Speeches

Mr President, ‘Every worker has his own car!’ A fine statement by Joop den Uyl, Mr Timmermans. From the days when the Social Democrats were still standing up for the people. From the time when the established parties were still in the process of progress. That time is over. And the ideal of owning a car for everyone is in danger of disappearing. The VVD is now even responsible in the EU for the plan to only allow electric cars from 2035 onwards. They will always have a high purchase price due to their expensive batteries. As a result, hard-working people with a low income will no longer be able to buy a car. That will deprive millions of Dutch people of their freedom. And let me be clear. This is not an unfortunate consequence of the policy. No, that is the policy. With this EU policy, the Netherlands will become one big city. Full of prefabricated houses, full of migrants and full of wind turbines. Without farmers, without private cars and without freedom. That's the direction it's heading. I want to keep our beautiful Netherlands. I want to keep our freedom. That is why, Mr Timmermans, I will continue to oppose this agenda.

Mr President, in Sri Lanka last year the economy collapsed, there was suddenly a shortage of essential goods, there were power failures. As a result, massive unrest broke out. People were furious. And what's so interesting now: Sri Lanka had an almost perfect score of 98.1 on ESG's E. ESG stands for Environmental and Social Governance. Our climate czar Frans Timmermans is a big fan of this concept. But in Sri Lanka we see where this leads. ESG ensures that no more investments are made based on financial data such as profitability and risk. Instead, the measure is: “Is it climate neutral enough? Is it woke enough?’ Colleagues, ESG has the potential to give our innovative power, our earning capacity, our small and medium-sized enterprises – yes, even our democracy – the final blow. It could be the downfall of our economy. It's an incredible stupidity if we don't learn from Sri Lanka. Therefore, do not allow ESG to become part of the new industrial strategy. Fewer rules instead of more rules. That will boost our innovation and our business.

Mr President, once again it is about energy and once again it is rumbling in the margins. It becomes completely unbelievable for the people at home, the people who are in the cold, the people who can no longer pay the bill, the people who force you on your climate ideology, so that we now have energy shortages. Instead of committing to the well-being and safety of these people, the socialists – the biggest climate ideologues and Hungary's Bashers – are taking bribes here, not least from oil dollars from Qatar! What irony: Put on the OneLove band with one hand, and put the bribe in the bag with the other hand. You must be deeply ashamed. It is not self-interest, but the interest of 450 million EU citizens that must come first. So, stop the ideology, stop the Green Deal. Ensure that sufficient reliable and affordable energy can be produced within the EU. REPowerEU is currently only possible with more fossil and nuclear energy. I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Mr President, illegal immigration to Europe is reaching record highs. This changes the character of our continent and not necessarily for the better. We need to stop it now. As of today, the EU can already do these three things: 1. Frontex should not take immigrants to Europe, but bring them back to the country from which they left. Pushbacks must become EU policies. 2. Like Denmark, we must conclude agreements with third countries such as Rwanda. We send asylum seekers arriving in Europe to those third countries. There they await their asylum procedure. Anyone who enters Europe illegally is never welcome again. This will greatly reduce the influx. 3. Help countries that want to fight immigration. I am thinking, for example, of the courageous Italian government of Prime Minister Meloni. You can do this today, get started. And finally, because some people still have to deal with it: Laundering illegal immigration by allowing the same people to come legally from now on is not a solution to the problem.

We need to produce a lot more energy. We in Europe have phased out reliable sources of energy, in particular fossil energy, at an accelerated pace and stopped nuclear energy. This is causing major problems at the moment. Energy is a basic need that is intertwined with everything. For example, we need energy for every production process and the production of fertilizers, for example, requires gas. So we must not distort the market even further, as we did with energy production, by providing all kinds of subsidies and favouring renewable energy. Above all, we need to let the market do its job. It is precisely the intervention of the European Union, with all its ideologies, that has caused great problems. Let us let the market do its job, provide enough energy and not try to eradicate reliable sources of energy even further. That simply won't work.

