she deemed a threat to democracy. Immigration Speaking in the European Parliament on 29 April 2015, In 't Veld criticised Nigel Farage's warning that Islamic extremists were likely to enter Europe among the influx of migrants and refugees from North Africa and the Middle East. She suggested that scenario would be as unlikely as an invasion by Martians. It was later confirmed that terrorists had illegally entered the EU through that method. In September 2019, European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen created the new position of “Vice President for Protecting our European Way of Life”, who will be responsible for upholding the rule-of-law, internal security and migration. In 't Veld said in a statement: "The implication that Europeans need to be protected from external cultures is grotesque and this narrative should be rejected." Recognition In 't Veld is an Honorary Associate of the UK National Secular Society, which awarded her the Secularist of the Year prize in 2011. Controversy In 2019, Dutch opinion magazine HP/De Tijd revealed that In 't Veld received reimbursements for years for untaken hotel stays in Brussels, the city where she resided. The total amount of unjustified reimbursements was at least tens of thousands of euros. Although In 't Veld claimed that she used these reimbursements for hotel stays in the Netherlands, it was revealed that she paid her hotel stays in the Netherlands with a different reimbursement worth more than 4,500 euros per month. References External links Sophie in 't Veld at the website of Democrats 66 Sophia in 't Veld at the website of the European Parliament 1963 births 21st-century women MEPs for the Netherlands Democrats 66 MEPs Dutch secularists Leiden University alumni Living people People from Steenwijkerland MEPs for the Netherlands 2004–2009 MEPs for the Netherlands 2009–2014 MEPs for the Netherlands 2014–2019 MEPs for the Netherlands 2019–2024