Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, amending Directive 2011 as regards financial services contracts concluded at a distance was a necessity. As we move forward in digitalization, of course we also need adaptation. And I am very glad that by increasing the protection of citizens' freedom of choice also in the area of distance contracts, it increases citizens' confidence to work with distance contracts. Of course I enjoy the fact (Words that are not heard) the right of the consumer to request human intervention, because we know well that we have a different level of skills in the Member States on digitalisation, and it is good that we have made this clear, especially for older people. It is also important that we have rules on pre-contractual information in the Directive. It is important to know the consumer before and also importantly that we have regulated the right of withdrawal. I believe, however, that it is very important, Commissioner, that Member States add to what we are now doing in national legislation also sanctions if they do not comply.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the case of migration and what we are discussing today is a clear example that you must not take decisions before regulating. When Mrs Merkel made the decision to let go of migration, but we did not have it regulated, it happened that we had hundreds of thousands of migrants here and, of course, we could not provide them with what they needed. I agree to stand in solidarity. I agree, Commissioner, that we should finally have a migration pact that clearly explains and clearly regulates legal migration, that we should stop trafficking, because here we have problems. I do not agree with your phrase, that we have a half-built house, we have the house of the European Union, but we must know clearly how much we can receive, how we can receive and, when migration is illegal, reject it, because solidarity must go hand in hand with the security of European citizens. This is how I think we need to regulate, and I hope that the Council will finally let go of this migration package.

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, it is not often that we have such a common position in Parliament and I want to thank our colleagues, regardless of the political group, who claimed today that yes, the Republic of Moldova must go on the European path and, if it has to, then we must also support it. And it's not just the funds that are needed. I am a member of the Delegation for the Republic of Moldova, I know the Republic of Moldova very well, I frequently go there. They also need technical support, because reform in administration must first and foremost have the human resource for this. When I spoke with the government of the Republic of Moldova, they complained about this, that they do not have enough civil servants and, therefore, I ask the Commission, as I have asked before, in addition to financial support, to provide this technical assistance, so that reforms can be made and, yes, to start the path of accession to the European Union. There is no other way for the Republic of Moldova.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, of course, we are discussing a situation that concerns people's lives. Food, water, medicine ensure people's lives after all. I cannot help but say that I agree with what you have put forward, Commissioner, but my natural question is: I have been in Parliament since 2014, why a list of critical medicines that you say you want to do, are we doing it for the first time? Have we found out that health is a priority? It's good that we do. The problem is: when do we get those stocks of essential medicines for all citizens? You also said that no matter where a citizen lives, and so it is, they must have access to medicines. In my country, I receive petitions weekly, not monthly. Epilepsy drugs, thyroid drugs, cancer drugs are missing. Doctors in Romania have to choose who they give treatment to and who they abandon. It is terrible for a doctor to decide fate because of the shortage of medicines. You said we had measures, but here we are, 60% of the shortage has increased. What are we doing concretely? Because things need to be solved now and not in the future, because people's lives don't wait for us to solve problems. Health is a priority.