What Maria spoke about.

5

Oct

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Financial services contracts concluded at a distance (debate)

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 d…

4

Oct

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Need for a speedy adoption of the asylum and migration package (debate)

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 ag…

3

Oct

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Taking stock of Moldova's path to the EU (debate)

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 Rep…

3

Oct

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Medicine shortages and strategic healthcare autonomy in the EU (debate)

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…

3

Oct

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Corrupt large-scale sale of Schengen visas (debate)

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 Sc…

2

Oct

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Intelligent Road Transport Systems (debate)

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 …

14

Sep

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Improving firefighters’ working conditions (debate)

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 …

14

Sep

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Parliamentarism, European citizenship and democracy (debate)

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 …

13

Sep

2023

RO Speech

Watch

SME Relief Package (debate)

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 payme…

13

Sep

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Opening of negotiations of an agreement with the United States of America on strengthening international supply chains of critical minerals (debate)

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 carr…

13

Sep

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials (debate)

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 Europ…

11

Sep

2023

RO Speech

Watch

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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 co…

11

Sep

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Geographical indication protection for craft and industrial products (debate)

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 bel…

11

Sep

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Consumer credits (debate)

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 t…

11

Sep

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Renewable Energy Directive (debate)

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 …

13

Jul

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Recommendations of the Commission on public country by country reporting transposition (debate)

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…

12

Jul

2023

RO Speech

Watch

State of the SME Union (debate)

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 f…

11

Jul

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Accession to the Schengen area (short presentation)

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 sta…

11

Jul

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2022 - Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report 2022 (joint debate - European Investment Bank)

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 …

11

Jul

2023

RO Speech

Watch

2023 Annual Rule of law report (debate)

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 …

11

Jul

2023

RO Question

Watch

Nature restoration (debate)

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 a…

1

Jun

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Coordinated action to address antimicrobial resistance (debate)

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…

1

Jun

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation - Election integrity and resilience build-up towards European elections 2024 (debate)

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 w…

31

May

2023

RO Speech

Watch

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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 se…

31

May

2023

RO Speech

Watch

Sexual harassment in the EU and MeToo evaluation (debate)

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: ho…