Representative
Senator
Christian Democratic Appeal
Senate - Eerste Kamer der Staten Generaal
NL - 2500 EA - The Hague
Netherlands
Working language: English
Declarations of interests:
2026
, 2025
, 2024
, 2023
Declarations of interest regarding election observations (if applicable)
24/06/2026 | 12:01:29 Sorry, that was not artificial intelligence (AI), I think. Well, Madam President, Dear colleagues, I wrote this text, which I am about to deliver myself. It was not generated by AI. Unfortunately, I cannot prove this because so many texts of mine are now circulating on the internet that ChatGPT could easily have turned them into a relevant contribution. That would have saved me a lot of time and effort, but I would have undermined the essence of today’s topic. For democracy begins with the... 28/01/2026 | 13:13:27 Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2. Chair, dear colleagues, I read this resolution and recommendation with great interest, pleasure, and agreement.With interest, because this year marks 40 years since I was elected as the youngest member of the City Council in my city Maastricht, thus beginning my political and administrative career. I was elected because my party, the Christian Democrats, reserved a preferential position on the candidate list for a member of their youth... 01/10/2025 | 17:41:04 Thank you, Mister President. Dear colleagues, It is encouraging that this Assembly is closely monitoring the progress of establishing a Claims Commission for the damages suffered - and still being suffered - by Ukrainians as a result of Russian aggression. I therefore wholeheartedly welcome Lord Richard KEEN's Opinion, which clearly outlines the current state of affairs within the preparatory bodies of the Committee of Ministers, and also guides us on how we, as an Assembly, should approach... 01/10/2025 | 16:19:32 Merci, Madam Chair. Dear colleagues, I have long hesitated to speak on the topic of youth participation. After all, one could argue that it is primarily the young people themselves who should have the floor when it comes to this subject. And since, as you all can see, I belong more to the senior ranks of Europe - and today I am yet another year older than I was yesterday - that hesitation is quite justified. And yet, when I joined a political youth organization 48 years ago, at the age of 17... 28/01/2025 | 17:40:55 Mister President, dear colleagues, Yesterday His All Holiness Patriarch BATHOLOMEW gave an impressing speech, in which he called upon all faiths to invest in mutual understanding, dialogue and living peacefully together on this one planet. And he mentioned his warm co-operation with the Roman Catholic Church, and especially the Latin Patriarchate in the Holy Land, that looks after the Catholics in Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Cyprus. The presence of Christianity in the Middle East is and...
24/06/2026 | Doc. 16449 | Motion for a resolution A constitutional right to reliable information: safeguarding democracy in the age of artificial intelligence and platform power 07/07/2025 | Doc. 16223 | Motion for a resolution Justice delayed: the unfinished implementation of the Daphne Caruana Galizia case 26/06/2025 | Doc. 16220 | Written declaration On the situation of freedom of faith in Belarus 25/06/2025 | Doc. 16215 | Motion for a resolution The functioning of democratic institutions in the Slovak Republic 23/04/2025 | Doc. 16113 | Written declaration Kazakhstan: systematic violations of human rights and political freedoms through judicial, financial and transnational repression must end
25/06/2026 | Doc. 16412, vote on the draft text for resolution Access of migrants and refugees to healthcare 25/06/2026 | Doc. 16415, vote on the draft text for recommendation Media freedom in sport 25/06/2026 | Doc. 16415, vote on the draft text for resolution Media freedom in sport 24/06/2026 | Doc. 16418, vote on the draft text for resolution Eliminating gender stereotypes in the media 24/06/2026 | Doc. 16417, vote on the draft text for resolution Protecting democracy from disruptions caused by artificial intelligence