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, frankly, I did not understand your message, Commissioner, and I will explain why. You started by saying that the Schengen area is the greatest achievement of the European Union, then you say that the Schengen area does not work, then you say: ‘Oh, we boast, we had 485 000 tourists’. When are you telling the truth? Do you like to be a free-moving Schengen area? If you like it, be the guardian of the treaties. What have you done with Romania and Bulgaria? How do you get humiliated by a man from Austria? If by December Romania and Bulgaria do not enter the Schengen area, be sure that you will be decreed by European citizens as a gravedigger of the European project. It is not possible, guardian of the Treaties, to accept that a Member State violates a regulation in operation, to be clear. We have a migration regulation and we have a Schengen regulation. The Schengen Regulation is breached without a legal reason. What did you do as guardian of the treaties? Come say here that you suddenly want to analyze corruption. But the corruption in the European Commission related to the President's process with public procurement, what do you do with them? How do you want to be credible? How do you want to increase the trust of European citizens in the European Union? If you don't change your attitude, of course, next year will be a disaster in the European Parliament elections.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, of course, the road transport sector is responsible for many: emissions and, unfortunately, loss of life. We know that efforts have been made in recent years to improve infrastructure. We need to have a smart road transport system. The problem is implementation. I must say, Commissioner, you mentioned the car parks. As a member of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, I visited several car parks - not only in my own country, in an eastern country. We've been to France, where we know drivers were killed in parking lots. Parking is not secure. From my point of view, I think there is a huge difference between the possibilities of implementation, which I do not contest. Everyone knows the benefits of a smart system. The problem is implementation, because as long as we have very big differences in the internal market (and now I am speaking as Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Internal Market), we risk fragmenting the market, if not all Member States will be able to be connected to this system in real conditions, obviously, and not ultimately affect by the technologies of the integrated system, which must be complementary, be reliable, be tested. That is why I think it takes a lot of caution and a lot of monitoring of how it is applied in each country and what financial possibilities (after all, it is also about money) each state can have, so that this strategy really brings the effects that we all want, namely intelligent, safe and with fewer accidents, if possible, on road transport.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today we are debating the working conditions of firefighters and volunteers, who do the same with qualified firefighters. I want to congratulate all firefighters and tell you that I am proud of the firefighters in my country, in Romania. We celebrated Firefighters Day in Romania on September 13th. Firefighters in my country have participated in many actions in other states and in my country, but in addition to these congratulations, we need to have concrete measures, for example: European standards for equipment - stop their helmets melting, Commissioner, in their firefighting actions. We also need a treatment of volunteers to attract them, to become qualified firefighters afterwards, because there is a minus. We also need equal health insurance in the European Union, because firefighting teams go from one country to another. Last but not least, we need an equal regime in the 27 states regarding the retirement of firefighters. Of course, the living conditions of firefighters and, as has been said here, the risk is much higher. That's why we need to do concrete things to be credible.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is clear that the European Union needs reform. It needs reform so that citizens' trust is at the level we need. President Ursula's speech yesterday did not reach the hearts of the citizens. It was a personal praise. He didn't talk about the citizens. He didn't talk about how to get facts, not words. People expect their lives to improve, and you can't have double language. President Ursula praised Romania for good practice at the borders and, at the same time, Romania has been kept outside the Schengen area for 16 years. We can't say one thing and do another. There's another problem: I believe that the fact that one man can block the votes of 26 does not mean democracy. We let Austria fly, hypocritically, in the European Union, blocking the internal market, fragmenting the internal market and nothing happens to it, although the Commission obviously has the Treaty at hand and, when a regulation is breached, it must act against the Member State. This is why the European Parliament needs to be able to take initiatives. It is the only Parliament in the world that does not have this right.