Mr President, the economic crisis continues. Rising energy costs seep into the prices of all other products, from food to goods, resulting in sample inflation and a looming recession. Nevertheless, the European Council is not talking about what is actually needed in the light of the energy deficit, namely increasing supply, but about reducing energy. In Germany, all nuclear power plants will be shut down in April, and in Belgium, the same is likely to happen. In France, half of the nuclear power plants are out of service due to maintenance and in the Netherlands, gas production is being further reduced. The EU is creating a bigger energy deficit than necessary. We are in an energy crisis because most are against both their own fossil energy and nuclear energy and Russian energy. You can either get affordable and reliable energy, or woke They want a boycott of Russia. Only two of the three are possible. The energy supply, which is most important to most Europeans, is being lost. It is our job to ensure the well-being and safety of our citizens and businesses. Affordable and reliable energy is a basic need. Our only option is to use all the energy sources we have: coal, gas and nuclear energy. Citizens and businesses demand decisiveness. The European Union must get rid of its pink cloud, renounce the green ideology and guarantee energy security. (The speaker accepted a "blue card" response)

Mr President, life is becoming unaffordable for many people in Europe. The EU blames it all on Putin. His war is outrageous, but the inflation crisis is the direct result of the ill-considered energy transition. We have not invested in clean nuclear power, but in unreliable sun and wind. That makes us dependent on Putin. The rest is history. The Commission is now proposing a price cap. Lower charges are needed, but a price cap is not a long-term solution. The real problem is a lack of energy supply. That's what we need to increase. An example of how not to: Germany naively decides to shut down all nuclear power plants in April. Here is an example of how to do it: the new realistic Swedish coalition is fully committed to the construction of new nuclear power plants; the ban on restarting closed nuclear power plants will be abolished. As JA21 Group President, I would also like to congratulate our friends from Fratelli d’Italia. I am hopeful that Italy will embrace nuclear energy as well. It shows that conservative cooperation pays off. I will continue to work for this on behalf of my party.

Mr President, Mrs von der Leyen, Minister, colleagues and Commission, today we are talking about the state of the European Union and the state of the European Union is crisis, a crisis of energy. For years, this Commission and Parliament have sabotaged nuclear energy and made our own fossil production impossible. We had to and would bet on unreliable sun and wind. Now a cold winter is looming and Russia is to blame. But all self-reflection is lacking. We are also in a crisis of purchasing power. As a result of ECB policy, inflation is reaching double digits and the hard-earned money of ordinary savers is going up in smoke. The European Union has no solution. And in my view, all this stems from a much larger crisis: A crisis of national sovereignty. Almost all the problems facing the European Union today are caused by the Eurofederalist ideology of this Commission. European integration has become an end in itself. Everything has to be green and woke. For this Commission, the citizen is just a stand-in. In a Union that was only about trade, countries could each find their own solutions. What works for the Netherlands does not necessarily work for Portugal and vice versa, but in the EU that is no longer possible. The Commission draws more and more power to itself and rules by dictation. Eurofederalism leads us from one crisis to another. This is no longer possible. It is high time for a return to a Europe of sovereign countries.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, there are many areas of crisis in Europe. Increased costs have made the lives of millions of citizens within the European Union unaffordable. From energy to food, from living to care. And what did the European Council decide last week? Not that the expensive Green Deal is put on hold and that affordability and security of energy supply are prioritised. Not that the purchasing power of our citizens needs to be repaired. Not that we are focusing on extra border surveillance to stop the influx of immigrants. If only that were true! No, instead, the European Council decided to make Ukraine and Moldova candidates for membership of the European Union. They are two very poor countries that have big problems with corruption. The European Union is getting bigger, but not better. Quantity is above quality. My conclusion is that this EU does not work in the interests of its own people. At least not for the people in the Netherlands, who will eventually be presented with the bill of the sky-high Brussels ambitions.

The attempt by left-wing colleagues here to get nuclear power out of the taxonomy is irresponsible and hypocritical. Every month we meet here in Strasbourg and always the notorious opponents of nuclear energy are just here in France. Apparently, everyone feels safe enough to come here. This country has been operating safely on nuclear energy for 40 years. The same goes for the electricity in this House, and also for the electricity that you use to charge your mobile phones here. The EU's own research centre says nuclear energy is no more harmful than renewables. Nuclear power plants are constantly producing energy. It is better than sun and wind. The IPCC and the International Energy Agency also say that we need nuclear energy. The Left is selective about science. That too is irresponsible and hypocritical. Day in, day out you are advocating here to achieve your own climate goals. Then you can only take yourself seriously if you vote for nuclear energy as part of the solution.

