Happy New Year!
Dear friends, Happy New Year 2025! Thanks to Elon Musks’s bullshit bombardment, my beautiful digital detox is already at risk of turning into a full blown digital sepsis… But upwards and onwards. Yes, this year will be challenging politically for all of us. And that’s exactly when I am most thankful that I can work full time […]
Take a break!
Dear friends, Finally, the winter break is here! I don’t know about you, but I am happy to finally take some days off. This year was just crazy when it comes to politics – and still is! To wrap it up, let’s take a second to reminisce and look ahead. TRIUMPH IN JUNE My undisputed […]
Italy’s super expensive migration failure
Dear Volters, dear friends, 10 days ago we went to Albania with our Volt delegation in the European Parliament. Many of you know that already since we met a lot of you there – good friends, colleagues and supporters – at Volt’s General Assembly in Tirana. What an uplifting event! In these chaotic times, it’s good to […]
Empress Ursula and the Rotten Apples
Dear Volters, dear friends, Europe finally has a government! This week, during the parliamentary session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament has voted for Ursula von der Leyens new EU Commission and the 26 new “ministers” who will shape the future of the EU in the next 5 years. But it was a close call, or at least […]
A setback for European competitiveness 🤦🏻♂️
Dear readers, This was a sad week for migrants, but also for European competitiveness, as it seems that the fear of rising anti-migration populists has now also undermined a key labour migration law, the Long Term Residence Directive (LTRD). This law was first adopted in 2003 and had not been updated since. However, after years of […]
Ukraine, we remember 🇺🇦
Dear readers, Today marks two years since Putin started his fully fledged invasion of Ukraine. 370 days of horror, of massacre, of murder. I will never forget the things I saw and the stories I heard when I visited Bucha and Irpin, the desperation of a people that saw how tanks rolled into their villages, ready […]
Munich Security Conference afterthoughts 💭
Dear readers, Security is not that complicated. It just needs commitment. I spent the last three days at the Munich Security Conference, to learn and listen. I am not a security or defense expert, but maybe we can’t afford not to be experts anymore. The 3 things that stuck with me most, are the following: […]
Introducing: The Ukraine Facility 🇺🇦
Dear readers, After a very politically intense week in Strasbourg, I can finally give you a proper update on the big news that happened earlier this week: the Ukraine Facility has been approved! This €50b in financial aid that I negotiated is a crucial step in the right direction, not only to support Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts but […]
A Christmas Post🎄
Dear all, Puh – I don’t know about you, but while I love my job, I can’t wait for the holidays to start! Cookies, winter walks, and digital detox – what more can you ask for 🙂 I will use the break to recharge for what’s to come: finishing some laws while ramping up my […]
The success of Orbán’s blackmail 💰
Dear reader, This week, the European Commission released € 10 billion to the Orbán government. Both Sophie in ‘t Veld and myself have over the course of the week strongly condemned this decision. The release of this money very simply means that the Commission has given in to the blackmail of Orbán in front of […]