Madam President, Commissioner, I must say that I am disappointed because the things you have listed that you want to do for SMEs have been going on since 2014 when I have been in this Parliament. About what? Cutting red tape: We had the Small Business Act, where every piece of legislation had to pass, so that there would be no administrative burden unless something else was brought out. Late payments: We have a directive, studies have been carried out in the past mandate, we have shown that it does not work. What do you want to do now with late payments, because we have a legislative act? Access to public procurement: the Directive on public procurement has been amended. I have personally called for the directive, when it has been amended, to clearly and clearly include access for SMEs, for contracts to be fragmented so that SMEs can take out a contract, that they cannot take out very large contracts, and for payment to be made to subcontractors. Nothing's been done. What to hope for SMEs, because we have been hearing these things for years. I worked as an SME, I was Minister for SMEs, I am in the SME intergroup, I am Vice-President for the Internal Market. Commissioner, convey this message to the President. Today it has praised itself, but nothing has been done about the concrete problems for the internal market and especially for SMEs.

Mr President, Commissioner, of course the question is welcome. What do we do with the agreement with the United States? You are well aware that in the past mandate the TTIP agreement was tried and failed. It was a failure. I believe that America, through the IRA, is practicing protectionism that puts our companies at a disadvantage and it will not be easy to negotiate, but the Commission must carry out this negotiation. I was on Parliament's side the Internal Market Committee a month ago in Washington and we met with the Biden administration. Perhaps it is good now to press, until the elections in the United States, to conclude this agreement and I believe that we must resume the abandoned trade agreement, that TTIP, which will ensure us a reciprocal market, to the European Union and the United States, to the companies in the European Union and the United States, so that we do not have to resort only to the Chinese market for the materials of... important raw materials.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are debating an extremely important regulation. I think we're debating it late. I think that this regulation should have been launched at least with the launch of the Green Deal, because we need to understand that things must be done at the same time. We cannot launch the Green Deal, we cannot launch the reindustrialisation strategy of the European Union without having this regulation, this legislative document related to ensuring the sustainable supply of critical raw materials. That is why I believe, Commissioner, that this is also part of the budget. We need to see how we can work at the same time on substitute raw materials, because the European Union can be competitive with other states only if it has secure, sustainable raw materials. Let's not depend on China and other countries and produce in the European Union, because yes, we want a green economy, we want a clean economy, but we also want sustainable competition and jobs.

Mr President, Commissioner, there are 32 weeks left and you are out of office, we are out of the European Parliament. One of the mottos of the European Union is that all citizens are equal. I am returning home with sadness, I tell you rightly, because since 2014 I have been advocating for Romanians to have equal rights with citizens and I will give you three examples in which the citizens of my country are discriminated against. One example is the Schengen area. Parliament voted 5-6 times. Nothing's going on. The Commission is the guardian of the Treaties. There is a legal basis to act on Austria. Nothing happened. What should we tell Romanians in the electoral campaign to come to vote for the European Parliament elections? The second discrimination is related to the visa for the United States. Commissioner, the Treaty provides for reciprocity. If the United States does not allow Romanian citizens to enter there, you can apply that point. And I also have a discrimination that I can't respond to. It's about subsidies for farmers in Romania, compared to what they... (The Chair withdrew the floor of the speaker)

Mr President, Commissioner, I want to tell you that I am very glad that we have come to have on the table and to vote, I hope, tomorrow, because I even tried with your minister, Commissioner from France, in 2013, to make such a proposal to the European Commission at that time, because I found that the porcelain from France and the ceramics from Romania were counterfeited on a large scale and I believe very much that there are many benefits. In addition to protecting producers, we also protect consumers from buying fake products, we develop these professions and trades in rural areas and pass them on. We also have a cultural heritage and it is very, very important that you have focused and stressed, Commissioner, that we are developing small and medium-sized enterprises, micro-enterprises. In my country there are in rural areas many craftsmen who make pottery, traditional folk costumes, which until now were totally unprotected. International protection is very important. It is also important that in this regulation we simplify things as opposed to trade mark protection. I hope we can implement them as well.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, consumer credit is not for the rich. Consumer loans are for people who need, as the name says, small amounts for consumption, but who need to be protected, and it surprises me that there were colleagues here who said that they would not need to be protected. It's a first step, but it's not enough. There's still a lot of work to be done. I am glad that the advertisement was included in the text. It's fake advertising. They are attracted to those who need to take a sum of money on untrue advertising and obviously wake up after that that their conditions change during the contract, look, I do not know how we can protect them, because they exist. Now, when we talk about this, there are no contracts that go through with the same conditions. Then, of course, we need to expand the scope, as has been said, buy now, pay later and do not know what is happening, go into insolvency and very seriously it is that there are discriminations. And, Commissioner, you said very well: There are no personalized loans. Very good that a first step has been taken for cancer patients, but there are still many other categories that are discriminated against...

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, sure, renewable energy and renewable energy sources are necessary to protect the environment. What we must emphasise, however, is that there must be flexibility and it is good that it is a directive and not a regulation, because, I mean for colleagues who argued that biomass should not be included and that it should be only wind energy, not in all Member States we have the same resources. The wind does not blow the same in Romania as in the Netherlands, we do not have the same solar energy, so it is good that they have engulfed, that the renewable energy sphere has widened. It is also very important how we can make permits more flexible, so that small and medium-sized enterprises have access, so that the costs are not so high that small and medium-sized enterprises do not have access. And I want to propose one more thing: while focusing on innovation, why can't citizens, innovators in Member States that already have patents, be able to access directly from the European Commission the European Union budget in order to stop going through national procedures?

