have a serious debate on root causes of criminality and violence against women, but I'm not going to do that because I'm not going to legitimise this intention of this debate after what we have heard today from the extreme right to demonise entire groups of people and put them aside and put groups of people against one another. Because …

9 Sep

2025

EN Question

Cohesion policy (joint debate)

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I will speak in English. I was wondering, given your your very fierce defence of private property, which I share with you – and I wish that that we all shared those thoughts – if you're willing to defend so fiercely the good use of European funds, because that is a huge problem in Italy. The amount of fraud that there is in Italy at this moment is gigantic, and I don't see your government doing mu…

9 Sep

2025

EN Speech

Cohesion policy (joint debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, the cohesion policy is a foundational policy for our Union. We invest in our weakest link to create a stronger chain. All of our regions and all of our citizens should benefit. As times change and new challenges arise, we want and need cohesion policy to adapt and modernise. We can simplify access to funds without lowering the standards. We can strengthen…

8 Sep

2025

EN Speech

Announcement by the President

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Madam President, I would like to have a minute of your attention for the catastrophic situation unfolding as we speak, as we gather here, in Afghanistan as a result of the recent earthquakes. I am informed that EU help is already on the ground and that is something that we should all be proud of. But let me also remind you that in the four years since the fall of Kabul, we have learned one thing, …

10 Jul

2025

EN Question

European Citizens' Initiative 'Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures' (debate)

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Thank you, Madam President, for giving me the opportunity to ask the colleague the same question. I asked you to put the thing on, but I will repeat. I was very encouraged by your intervention, because I see that you do care a lot for our outermost regions and the role of the European Union in protecting our outermost regions, including the French outermost regions. But I also see that climate cha…

10 Jul

2025

EN Question

European Citizens' Initiative 'Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures' (debate)

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I will be speaking in English. Thank you, Madam President, and thank you, colleague, for your intervention. I appreciate your concern with cohesion policy and I really appreciate you mentioning the outermost regions, because the outermost regions are one of the most affected regions by climate change. And as the group of the Patriots, it's very surprising to see that you're so interested in the we…

10 Jul

2025

NL Speech

European Citizens' Initiative 'Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures' (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, as a Spaniard of birth, I have seen and experienced the transformative power of our Union's cohesion policy. Invest in every region so that every European has a fair chance of a better life. As Friezin by choice, I have recognized the importance of minority languages for your identity, for your "mienskip". As a convinced European, I am convinced that we can do more for …

9 Jul

2025

EN Answer

Alleged misuse of EU funds by Members of the far-right and measures to ensure institutional integrity (debate)

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I honestly don't think that the question of the motion of censure has anything to do with this, because in the rule of law system that we have in the European Union, no one is proven to be corrupt until that has been judged and evaluated in the proper judiciary system. And that's why the title of this debate is 'Alleged misuse of EU funds', which is not the case in the case of Ms von der Leyen.…

9 Jul

2025

EN Answer

Alleged misuse of EU funds by Members of the far-right and measures to ensure institutional integrity (debate)

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Thank you so much for the question, for returning it, because that gives us an opportunity to show citizens how we approach this matter. Of course, there are issues which have to do with the total lack of integrity of some groups in this House, and that's something we're not going to fix with an EU ethics body. I agree with you. But there are a lot of grey zones in the way that the laws are being …

9 Jul

2025

EN Speech

Alleged misuse of EU funds by Members of the far-right and measures to ensure institutional integrity (debate)

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Mr President, dear colleagues, as it has been noted already, not a week goes by without a new corruption scandal. This is indeed killing the trust of citizens in politics, in the EU, in our institutions, in our democracy. And where misappropriation of public funds is proven, those responsible should be punished accordingly. I also think that we should not spare any instruments. I do believe that w…

9 Jul

2025

EN Question

Alleged misuse of EU funds by Members of the far-right and measures to ensure institutional integrity (debate)

Watch

Thank you, colleague, for this very feisty intervention on behalf of Europeans and against the misuse of European funds. You also mentioned the role of the European Parliament and the role of the European institutions, and I believe that we have an instrument at hand which we are not using yet, which is the EU ethics body. And given that you're so serious about integrity in our institutions, I wou…

8 Jul

2025

EN Speech

2023 and 2024 reports on Bosnia and Herzegovina (debate)

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Madam President, thank you to the rapporteur and thank you, Madam Commissioner. Nearly 30 years ago, more than 8 000 men and boys were murdered in Srebrenica. The international community, including the Netherlands, failed them. This truth leaves us as Europeans and me as a Dutch politician with a debt of honour, an ereschuld, that's what we say. Today, I met a genocide survivor. He was 10 when he …