Mr President, the European Commission wants even more immigration. With so-called ‘talent partnerships’, she will recruit low-skilled migrant workers in North Africa and the Middle East. This is a very bad idea for many reasons. No country has asked the EU for more immigration. They're just asking for less immigration. If we want to fight illegal immigration, we do not solve the problem by calling it ‘legal’. And no, labour migration does not solve ageing either: This is the logic of a pyramid scheme. Again and again, even more immigrants would be needed, at the expense of our identity, our economy and our nature. Do Europeans like this? Of course not. Even the Commission admits that naming actual numbers of migrants is ‘political suicide’. Low-skilled immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa perform statistically the worst. In no European country is the population waiting for this. I suspect that the Commission does not dare to announce a referendum on this proposal. So spare us this unholy plan.

Mr President, Mr Timmermans, Fit for 55 is the largest package of climate legislation ever. More energy taxes, a €72 billion climate fund and – thanks to the VVD – a ban on the internal combustion engine. Last year I called this package an irresponsible experiment with our economy. Meanwhile, the financial blow of the lockdowns and the Ukraine war has been added. Inflation is reaching double digits. Purchasing power decreases by the day. The European Commission has no regard for citizens and businesses and pours an avalanche of expensive climate rules over them. According to science, the cost is €5 000 billion. The result? Only four thousandths of a degree less warming. No measurable results for the climate, Mr. Timmermans. But people's lives are changing drastically and are becoming unaffordable for many. It is time for reflection and realistic policy. If we put people out in the cold, the climate will be the last thing that concerns them. Restore purchasing power and pull a line through this package.

Mr President, the social and economic consequences of the Ukraine war are great. Let's be clear: For the most part, the skyrocketing inflation is not due to the war in Ukraine. This was already the case thanks to the monetary policy of the unaccountable ECB, which has been keeping the money presses running at record speed for years, thanks to our governments shutting down the economy with lengthy lockdowns and thanks to the European Union's Green Deal that ensures greenflation that causes prices of energy, food and raw materials to rise sharply. But because of the war, energy prices have skyrocketed even further. Affordable energy is the foundation of the economy and thus of our prosperity and well-being. It is unacceptable that Russia has invaded Ukraine and I understand the need to do something about it very well. I myself have consistently advocated for EU unity against Russian aggression, but we must ask ourselves the question: Do the sanctions also work? Do they really have the right effect on Russia? So far it doesn't look like that, are we moving forward with a new round of energy sanctions? Not only because of the increase in energy prices, Russia recorded record profits, but also because their exports of oil increased by 100,000 barrels per day compared to 2021. Despite our sanctions, because Asia benefits and the world turns out to be bigger than the European Union. And we have to import gas, otherwise our economy will collapse. More and more people do not save the end of the month with their salary. We need to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. It is the duty of politics to ensure the well-being and security of our citizens. I do not want us to see that Russia has become richer and that the European Union is left poor. Further escalation must be avoided and world leaders must work towards a solution to bring parties to the negotiating table. This will benefit both the citizens of the European Union and the Ukrainians.

Mr President, I did not say that we are getting 100% Russian gas, but that when we switch to renewable energy, we must have a 100% fossil energy back-up plant. In that case, are you prepared to release the 40% renewable energy quota by 2030? This is a huge risk.

Mr President, Commissioner Simson, this debate is about the strategic importance of renewable energy. However, renewable energy is the cause of our complete dependence on Russian gas. More renewable energy means more dependency. Solar and wind energy cannot be stored. In the absence of sun and wind, a back-up installation that is 100% dedicated to gas is therefore the only option. This means that renewable energy poses a strategic risk to our self-sufficiency. You are proposing that 40% of our energy should come from renewable energy sources by 2030. I would like to ask you to put an end to this irrational obsession. There are 450 million citizens and more than 22 million businesses in the European Union who need affordable and reliable energy, and it is our responsibility to do so. Existing nuclear and fossil power plants need to be reopened immediately to ensure security of supply and investment in new nuclear power plants is still needed today. Does the Commissioner also see the risk of renewable energy and is she willing to focus instead on more clean, reliable nuclear energy?

