What Maria spoke about.

27

Apr

2026

Speeches RO

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Protection of the European Union’s financial interests – combating fraud – annual report 2024 (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, the protection of financial interests, we have debated this very often. I have been a member of the Committee on Budgetary Control for two mandates and I have discussed with all the institutions that we pay. Citizens pay them to protect the financial interests of the European Union. But does it protect them? Doesn't personal example matter? We have former Commissioners under investigation, we have Members of the European Parliament under investigation. I was the rapporteur on the discharge of the Commission's discharge report and I did not vote for it because the President refused. There is no transparency either in the Council or in the Commission. How do you think a system and mechanism to protect financial interests can be put in place? For what we borrow, it is very important that we also help to have control mechanisms. At the meeting with OLAF and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office we were told – we have no mechanism to control the money we give in Ukraine and elsewhere. So, Commissioner and colleagues, if we do not really control how money is spent, and the efficiency of investments is also very important – you can spend and get nothing.

27

Apr

2026

Speeches RO

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Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank Group – annual report 2024 (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, Vice-President, of course the European Investment Bank, especially in this context, has a very important role to play. I am a member of the Committee on Budgetary Control and I have looked at this very often. I believe that investments must be well calculated, well targeted, calculated the risk, obviously, not to happen as was the case here, the example of Sweden, with the closure of a company after a lot of investment. Of course, you have that role. I think we need more transparency, but I also call for: I believe that there is a need for a better distribution of investment funds in all Member States. In my country, in Romania, we have an investment bank, but we do not have funds, as other Member States have and certainly aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, especially because small and medium-sized enterprises now have the least capitalization power, have the least investment power, have the least innovation power and I believe that this is the place to be in the next period. And I conclude by asking: Of the 300 billion you said you had in the next 3 years, how many are for SMEs?

26

Mar

2026

Speeches RO

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EU-US trade deal (joint debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union's agreement with the United States, of course, is a necessity, but from my point of view, the agreement also means respect between partners. Raising taxes five times, from 3 to 15, wanting to impose for steel and aluminum 50% and believing that you respect your partner, seems absolutely unacceptable to me. That is why I am thinking what would have happened if the agreement had been signed and remained as conceived by the Commission. Commissioner, you cannot fail to take into account the conditions and the market of the European Union. Luckily, here we are, the Parliament, and that is why we need to strengthen the Parliament's position, we have imposed ourselves and we impose ourselves with very clear requirements. A trade agreement will work in the long term if there is respect and fairness between the two parties. And yes, I cannot help but say that the impact, if we had gone with these taxes, the impact on industry, especially the metals industry, would be disastrous. And that is why, Commissioner, I ask you to convey and respect Parliament's position!

25

Mar

2026

Speeches RO

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Energy security, independence and supply in the geopolitical context - ensuring market stability and affordable energy for industry and citizens (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, we have learned today from the Council that there would be no danger, that we must not be afraid that there is no danger to energy security. Commissioner, let us be realistic. Yesterday I met with 11 branches of industry in Romania: cement industry, steel, metallurgy, fertilizer industry, construction, building materials. They all raised the question of the cost of energy. And before the war in Iran, we had three times the cost of energy in the European Union. We must end the dependencies, we must have a policy and indeed a plan of energy production in the European Union. Of course we must have ambitions, but I believe that ambitions must be linked to realistic goals. And it said Affordable Pricing Board. Commissioner, the affordable price is not the same in Luxembourg as Romania. In Romania we have pensions of 400 euros, we have salaries of 800 euros and cannot bear these high energy prices.

