What Reinier spoke about.

10

Feb

2026

EN Question

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European response to the attacks on the Ukrainian energy system causing a humanitarian crisis (debate)

Mr Groothuis, I know you as a strong supporter for Ukraine and your call for stop with being complacent and us needing to be more busy with ourselves, it appeals to me. I also share your frustration towards some of the countries who put petty politics before support for Ukraine. But my question to you is, if we look at ourselves and we want to be busy with ourselves, what other steps can we take t…

10

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Building a stronger European defence in light of an increasingly volatile international environment (debate)

Madam President, 'keep dreaming', Mark Rutte said. 'If you think Europe can ever defend itself without the US, keep dreaming'. Sure, we were asleep for too long, but this vision leads nowhere. Centuries ago, the Netherlands was seven little provinces, surrounded by threats, too weak to stand against them, dependent on protection from unreliable allies. And these seven provinces united and created …

9

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, in three months, on 9 May, we celebrate Europe Day. And we could be launching the largest democratic revolution in the history of Europe. 'Europe' – that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We cannot be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. We can build the United States of Europe, because Europe is a beautiful place worth…

22

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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Drones and new systems of warfare – the EU’s need to adapt to be fit for today’s security challenges (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, around ten years ago Volt was founded. Since then, we've called for a European army. Since then, people have called us naive. Naive when we said that hiding behind the US was not an appropriate defence strategy. But now Putin's drones fly over Europe, the American noose tightens over Greenland and NATO is crumbling. And the only naive thing is thinking that we can go…

21

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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European Council meeting (joint debate)

Madam President, 'the old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters.' This quote from an Italian philosopher about changing times is very fitting. To navigate these times, Europe doesn't have to be a monster or a victim. All we have to do is unite – unite and take responsibility for bringing about a new and better world order, together with partners like C…

20

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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Territorial integrity and sovereignty of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark: the need for a united EU response to US blackmail attempts (debate)

Mr President, President Trump is not used to asking for consent, and the Government of the USA does not believe in international law: they only listen to force. And in a world of force, Europe can be a force of good. So, after a year of ass-kissing, it's time to change strategy because Europe also has power: we are their largest trading partner. Big tech relies on our massive markets. They need mi…

20

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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Presentation of the programme of activities of the Cyprus Presidency (continuation of debate)

Madam President, colleagues, while Europe watches the frozen island of Greenland with fear, let's not forget the island of Cyprus – frozen in conflict. Dear President, the next six months are about making Europe independent. But this presidency is also a chance for more: to put Cyprus back on the map and support reconciliation between Turkish and Greek Cypriots; a chance to lead by example on gove…

20

Jan

2026

NL Speech

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Tackling AI deepfakes and sexual exploitation on social media by making full use of the EU’s digital rules (debate)

Mr Cross, this is nonsense, of course. We are talking about AI-generated deepfakes of minors that cause lifelong harm to the minors involved. Countries are too small to tackle this problem alone or force these big tech companies to create platforms that are safe for everyone. Most importantly, our entire society, including women and children, can safely use social media. For this, we need Europe m…

20

Jan

2026

NL Question

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Tackling AI deepfakes and sexual exploitation on social media by making full use of the EU’s digital rules (debate)

Mr Kruis, you are constantly telling stories about X and talking about a digital dictatorship. You say we impose censorship on the people. In some cases, that reasoning is already far-fetched, but now it really makes no sense. We have the ability to impose rules. What you argue, however, reminds me of a quote from the Dutch rapper Feis: “It is not my fault that people suffer. Even a dromedary does…

19

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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The 28th Regime: a new legal framework for innovative companies (debate)

Madam President, dear Commissioner, in Europe we plant the seeds of a business. We water the tree, we protect it from the wind and the rain. And then we let somebody else eat the fruit. Europe ends up with the seeds while the USA gets Apple. For once, let's try and act like founders with a mindset of ambition, innovation and getting things done fast. With a focus on building something truly Europe…

17

Dec

2025

EN Speech

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Cases of pro-Russian espionage in the European Parliament (debate)

Madam President, there it is, the so‑called smoking gun. A former Member of the European Parliament, Nathan Gill, admitted to spreading Russian propaganda in exchange for some money. He will spend ten years in prison in the UK. Unfortunately, he is not the only one. One former Member, Béla Kovács, fled to Russia to avoid arrest and he still lives there today. Another one was suspected of working f…

17

Dec

2025

EN Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 18-19 December 2025, in particular the need to support Ukraine, transatlantic relations and the EU’s strategic autonomy (debate)

Mr President, what do Trump, Putin, Xi and the tech autocrats have in common? They are all afraid of a united Europe and that's why they want to destroy it. The US National Security Strategy says out loud what we have known for years: they want a Europe of 27 weak nations. A classic example of divide and conquer. So we are on our own. President von der Leyen said that this is Europe's moment of in…

16

Dec

2025

EN Speech

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EU Defence Readiness (joint debate)