Mr President, High Representative, ladies and gentlemen, I would also have liked to have addressed Mrs von der Leyen and Mr Michel, but it is always clear that they prefer not to listen to the elected representatives. All right. The war in Ukraine is at risk of becoming a continental crisis. We've all seen the last terrible images. The entire history shows that the Russian military behaves barbarically against the civilian population. Killing, raping, looting. Every war again. We must continue to support Ukraine. For Europe, the lesson is ‘we cannot rely on Russia’, but the harsh reality is that over the past decade we have only become more dependent on Russian gas. This Parliament’s climate policy – your policy – has filled Putin’s treasury to wage this war. We need to reduce this dependence as soon as possible. This cannot be done by focusing on even more unreliable solar and wind energy, the energy sources that have made us dependent on Russia, because only gas can serve as a back-up for when there is no sun and wind. Instead, from now on, we must fully commit to clean nuclear energy. France has already proven that this is the solution. We need to invest heavily in innovation. Then the short term. Inflation is already reaching double digits. Without affordable and reliable energy, we will end up in a crisis of unprecedented magnitude and we must prevent that. The Green Deal, including the Farm to Fork Strategy, needs to be taken off the table. Food supply and affordable and reliable energy must now be a top priority. We can and should start using our own gas and make full use of existing fossil and nuclear power plants. This is the only way to avert a catastrophe. As far as Ukraine is concerned, this war must end. That requires great political skill and not economic suicide. Ultimately, that is the only thing that has served Ukraine and Europe. Let us remain united in our efforts to achieve this.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, brace yourself, because we are going to have a hard landing. The energy market is running out of liquidity. There is total panic there. The socialist southern governments want to decouple the price of gas from the price of electricity. They also want to set a price ceiling. These are solutions from Pandora's box, short-term solutions that seem harmless, but that will jeopardise the supply of affordable and reliable energy for European households and businesses. For 20 years, we have built a system of a common European energy market. The stupidest thing we can do now is to mess up this system, because no one, really no one can oversee the consequences. Instead, we need to do two things: 1) reduce energy taxation as much as possible, but preserve the free energy market as we know it; 2) stop the Green Deal and immediately reopen everything available to nuclear and fossil energy to prevent a complete collapse of our European economy.

Mr President, Commissioner, with the energy transition, the European Union has made itself completely dependent on Russian gas. Earlier, I called Commissioner Timmermans' climate plans an irresponsible experiment with our economy. With the Russian attack on Ukraine, that prediction quickly became true. Nevertheless, Commissioner Timmermans said yesterday that we still need to meet the previously imposed climate target of 55% less CO2 emissions by 2030. In fact, according to him, that goal is the solution, not the problem! But energy prices are exploding and a deep recession is looming. Life becomes priceless. Not the energy transition, but the supply of affordable and reliable energy must now be a top priority. That is why I call on the Commission to: ‘Stop the Green Deal and focus on affordable and reliable energy’. The only solution is to reopen closed nuclear power plants immediately, to start using closed or scaled-down coal-fired power plants immediately, to start using our own gas fields immediately. Because necessity breaks the law.

Mr President, what is the name of a government that interferes intensively with what can be said and what cannot be said, what is true and what cannot be said? Of course, freedom of speech stops where violence preaches, but the survival of democracy requires debate, requires people to be able to take a beating, requires people to be able to say what they think. The European Union wants to fight disinformation. A dangerous path, a path that leads to censorship. Dutch fact-checkers tapped people's fingers when they said that the European Union was developing a QR passport. A little later, that ‘fake news’ became reality. The fact-checkers were wrong. The lesson: Caution is in order. Of course we are also against Russian propaganda, but it is precisely then that we must stand for freedom of expression. The European Union is in danger of becoming what the European Union wants to fight! A government that interferes too much with what citizens say and whether that is true, I call such a government communist. Our beautiful, democratic Europe deserves better.

Mr President, I would like to draw attention to Rule 237a on Extraordinary measures. According to this rule, Parliament may, ‘in exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances beyond its control, make a temporary derogation from Parliament’s usual procedures.’ Scientists have said that the effect of the COVID pass on transmission is close to zero, even though global data confirms that the pandemic has ended and we have now entered an endemic phase without serious risk to life and health. Now that Belgium and France return to normal, the time has come for the European Parliament to also return to its normal and usual procedures. It doesn’t make any sense to think there is a normal world outside the Parliament where we can get together in bars and restaurants without masks, without social distancing and without COVID passes, but it’s too dangerous and unsafe within the Parliament and that we still need these restrictions. Dear President, there is no logic in continuing extraordinary measures, not even a tiny bit. Let’s end these restrictions today.

