What Anna spoke about.

7

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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2025 Commission report on Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, we often talk about how impressive it is that Ukraine defends itself against Russian aggression, and rightly so. But what is also impressive is Anastasiia. She's a Ukrainian woman who built a life for herself in the EU; she's a real powerhouse. She even started a foundation that connects Ukrainian women from all over Europe – from Bulgaria to the Netherlands. They exchange on how it …

17

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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Protecting children’s safety and mental health from the risks posed by social media – our duty to act now (debate)

Madam President, beautiful, perfect bodies and sun-kissed holidays, all paid for by exciting jobs. This is the world that teenagers – and us as well – see every day on our phones. It is so close and in reach that we believe we can reach it. For a change, I'm not just talking about girls; I'm also talking about boys, because social media is terrible, horrible for their mental health as well. Boys w…

16

Jun

2026

NL Question

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An EU future for the Western Balkans (joint debate)

16

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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An EU future for the Western Balkans (joint debate)

Madam President, what is Vjosa-Narta? For Albanians, it is a place where their grandparents fished. It is a place where the first saw flamingos or where they dream of taking their children one day. For Edi Rama, it is a piggy bank being smashed open to be enjoyed by him and his friends. And his friends are Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and they do not care about concreting over rivers or killing…

20

May

2026

EN Speech

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Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan following the Taliban's adoption of the Criminal Procedure Code for Courts

Mr President, the wind in your hair, the sun on your face and laughing with your friends while listening to stories – this is all possible in Afghanistan, but not for women. Women may not speak and may not hear each other's voices. Their skin may not feel the sun. Their lungs may not breathe fresh air. Afghan women are forced to cover their hair and faces, forced to be invisible. And we often call…

20

May

2026

EN Speech

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Advancing towards a care society: addressing the gender care gap (debate)

Mr President, when a man gets up at 5 a.m. and he hustles and grinds until 11 p.m., we call him an entrepreneur. And he starts a podcast about it. When a woman does it, we say, 'Happy Mother's Day!' In the Netherlands, compared to 20 years ago, women are doing 15 hours more paid work per week. Compare that to how much more housework men do per week: 24 minutes. A man working full-time is called a …

19

May

2026

EN Speech

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EU governance under pressure – institutional responses to global challenges (debate)

Mr President, we are wasting money on defence. Our armies are big enough to be expensive, but too small and fragmented to keep us safe. I am critical of this waste of money because every euro that we spend on defence is a euro less on schools, on hospitals, on housing. So, if we spend money, let's spend it wisely. We can do so by building a European army. We stop spending money insufficiently on 2…

30

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Women’s entrepreneurship in rural and island areas and outermost regions (debate)

Madam President, last year I saw the future of the countryside through the eyes of a Dutch farmer named Noortje. And Noortje is not just a farmer; she's a pioneer. Alongside taking care of her cows, she grows chickpeas, she restores nature on her land, supports pollinator research and hosts a day-care facility – right on her land. Her farm is the perfect example – perfect blueprint – for diversifi…

29

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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The need for targeted criminal provisions and platforms’ responsibility to effectively address cyberbullying and online harassment (debate)

Madam President, billions to create addictive and inescapable online worlds; pennies to deal with the fallout of it. Tech companies have spent fortunes tweaking algorithms, targeting even more younger users and creating the most eye‑catching online worlds. But the moment their users are there, they are on their own. Unrestricted cyberbullying? 'Nothing to do with me', says Zuckerberg. Or a harassm…

28

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2024 and 2025 (debate)

Mr President, I should like to thank everyone for your input, and I'm happy to realise that there is a broad majority in the centre that I can work with. But a lot of people have shouted at me today, at us, and there were a lot of allegations made today. Apparently, I have never loved my homeland, I am in the hand of Islam, I don't care about Christians, I don't care about children or women, I wan…

28

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2024 and 2025 (debate)

Mr President, 'Love thy neighbour', 'I am because we are', 'All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights' – whether it comes from the Bible, Ubuntu or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, our shared humanity is an obvious truth. And when we call the shared humanity 'fundamental rights', we build a home for all Europeans to live in. But now, there are some who want to destro…

27

Apr

2026

EN Question

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Importance of consent-based rape legislation in the EU (debate)

Well, this is a new level! When we are talking about rape, putting the blame on women themselves, to make radical feminism to blame for rape happening. That is crazy. But I hear your issue – you have a problem with the definition. Well, let's talk about the definition. Right now we have talked about it, we have seen an investigation of CNN talking about this 'rape academy'. What happened after? It…

9

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Gender pay and pension gap in the EU: state of play, challenges and the way forward, and developing guidelines for the better evaluation and fairer remuneration of work in female-dominated sectors (debate)