11

Mar

2026

Speeches RO

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Package travel and linked travel arrangements: make the protection of travellers more effective and simplify and clarify certain aspects (debate)

11

Mar

2026

Speeches RO

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Savings and Investments Union: time to accelerate the process to deepen market integration (debate)

11

Mar

2026

Speeches RO

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EUCO and situation in the Middle East (joint debate)

10

Mar

2026

Speeches RO

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Presentation of the Energy Package (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, it is good that we are discussing an energy package. In fact, we have been discussing for a very long time that we need an energy market, because - it has been said here - we have millions of European citizens living in energy poverty. In my country, in Romania, we have millions of citizens who cannot pay their bill. Why? First of all, in Europe we have the price higher than in the United States, in China. But in the countries of the east it is even more expensive than in the countries of the west, although the purchasing power is lower. And yes, it is also a speculation. We have raised this issue before in Parliament: how can we get rid of the speculation that certain suppliers are making? And we will not be able to have reasonable prices for citizens if we do not have energy production in the European Union. There are other methods, Commissioner - waste energy, biogas. We don't use all the ways to get cheaper energy. And I would like you to answer me: what should I say to the citizens when I return to my country? What concrete measure are you taking to ensure that the price of energy on the European Union market ... citizens benefit from equal prices and are able to pay their bills? Because the energy input also goes to the industrialists. Talk to the industrialists - the aluminum, steel, cement industries. Everyone is talking about the cost of energy.

10

Mar

2026

Speeches RO

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Housing crisis in the European Union with the aim of proposing solutions for decent, sustainable and affordable housing (debate)

9

Mar

2026

Speeches RO

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Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission (debate)

12

Feb

2026

Speeches RO

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Cooperation among enforcement authorities regarding unfair trading practices in the agri-food supply chain (debate)

11

Feb

2026

Speeches RO

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International Day of Education, fighting inequalities in access to education (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, frankly, I am glad that today we are discussing International Education Day here and - it has also been said here - it must not remain just an abstract debate. I know, Commissioner, that you are concerned about this and I think we need to find solutions in this pact for education, especially for poor areas, for rural areas, where children do not have the same chance. Today we also talked about the competitiveness of the European Union. We cannot have a competitive economy without a school result, without this school product, and that is why I would like, if possible, to find a lever. We have very good Erasmus programmes. A lot of young people from all the Member States have used this programme, but maybe we can find a geographical balance, find solutions as ... sure, it is the competence of the Member States, together with the Member States - to find solutions for all children to have access. The figures are disastrous worldwide and at the level of the European Union, but we are interested in the European Union, to see how we can have access, to have access to education for all children to be well, in fact, for us.

10

Feb

2026

Speeches RO

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Extreme weather events in particular in Portugal, southern Italy, Malta and Greece: European response in strengthening readiness, preparedness and solidarity mechanisms (debate)

10

Feb

2026

Questions RO

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Extreme weather events in particular in Portugal, southern Italy, Malta and Greece: European response in strengthening readiness, preparedness and solidarity mechanisms (debate)

9

Feb

2026

Speeches RO

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European Central Bank – annual report 2025 (debate)

9

Feb

2026

Speeches RO

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Amending Regulations on agricultural products as regards market rules and sectoral support measures in the wine sector and for aromatised wine products (debate)

22

Jan

2026

Speeches RO

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A new action plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Social Pillar is obviously an objective of the Commission. Social cohesion within the internal market is also an objective of the Commission, but has failed. Commissioner, in my country, Romania, which you know, one in three children is in poverty. 1.2 million children are excluded - social exclusion. In order to be cohesive and, unfortunately, what Mr Macron was saying ‐ Multi-speed Europe ‐ there can be no such discrimination. A person who has a salary of 600 euros, a person with disabilities who has 150 euros in Romania, cannot have access to housing. So it's an extraordinary discrepancy. How did social cohesion work? If we do not really make social cohesion, social protection, the conditions of workers, people with disabilities, mothers, Romania loses 1.5 million inhabitants in a decade, it has the highest demographic decrease. We cannot have a multi-speed Europe with more conditions and more, so to speak, facilities for citizens. Commissioner, true cohesion is needed, with concrete measures.