Mr President, Commissioner, I appreciated you, you were a Member of the European Parliament, you were in the bank with us and you were extremely practical in speaking. I agree with many things that you have said, equal opportunities, that we need to implement this directive in all Member States, but it surprised me that in your speech you did not talk about SMEs. You have complained about the pity of multinationals, lest there be too much transparency, lest it be an obstacle to an investment by a multinational in a Member State. I don't think you can talk in the same speech about equal opportunities and at the same time not talk about SMEs. Transparency is absolutely necessary. We know well that the biggest evasions in the European Union were not done by SMEs, they were done by multinationals. If we managed two years ago, with the support of all parliamentary groups, to have such a directive, I do not understand why you need to make recommendations to reduce transparency. I do not think this is a fair road, Commissioner, and I hope you will also give us an explanation for this.

Mr President, Commissioner, I will tell you that not as an MEP, but as a former SME entrepreneur and former minister in my country for SMEs. Commissioner, to make it more plastic, I tell you that for SMEs now we have regulations, just like we would put in a one-ton car, ten tons of load. SMEs did not benefit from the reduction. All the rules we have are formal. Ten years ago, when I was minister for SMEs, it was the directive for late payments. Ten years to wait to change something that doesn't work? Meanwhile, SMEs are dying. We give them crowns, we boast, they are the most, you know they are also the most disciplined. If we don't do something concrete, how can an SME have the same regulation as a large company? How to have capital for internationalization? The European Investment Bank has the same procedures as for large companies. No way, Commissioner. We clearly need to have SME-specific regulations if we want them to live and if we want them to develop and be sustainable.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, since 2014, when I have been in the European Parliament, I have been raising the issue of Romania's and Bulgaria's entry into Schengen and we are not begging, Commissioner. It is our right, we have signed the same treaty and we cannot remain - we Romania and Bulgaria - only with obligations and without rights. With what right does Austria - one state, one man - oppose? What democracy is this? Commissioner, tell the President that when Romania has not resolved a clause in a regulation in time, it has entered into infrigement. All countries were punished if they did not comply with a regulation. Why do you allow Austria to violate a regulation? Destroy the European project, Commissioner, and I ask you if you would be Romanian like me, what would you answer the Romanians at home to the question: Why is the treaty not respected? Why is the regulation not being followed? I ask, Commissioner, and I ask you to convey to the President, that Austria enter into infringement and to demand that you pay the compensation and economic losses that Romania has incurred in these years. Then it will be a real European project.

Mr President, I begin by thanking you and congratulating you on your work as President for so many years. However, I must say, in my capacity as Vice-President for the Internal Market and on behalf of the SME Intergroup, that I would like to see more money allocated to SMEs next year, compared to the report we are currently analysing. You are of particular importance in InvestEU. I recently wrote to Commissioner Breton and yes, he nominated you that the Investment Bank, of course, has an important role to play in financing SMEs. I also certainly welcome you for engaging and supporting the Republic of Moldova and also engaging in the Western Balkans to support them. What I would like to see is more transparency. It is very important to see how projects are selected and you have said a magic word here, to make targeted investments, and I think this is needed in order not to concentrate money in the same areas and actually, instead of increasing cohesion, to increase regional differences. That's why I have hope. You are the biggest lender, we need the Investment Bank, you are important for the internal market and beyond. And I wish you good health and many years ahead in the EIB.

Commissioner, Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, of course, the functioning of the rule of law is very important. After all, it is perhaps the most important thing in democracy. But, Commissioner, also reading this report, I ask you, do you think that measuring the functioning of the rule of law is the same in all Member States? And I'll justify my question. I have written many letters to the Commission, even to you. I have noticed that in many Member States, such as Germany, Denmark, Finland, Austria, children are taken away, the right of the child is not respected, they are taken directly from school and institutionalised without even notifying the parents. Nothing happened. In Austria, we have reported discrimination in child benefits for children of other nationalities. Austria, thank you, was not notified at all by the Commission. So if this rule of law is not measured in the same way in all states, you are only inducing Euroscepticism. And I ask you, what should I say to my citizens in Romania when the 19 million citizens' right is violated because Austria, for example, does not allow us to enter Schengen? So we don't circulate the same way. After all, the rule of law must not be a phrase, it must be something practical.

