What Jeroen spoke about.

22

Nov

2021

EN Speech

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Introduction of a European social security pass for improving the digital enforcement of social security rights and fair mobility (debate)

Mr President, thank you Commissioner. Next month we will be celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Commission’s proposal for the revision of social security coordination. It is not exactly a reason to pop the champagne, however, because after five years we still haven’t found an agreement on the topic. So luckily, the work on this oral question and the resolution went a lot faster, which shows, …

10

Nov

2021

EN Speech

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The escalating humanitarian crisis on the EU-Belarusian border, in particular in Poland (debate)

Madam President, what we are witnessing at the eastern borders of the European Union is not only a humanitarian or a migration crisis; it is hybrid warfare, unleashed by a cynical dictator because the EU will rightfully not recognise his unelected regime. We can never give in to this kind of blackmail. We need to make it very clear to Lukashenko that he will never be the one to decide who enters t…

19

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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The Rule of law crisis in Poland and the primacy of EU law (debate)

Mr President, there once was a man in Poland who wrote a book about EU law, and he explained very convincingly the principle of primacy of European law. That man later turned to politics, became prime minister and joins us here today. And to my surprise, claims exactly the opposite of what he wrote before. Now, Prime Minister, the law hasn’t really changed since you wrote your book. The only thing…

7

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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European Union Agency for Asylum (debate)

Mr President, let me start by congratulating the rapporteur and the shadows for this excellent result. And there are two reasons mainly why I’m very happy with this agreement. First of all, because 10 years after its creation, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) will now finally become the full-fledged EU agency for asylum that it needs to be. And I think the migration crisis was a watershed…

5

Oct

2021

NL Speech

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The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is important to continue to express our horror at the Lukashenko regime. The people of Belarus long for freedom, democracy and justice, but are left with torture, censorship and dictatorship. They deserve our help. It is therefore crucial that we as Europe continue to support all democratic forces in Belarus to secure free and fair elections. It…

4

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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Artificial intelligence in criminal law and its use by the police and judicial authorities in criminal matters (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, new technologies often bring enormous opportunities and benefits. But at the same time, we also see often that they provide new avenues for organised crime. It was true for the internet, it is certainly also true for artificial intelligence and machine learning. And at the same time, these technologies can also help us to have huge potential in helping …

15

Sep

2021

EN Speech

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Media freedom and further deterioration of the Rule of law in Poland (debate)

Madam President, free and independent media and an independent judiciary are key foundations of any democracy. It is always strictly demanded from candidate countries before they can join the EU, and it’s the absolute minimum that we should expect of our Member States. Sadly, it’s this absolute minimum that the Polish Government consistently fails to meet. And this new draft bill, the so-called Le…

15

Sep

2021

NL Speech

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The Pegasus spyware scandal (debate)

Mr President, technological and digital developments can be extremely important under strict conditions to tackle crime and protect our society from criminals. But then it is crucial that such technology is not used unlawfully or arbitrarily. That's exactly what we're talking about here today. We have been able to read a lot about Pegasus and we can be grateful for the work of, among others, The C…

7

Jul

2021

EN Speech

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State of play of the implementation of the EU Digital COVID Certificate regulations (debate)

Mr President, it’s not often as a Member of the European Parliament that you can very concretely and personally scrutinise the fruits of our labour. But with this COVID certificate, we actually can because I got my second vaccination last Monday, I already did a test on Monday in order to travel to Strasbourg, and on Tuesday morning both were very nicely uploaded to the app on my phone. So I am ha…

7

Jul

2021

NL Speech

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Breaches of EU law and of the rights of LGBTIQ citizens in Hungary as a result of the adopted legal changes in the Hungarian Parliament - The outcome of 22 June hearings under Article 7(1) of the TEU regarding Poland and Hungary (debate)

Mr President, I would like to start this debate on the rule of law with the shocking event that took place last night in the Netherlands. Journalist Peter R. de Vries was shot during a cowardly attack yesterday and is currently fighting for his life. This is not only a shocking attack on him, but also on our rule of law in a broad sense. Our thoughts go out to Peter R. de Vries and his loved ones …

6

Jul

2021

EN Speech

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Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2021-2027 - Integrated Border Management Fund: Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy 2021-2027 (debate)

Madam President, dear Commissioner, year after year, survey after survey, we know that migration is one of the topics that is most important to our citizens, a topic that Europeans expect the European Union to take seriously and to address at European level. This new fund for asylum, migration and integration is a very important first step to show that we have received that message. We tripled the…