What Jan spoke about.

6

Feb

2024

NL Speech

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Plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, over time, many of the plant's natural properties, its defence mechanisms, have been crossed out of our food crops. Defense mechanisms against, for example, diseases, pests or even drought resistance. By means of classical breeding, we could regain these defence mechanisms in, for example, our plant varieties and cereals. Unfortunately, this takes decades. And t…

21

Nov

2023

NL Speech

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Sustainable use of plant protection products (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I do not know anyone who is opposed to reducing environmental impact. And I also don't know a farmer who doesn't want less pesticides to be used. It is important that we ensure that the risk of crop failure is reduced. This is not only in the interest of the farmer, but it is also in the interest of the environment and our living environment. Becau…

11

Jul

2023

NL Speech

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Nature restoration (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, no one is against nature. I grew up on a farm and grew up with nature. We need to stop biodiversity loss in Europe and in the world. So the question is not why, but how we can best restore nature. The European Commission's proposal reads great on paper, but in reality it will unnecessarily slow things down, including when it comes to nature restora…

10

May

2023

NL Speech

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The role of farmers as enablers of the green transition and a resilient agricultural sector (continuation of debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, being a farmer is not just a way of putting bread on the shelf. It's a passion, an identity. And perhaps the most important thing for farmers is the continuity of their farm. Sicco Mansholt once said: If you take a farmer off his farm, primordial forces come loose. Farmers are confronted with the challenges of the environment, nature and climate every day. They are dili…

16

Feb

2023

NL Speech

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Availability of fertilisers in the EU (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, Members, the new proposals of the Farm to Fork Strategy are being presented slowly: proposals for a new nature restoration law, sustainable use of plant protection products, the Industrial Emissions Directive, the Soil Health Directive, etc. They just leave a heavy mark on farm families. Money is often mentioned in the common agricultural policy as compensation for this…

14

Feb

2023

NL Speech

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CO2 emission standards for cars and vans (debate)

Mr President, first of all I would like to thank the shadow rapporteurs who have conducted these negotiations with me. I would also like to thank all the colleagues who have spoken here today in this debate. I want to start by debunking perhaps a myth. Indeed, quite a few colleagues have said that they want to make room for the hydrogen cars, which is included in this proposal. I think it's import…

14

Feb

2023

NL Speech

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CO2 emission standards for cars and vans (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. It was a great honour for me to lead these negotiations on behalf of the European Parliament. This regulation is the first in the Fit for 55 package where the European Parliament has reached an agreement with the Member States and the European Commission. The negotiations ended on 27 October 2022 and in the meantime the Council of Ministers also ap…

9

Nov

2022

NL Speech

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Communication on ensuring availability and affordability of fertilisers (debate)

Mr President, ensuring the availability and affordability of fertilisers is not only in the farmer's interest. In addition to high energy prices, food prices are also a major driver of inflation in the European Union. Nevertheless, the Communication does not include a concrete commitment to increase the use of RENURE beyond the standard for the use of livestock manure. Only with such a commitment …

6

Oct

2022

NL Speech

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The urgent need for an EU strategy on fertilisers to ensure food security in Europe (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, fertiliser is essential for our food production. High fertilizer prices have also led to high food prices. At the same time, the fertilizer industry is one of the largest emitters of CO2 in Europe, and one tonne of fertilizer requires more than a thousand cubic meters of natural gas. It is time to look at alternatives. As far as I am concerned, the…

8

Jun

2022

EN Speech

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CO2 emission standards for cars and vans (A9-0150/2022 - Jan Huitema) (vote)

Mr President, I’m very relieved and happy with the outcome. I think it’s a good compromise. And so I would like to request that the report is referred back to the Committee for interinstitutional negotiations based on Rule 59(4) of the Rules of Procedure.…

7

Jun

2022

NL Speech

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Binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States (Effort Sharing Regulation) - Land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) - CO2 emission standards for cars and vans (joint debate – Fit for 55 (part 2))

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, many people are concerned about the climate and so am I. I'm very worried about that, too. I support the Paris Agreement and I also voted for the Green Deal to be climate neutral by 2050. In addition, as the European Union, we must be less dependent on energy imports. What the war in Ukraine is now showing is that we cannot supply ourselves with en…

4

Apr

2022

NL Speech

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Future of fisheries in the Channel, North Sea, Irish Sea and Atlantic Ocean (debate)

Mr President, Commissioners, ladies and gentlemen, Brexit has hit our fishermen hard. As part of the Brexit deal, European fishermen have to give up as much as 25 percent of their quota in British waters. In return, our fishermen should be given stability and future prospects. But this is not always the case! We must prevent our fishermen from becoming the toy of international relations. All fishe…

23

Mar

2022

NL Speech

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Need for an urgent EU action plan to ensure food security inside and outside the EU in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, thank you for the communication on food security in the world, which describes the seriousness of the situation in a good way. First of all, for Ukraine itself: I am very pleased that the communication provides emergency aid and assistance to Ukraine. Secondly, for food-importing countries: that we, with our knowledge and expertise and also emergency aid, that the Europ…

23

Nov

2021

NL Speech

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Common agricultural policy - support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States and financed by the EAGF and by the EAFRD - Common agricultural policy: financing, management and monitoring - Common agricultural policy – amendment of the CMO and other regulations (debate)

Mr President, there are several roads that lead to Rome. This is also the case with the greening of agriculture. Every road is different, every farm is different, every farmer is different. Brussels must set the goal, but the road to it is the farmer's responsibility. He knows his country, he knows his animals and he knows the local conditions best. I am pleased that, for the first time in the his…

18

Oct

2021

NL Speech

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Farm to Fork Strategy (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European Commission presented the objectives of the Farm to Fork Strategy before the impact assessment was known. It now appears that we as the European Union are becoming more dependent on other countries in terms of our primary necessities of life (namely food). And that while food prices are already rising and more and more agricultural land…

14

Sep

2021

NL Speech

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

Mr President, I think it is extremely important that we make political decisions on the basis of scientific facts. I therefore think it is a very good thing that there is an international working group of climate scientists that advises us. It is clear that climate change is caused by humans and poses a major threat to humans, animals and the environment. The latest report indicates that the green…