I think you need to put your headphones on. Okay, okay. I am convinced that you and everyone here want to protect nature. You said that the Commission's proposal and the proposal we are debating today do not add value. I know you're familiar with agriculture. Could you say what proposal brings added value so as to ensure a good life for farmers and the development of agriculture and farmers, but also to protect nature? What would be your proposal?

Madam President, I am glad that we are discussing this subject, because I believe that nothing is more important than human health and it is very good to focus on research and innovation, because yes, of course, we need new antibiotics, new medicines that can put an end to these cases. It was said here: 35,000 deaths for microbial infections. The problem that I want to raise, Commissioner, is that the result of the research reaches all Member States. Yes, health is a national competence, but I believe that the free movement of citizens makes it necessary to have a health policy and to give the result of research. After all, you allocate some budgets to all the Member States, and I hope that it doesn't happen like with Pfizer, that we deliver money there for research and that we have negative results. I hope for a fair health policy for all citizens, who must be able to buy these medicines or be provided free of charge, depending on their illness.

Madam President, of course, we are debating a very important thing, especially since it is a year before the elections. Clearly, disinformation leads to a wrong choice, it leads citizens a different way. The problem is: how do we do it? We have defined very clearly what foreign interference means, because we see, now a conflict has arisen in Serbia and Kosovo, the conflict in Ukraine, we receive wrong information and I believe that disinformation is the most serious thing, which leads to wrong elections and interference in the democratic act in a Member State. The problem that I am putting here now – and I want to be understood correctly – is that we need to see foreign interference from all sides, because Mr Soros is running in all the Member States and in my country and is funding certain NGOs, certain people who obviously are misinforming. How do we stop disinformation? Yes, we are regulating here, but the problem is of application in the Member States and I believe that the Member States too have an extremely high obligation, together with the European Union, to stop disinformation once and no longer be foreign interference in the democratic act. Let the citizens decide.

Mr President, I have been in the European Parliament since 2014 and ever since I have been advocating for fairness, for the application of treaties and regulations equally in the 27 states, so as not to create inequities and, ultimately, discrimination. I am glad, Commissioner, that you are on duty today, because one of the inequities and discriminations made for the citizens of my country, who sent me here, is the fact that Austria, your country, opposes Romania's entry into Schengen without any argument. I am in the Committee on Civil Liberties, I know the Schengen regulation, we do not violate any articles there. The second inequity, Commissioner, and perhaps you pass it on to the President, also for the Romanians in my country, is that Romanians cannot go to the United States without a visa. Why not reciprocate? And I would ask you to listen to me, Commissioner, because I speak for you. I think you need to have a little respect for the Members of the European Parliament. You have to give me more to repeat now, Mr. President. So it was the second inequity, Commissioner, related to Romanian citizens who are not allowed to go to the United States except on a visa. You have the treaty: apply reciprocity and solve these inequities, because in Romania there is a Euroscepticism... (The president interrupted the speaker) Yes, Mr President, the Commissioner did not listen to me. I don't stay until 10 p.m. to talk here in an empty room and the commissioner won't listen. This is absolutely inappropriate... (The Chair withdrew the floor of the speaker)

Mr President, of course, those who are older in Parliament know that they have been discussing for years: zero tolerance for harassment, sexual harassment. The problem is not that we are going to vote, because I am convinced that this resolution will be voted on, but what about the resolution? How many resolutions have we voted on and nothing happened? Nothing's changed. Here we need to answer: how do we identify the harassers, what happens to them, what are the punishments? Let's start with the definition. I am convinced that now the concept of sexual harassment is understood differently by many people here. How do we not have victims? What about statistics (which, you know, are far from reality)? Because if a woman doesn't admit to being harassed, of course the statistics show half the women. I'm sure more. I believe that we need to get to the facts and we need to see concrete measures. On the one hand, here, in the European institutions, obviously, after that, let us expand the problem in order to have a diminishing once. I'm not... I'm realistic. I don't think we're going to eliminate it altogether, but at least let's reduce the harassment, because it's now an extremely serious situation.