Madam President, do you want to be a mother and still earn good money? I hope you're good at TikTok, because right now it's 'mumfluencers' who are the only women who get rich after being a mum just for being a mum. If you're a mother today, your income will decline by 8 % compared to a woman who does not have children. This is what we call the 'motherhood penalty'. But for the dads in the room, do…

11

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Systemic oppression, inhumane conditions and arbitrary detentions by the regime in Iran

Mr President, thousands and thousands killed in Iran. Tens of thousands in prison, fearing execution or rape, which does happen. Are you shocked by the rising numbers or do you just feel numb? We owe it to the people of Iran to see the stories behind the statistics – the nurses helping wounded people and getting arrested, the mothers paying prisons not for the freedom of their daughters, but just …

10

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Spain’s large-scale regularisation policy and its impact on the Schengen Area and EU migration policy (debate)

Mr President, Italy blocks rescues at sea while bringing in half a million foreign workers. Greece stops asylum applications while recruiting thousands of workers. And the Netherlands says, 'Our country is full', while employers fear that there is a labour shortage. Politicians love to put the negative sides of migration centre stage. And also I cannot believe what I heard – some of the accusation…

10

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Presentation of the action plan against cyberbullying (debate)

Mr President, the online world is not safe for young people, so I want to thank the Commission for taking action. But digital safety is not a gender-neutral issue. Girls are targeted more: 99 % of deepfakes target women. We need more education, especially for young boys. They need to learn that online culture can normalise abuse; how deepfakes or the sharing of intimate videos can cause permanent …

9

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, I grew up being a strong believer in international law, but now I see this might have been an idle hope. We live in a Trumpian world where only power seems to matter. We used to abide by international law, but only when the US wanted it. These times are scary, but let me be clear: we don't have to stand by and watch. I want to address our prime ministers and presidents directly: you …

21

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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Restoring control of migration: returns, visa policy and third-country cooperation (topical debate)

Mr President, kidnappings on the streets, people being dragged from their homes and their cars, and innocent protesters being shot dead by masked men with absolute immunity: this is migration policy today in America. We are here in Europe and we have not yet sunk this deep, but I am worried that we're moving towards that direction. It's always harsher, tougher, stronger. Let's be honest: we have t…

16

Dec

2025

NL Question

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European Citizens’ Initiative ‘My voice, my choice: for safe and accessible abortion’ (debate)

15

Dec

2025

EN Speech

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Amending certain CAP Regulations as regards the conditionality system, types of intervention in the form of direct payment, types of intervention in certain sectors and rural development and annual performance reports, data and interoperability governance, suspensions of payments annual performance clearance and controls and penalties (debate)

Madam President, farmers are taking to the streets in Brussels once again because Brussels fails to deliver. Taking away bureaucracy is good, but there is such a hyper-focus on simplification that I fear we will fail them once again. Farmers ask for fair income and good contracts. And what do they get? Political theatre such as a veggie burger ban. Farmers don't need culture wars – they need barga…

24

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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Ensuring faster registration and uptake of biological control agents (short presentation)

Madam President, more biodiversity in our countryside, fewer chemicals in our food and water, and safer work environments for all European farmers – this could be our future. A pesticide-free Europe, one where biological control agents take the place of chemical pesticides. They give the same food security, but with far fewer risks. Over the last few months, we have worked on a report with several…

23

Oct

2025

EN Answer

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Combating violence against women and girls, including the exploitation of motherhood (debate)

Looking at cyberbullying, it is a real problem here, and one of the main issues is that there is no harmonised definition, so every country looks at it differently. That makes it very easy for platforms to get out of it: 'We don't classify this as bullying or violence against women, so we won't tackle it.' Also, looking at the fact that content moderation is something that platforms do not feel th…

23

Oct

2025

EN Answer

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Combating violence against women and girls, including the exploitation of motherhood (debate)

I will answer your question, but I have to say, what I noticed is that all the debates at this moment come from parties that are very conservative, and they are claiming that women are victims of choices they make themselves, victims of migrants. Although if we look at what the problem is, there are so many more problems: the rape of women, issues within their private households. So the problems t…

23

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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Combating violence against women and girls, including the exploitation of motherhood (debate)

Madam President, a YouTube channel where AI-generated women beg for their lives before being shot in the head, a Facebook group where men share intimate videos of their partners, and deepfake pornography of female politicians and journalists. This is all real, and it's all chilling, and the list is much, much longer. We are all shocked when we hear this, but then after a while, the urgency fades a…

9

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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

Mr President, am I less of a human? I have fewer places in the world where I can walk safely. If I love someone, I accept that I also fear them. Even my body is never fully my own. This comes with being a woman. And yet people tell me, 'Slow down. This rise in women hatred will pass. And then you can take your final steps to equality. Just wait.' Just wait? 1 in 3 women experience sexual or physic…