Mr President, finally, some concrete steps on defence readiness. This report has good proposals on how to organise and finance European defence, and Volt is happy to have included three calls to action. Firstly, strategic capabilities like satellites and missile defence must be provided by the EU. Secondly, use the same equipment and make buying it together not the exception but the rule. And thir…

15

Dec

2025

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, the EU is in a toxic relationship with Elon Musk. We are treated badly, publicly, over and over again. Musk makes bizarre accusations that the EU is 'killing' free speech, while he manipulates the algorithm to push radical content that supports his own political views, and yet we keep coming back. He breaks our laws, calls for the European Union to be abolished, and even compared us …

26

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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EU position on the proposed plan and EU engagement towards a just and lasting peace for Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, the 28-point plan was written in Kremlin handwriting while they keep killing Ukrainian civilians every single day, a complete disgrace. The gangsters leading the US and Russia try to impose a modern-day Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on Europe, a pretext for more war. One minute to midnight, Europe arrived to support Ukraine, trying to prevent a disaster. But European leaders, how much m…

25

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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Digital Package (debate)

Mr President, Christmas came early for Trump and the tech bros. The Commission aims to simplify digital rules in Europe, but gave them a digital Christmas package. Europe acts like a digital colony and gift‑wrapped its own economic downfall. We should be saying 'European Tech First', but this package says 'America First'. It creates loopholes that big tech will rip open faster than kids can rip op…

25

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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European Defence Industry Programme and a framework of measures to ensure the timely availability and supply of defence products (‘EDIP’) (debate)

Madam President, Russia is at war with us. The US is treating friends as enemies and enemies as friends. Meanwhile, our defence is fragmented into 27 small parts. In the past four years, Ukraine's heroic fights bought us time – time to get our defence in order – and now, we finally have a result. The European Defence Industrial Programme is good, but it's not enough to keep us safe. It's too small…

12

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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Condemning the illegal unilateral declaration of the secessionist entity created by Türkiye in Cyprus and the continued Turkish military occupation (debate)

Mr President, Europe will never truly be united if Cyprus remains divided. For more than half a century, Cypriots on both sides have lived on a divided island. And now, after years of stalemate, a small window of opportunity has reopened with the landslide victory of Tufan Erhurman, Turkish Cypriots sent a powerful message: they want peace, unity and a shared future in a federal Cyprus. Let me be …

22

Oct

2025

NL Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 23 October 2025 (debate)

Mr President, all you have to do is walk out and talk to someone to hear what the biggest problem is with people right now: They can't find a house. There's not enough supply. There are no owner-occupied homes, no rental properties, and what is too expensive. Now, for the first time, the European Council will meet on the housing shortage. For the first time! Living is a fundamental human right, an…

21

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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Stepping up funding for Ukraine’s reconstruction and defence: the use of Russian frozen assets (debate)

Madam President, it is time to make the aggressor pay. I have been calling for it for years and now the moment seems to finally be there: EUR 250 billion of Russian State money is frozen in European banks. It's so much money – using it can change the outcome of the war! This is our chance to help Ukraine rebuild what Russia destroyed without European taxpayers having to pay a single cent. This is …

21

Oct

2025

EN Question

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Institutional consequences of the EU enlargement negotiations (debate)

Thank you, I'm very happy to hear you say that you want to increase democratic legitimacy, that you also want to create a possibility for Europeans to elect a government – or what exactly should they elect and how can we also unelect them? I hear you talk about the goals you want to achieve with these reforms, but what would these reforms look like exactly for you to make that happen and achieve t…

21

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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Institutional consequences of the EU enlargement negotiations (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, I've been to Montenegro, Georgia, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine. For the people there, the EU is freedom, prosperity and democracy. For them, the EU equals hope. New countries joining is also good for our economy and for our security, and some of these countries are reforming incredibly fast. But the EU itself has stayed still. Colleagues, the EU is the biggest diplom…

21

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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Recent peace agreement in the Middle East and the role of the EU (debate)

Mr President, we are Europe. We should speak with one voice globally, especially when the topic is difficult. We should defend international law even when it interferes with our interests. And we should celebrate peace, no matter who helped achieve it. However, the ceasefire has already been violated, and this deal is incomplete. So, what can we do to help turn an incomplete ceasefire into lasting…

20

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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The decision to impose a fine on Google: defending press and media freedom in the EU (debate)

Mr President, so, if a thief steals EUR 60 and after a long trial a judge tells the thief 'okay, you now have to pay back EUR 3' – is that fair? Is that going to make the thief less likely to steal again? And is that going to prevent other thieves from stealing? For years, Google made a fortune knowingly breaking our laws at the expense of journalists. The recent fine of barely EUR 3 billion will …

8

Oct

2025

EN Question

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Promoting EU digital rules: protecting European sovereignty (debate)

Thank you, Mr Schwab. So, this debate is about our digital independence – a conversation we cannot have without also talking about 'chat control'. So, could I have your phone and see all the pictures and videos that you've shared with your friends, your family, your loved ones? Probably not, right? Then why would we allow strangers snooping on our phones? Because chat control proposes mass surveil…