21

Jan

2026

Speeches RO

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European Council meeting (joint debate)

Madam President, President Costa, Commissioner, we are living in an extraordinary historical period and, as we have heard, what the Prime Minister of Canada has said, it seems that the world order is a world disorder. The European Union needs power. I have listened to you very carefully, Mr President, and, among other things, you have said that the European Union must show its citizens that it is concerned with economic prosperity, economic growth, innovation, wages, affordable housing, but we must do so, Mr President, and for that we must strengthen the European Union's economy and solidarity. Dear colleagues, I believe that we must assume that politicians no longer manipulate citizens, assume the truth, explain what every gesture and step and measure we take here means. Otherwise, we will destroy the unity of the European Union, which is so much needed now in global instability. So we have to take the truth and fight for the citizens and their rights.

20

Jan

2026

Speeches RO

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Presentation of the Cybersecurity Act (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, cyber threats are growing and we all know, I think we agree, that cyber attacks are digging into the foundation of democracy. We know well, both in my country, in Romania, and in other states, what happened to the cyber attacks. After all, I believe that those who deal with such a thing take advantage of the weakness of the European Union, of the Member States. We have made a lot of statements, but we need to move on to concrete measures and it is very good to strengthen ENISA. It is very good to allocate budgets for research, for technology, to have it here, in the internal market. Let us not depend on third countries, because then we are open to these attacks. And yes, not only democracy is at risk, but also people's lives. That is why, Commissioner, let us proceed to the facts. Let us now, after this debate, after the report, see how we can concretely improve and eliminate and prevent cyber-attacks that can be in all areas, from hospitals to transport, and we know well what can happen in this case.

20

Jan

2026

Questions RO

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Tackling AI deepfakes and sexual exploitation on social media by making full use of the EU’s digital rules (debate)

Dear Madam, you contradicted yourself in your statement. On the one hand, you said yes, we need to protect ourselves from sexual exploitation and all fake news. On the other hand, you say that DSA It is a censorship. Well, we regulate here for protection. It is shameful to hear in our countries that MEPs want to free children, 5-year-old girls, 6-year-old girls, 7-year-old girls, 14-year-old girls to be sexually exploited, to manipulate the population with all kinds of fake news. And you say here that DSA It's fake news, or it's proof of power, it's censorship. How do you explain this?

19

Jan

2026

Speeches RO

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The 28th Regime: a new legal framework for innovative companies (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, Parliament is providing you with a report through which you indeed have the chance to contribute to the Single Market. We have crossed the threshold of 30 years of talking about the Single Market. The European Union has a problem with innovation, it has a problem with start-ups. So now you just have to take over this and implement, not directives, that we will have 27 decisions again. A regulation, a very clear regulation, very simple, allowing a start-up, an innovative company to do it quickly, fairly, transparently and, as the report you are receiving states, to be ethical, because we need ethics and fair trade and cooperation in the single market, fair. So, Commissioner, I hope it will not take very long, because we have many own-initiative reports since I have been in Parliament, which I voted on and which have remained somewhere on the table of the Commission. We need this step, especially in this complicated global context, both politically and economically.

18

Dec

2025

Speeches RO

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European Democracy Shield – very large online platform algorithms, foreign interference and the spread of disinformation (debate)

18

Dec

2025

Questions RO

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European Democracy Shield – very large online platform algorithms, foreign interference and the spread of disinformation (debate)

18

Dec

2025

Speeches RO

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30th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton-Paris Peace Agreement (debate)

17

Dec

2025

Speeches RO

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Implementation of the rule of law conditionality regime (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is strange to me that there are colleagues in this House who criticise the existence of a mechanism for controlling European money. We were chosen by the citizens to defend their financial interests. How do I criticize a mechanism by which I want to control? However, we should think critically if this mechanism is applied correctly and, Commissioner, you will also see critical points in the report, because the lack of transparency, which the Commission often practices, is not a good example. I was the discharge rapporteur in the Commission's past mandate and I tell you frankly that I did not vote for it. Why? Because the Commission did not answer the questions that the Committee on Budgetary Control and other parliamentarians asked. So, if we want this mechanism to work and it has to work, you have to show a lot of transparency, fairness, equality, treatment between states and, why not, maybe we, Parliament, think about how we protect citizens and end consumers if a government does not apply the rule of law correctly, because citizens must not (...)