Mr President, wind energy is unreliable and inefficient. The energy crisis is a direct result of this energy source. It is also harmful to marine biodiversity. With the plan to install 300 to 450 gigawatts of offshore wind turbine capacity by 2050, the European Commission wants to turn our seas into a permanent construction well. There are approximately 75,000 wind turbines. The big losers of this energy transition are the taxpayers, the fishermen and life in and at sea. At sea, only huge subsidy pots will be fished by large investment companies and energy giants. taxpayer's money. We must stop polluting Europe's seas with expensive wind turbines and instead focus on clean, affordable and reliable nuclear energy. I am therefore pleased that nuclear energy has been recognised by the Commission as a green investment, because that is the only reliable solution. Europe does not need a strategy for offshore renewable energy, but a nuclear strategy!

Mr President, Madam and Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission’s proposal for a Digital Services Act increases the pressure to further moderate and remove harmful content from online platforms. Big tech is fine as long as they see their business models protected. As a co-negotiator, I made the following points: define what is harmful and hateful, because good legislation starts with clear definitions; restore the fundamental right to freedom of expression by also prohibiting the structural removal of legal content; require full transparency on the algorithms used; and promote competition for big tech by minimising rules for small online businesses. Unfortunately, with insufficient success, and therefore I cannot vote in favour of this version of the Digital Services Act. However, the amendments tabled by ECR, ID and the Green colleague from the LIBE Committee are an excellent improvement on the current proposal. Ladies and gentlemen, in order to prevent the Digital Services Act from becoming a Digital Censorship Act, I call on everyone to vote in favour of these amendments. That makes the Digital Services Act significantly better, and I recommend voting in favour, including these amendments.

Mr President, ‘democracies give people the freedom to say, to do and to choose’. President von der Leyen, those are the words you spoke at the Summit for Democracy on 8 December. But, on 1 December, you said: ‘the EU must consider mandatory COVID jabs’. If the freedom to choose is taken away, you take away democracy. Vaccination is unfortunately not the solution we hoped for. After six months, two shots of Pfizer give exactly zero protection against Omicron, scientists say. Scientists also disagree on vaccination for young and healthy people. It is insane to make this mandatory. And how about transparency? Why are the vaccine contracts between the European Commission and the vaccine manufacturers so secret? This is a matter of public interest, so release this information, President von der Leyen! Dear colleagues, we are the representatives of the people, and I will defend democracy and the rights of all citizens, vaccinated and unvaccinated. It’s our duty to defend this and I count on you to do the same. I wish you all Merry Christmas.

Mr President, Vice-President Timmermans, Minister, ladies and gentlemen, COP26 was public-private partnership at its worst. The outcome of the Glasgow climate summit is a multi-billion-dollar celebration for bankers and investors who were happy that people had already forgotten about the recent corruption allegations related to the UN Green Climate Fund. Our manufacturing industry, which accounts for millions of jobs and prosperity, will follow the example of Royal Dutch Shell and leave the European Union. Carbon leakage, fleeing companies from overly ambitious climate policies. Earlier, I called the climate plans an irresponsible experiment with our economy. EU citizens who had to pay the astronomical price of COP26 did not have the right to vote in the Climate Pact. Democracy was once again overthrown. Green finance doesn't matter to the climate. The CO2 problem will move, but will not be solved by bankers and investors. In fact, the financial flows that are set up are uncontrollable and susceptible to fraud. Colleagues, the sad result of COP26 is that only bankers will win, while production companies are driven out, citizens are impoverished and the climate does not benefit from it. Europe deserves better.

We were promised immunity with vaccination. As a result, they have been vaccinated en masse. Unfortunately, the virus has not been defeated. And you, Commissioner, just said that that is the fault of the unvaccinated, but that is also disinformation. Vaccines help. That's true. But we now know that vaccinated people are also contagious and can end up in the hospital over time, because the protection decreases after a few months. The COVID-19 vaccine has failed. No fewer infections, but false safety. The only thing that the corona pass has led to is discrimination, exclusion and a complete division of our society. More of the same is pointless. I would therefore also like to call on the Commission and the Member States not to renew the COVID-19 temporary pass. The virus is here and will remain. We have to live with it. Member States should scale up healthcare and provide information and medicines. Anyone can be vaccinated now. Also provide boosters for the people who want it. But stop excluding citizens and certainly do not introduce a vaccination obligation. Give people their lives back.