What Ioan-Rareş spoke about.

Your Excellencies, the members of the Council have the chance to repair tomorrow the misery made to Romania by blocking the accession to Schengen. Otherwise, they'll do Chancellor Karl Nehammer a favor. Austria's chancellor risks losing his country's elections because the wave of antipathy sparked by Romania's blockade can turn into a boomerang in the January elections. Austrian companies present in Romania, which account for 7% of Austria's GDP, or 32 billion euros, are already pressing the government in Vienna to reverse its vote, considering the vote deeply unfair. The entire Austrian press: Die Presse, Österreichische Zeitung, Der Standard, Kurier, ORF, even the official one criticizes in chorus the profoundly anti-European attitude of the Austrian Chancellor. They accuse him of isolating his country, of punishing his own companies, of destroying Austria's reputation. And I tell you what, Herr Nehammer, no one has ever won a war with the press! No one, never! Austria has failed to comply with EU laws and is therefore in breach of the rule of law. Austrian citizens need to know that, because of this, their country can get blocked European funds. And one more thing, Herr Nehammer: David's stone, to which few gave a chance, hit Goliath. Be careful what you start with my country! We don't forget, even if we forgive. Instead, I thank Vice-President Othmar Karas for the absolutely European way he has done it and for his position even if he contradicts his own party president.

Thank you for what you say, Mr Tomac, and I assure you that the Government of our country will do this because it is the most serious injustice in the last 70 years that has happened to Romania and this will be sanctioned, and Austria will bear the consequences.

Mr President, I come before you after Austria has voted against Europe. This vote humiliated Romania and holds millions of Romanians hostage. Austria's vote defies Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, which says the rule of law is a fundamental value. Hungary has its money blocked due to breaches of the rule of law. Austria, no, not yet, although Chancellor Nehammer has a pronounced illiberal and absolutely racist attitude. Austria's vote defies Article 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on free movement, plus 20 other pieces of legislation. According to these legislative acts, Romania has the right to have its border controls lifted if it complies with the Schengen acquis. Romania has passed all evaluations. The CVM was also raised. There were additional evaluation visits. 22 experts from 12 EU countries and representatives from Frontex and the Commission, plus 10 additional Dutch experts. These are facts that the Chancellor of Austria ignores under the pretext that she is permissive with the immigrants of my country. A head-to-head lie. Chancellor Nehammer decreed through the Schengen blockade the second Vienna dictate for Romanians. Your Excellencies, the rule of law is the basis of the existence of the European Union. I ask the Commission and Parliament to ask the Court of Justice to find that Austria has breached the acquis and to take steps to suspend its voting rights. (The president interrupted the speaker) (The speaker agreed to respond to a blue card intervention)

Thank you, thank you very much. I will respond with full openness. I think that first of all they need to understand the need for investment in the areas neighbouring the eastern area, and first of all this is about the area of Romania, Poland, the Baltic countries, also Slovakia and, of course, the Republic of Moldova. And I also believe extremely seriously that the Commission should be extremely, extremely serious about investing in good quality press and accurate information.

Madam President, Your Excellencies, I welcome the Council's desire to combat Russia's information war. In this regard, I would like to inform you that the Kremlin has activated the poisoned messages during the pandemic. For Putin, my country, Romania, is a huge stake, because he needs Eurosceptics to gain ground on the border of the European Union. Therefore, any delay in Romania's accession to Schengen gives it momentum. Another stake of the Kremlin is that the sanctions imposed on Russia should be disapproved by as many European citizens as possible, namely Romanians. And here, the predicate is as follows: Romanians, energy is expensive, because the European Union blocks the supply of hydrocarbons from Russia. Fortunately, Romania is dependent on Russia for only 9% of its gas, less than 30% of its oil, and we produce electricity all by ourselves. The Council is finally talking about food security. With Romania in Schengen, it will be possible to streamline the supply chains of grain, salt, sunflower, seriously affected by the war, both on land and naval. Your Excellencies, if the blocking of Romanians at the Schengen border had also taken place in terms of data traffic, energy trade, communications engineers or doctors, the workforce in many European Union countries would have been less qualified. The Romanian state paid school to these specialists, just as it paid for the security of the Schengen border. Your Excellencies, the Schengen area needs Romania. (The speaker agreed to respond to a blue card intervention)

Your excellency, racist, anti-minority, anti-European and pro-Putinist discourse did not emerge from the pandemic and inflation. The pandemic and the energy bill were just the drop that filled the glass in this anti-European war. If we know how to talk to citizens, the far right will only grow in the short term. I'm worried about something else. The far right is sometimes accepted in political dialogue, after its actors claim to renounce pro-Russian discourse and radical elements. This flight under the radar is extremely dangerous. Even more dangerous, however, is when traditional parties take over the radical discourse, hoping to gather votes. The solution is not here. The solution is to help people get through this difficult time. At the same time, we must show them the funding sources of the far right and they will find that politicians who take advantage of the crisis are only actors in a puppet theater. Europeans need to know that. Verification of bank transfers should not be limited to suspicions of terrorism or money laundering. On behalf of the EPP delegation to Romania, I am asking for the funding sources of the European far-right to be verified. The EU budget can no longer contribute to the salaries of Putin's puppets.

Mr President, your excellency, distinguished Commissioner Ylva Johansson, the Romanians have sent me here, and they know best what it is like to stand at the Schengen door, despite the rules that would allow you to travel without restrictions. My country, Romania, has been humiliated and wronged for 11 years. Whatever decision we take, whatever topic we have on the table, the interest of the citizen must be superior to that of the group, especially when this citizen claims the violation of the values of the European Union. When you obstruct freedom of movement and invoke higher motives without arguing, you're nothing more than a trickster in a suit. And people feel that way and stop believing in politicians and the eurosystem. I'll give you one more reason why Euroscepticism is growing. Energy bills are the consequence of the fact that the European Union closed its eyes to Putin's abuses and accepted his poisoned gift, which was not even a gift, was expensive. And that's because the tricksters in the suit didn't care about the price of energy and its consequences. We must be able to look all European citizens in the eye. Can we all do this? Who can look into the eyes of Romanians who have been denied access to Schengen for 11 years? Today's vote in Parliament is a positive signal, but not enough. Romanians have the right to full freedom, just like all Europeans. There must be no first-ranking and second-ranking Europeans. The great European family must not remain at the stage of speech.

Madam President, Commissioner Schinas, Minister Bek, for 11 years, two European countries that Romanians treat with respect, systematically humiliate them, blocking their accession to Schengen. And this, although their companies have huge businesses in Romania and own a large part of the banking and insurance system. Romania has always treated its partners with respect. What more do we need to do to be treated as equals and respected by all EU members? To provoke a food crisis at European level, to block at the border the trains and the hundreds of grain trucks that cross daily Romania to reach the Western markets? In the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Austria, Germany, Italy. Don't make us play hardball. We've been way too elegant and way too quiet so far. We are no less European than those in the West. Don't send Romanian voters to populists and eurosceptics. The blocking of Romania and Bulgaria outside Schengen is an injustice to a deeply European people. 500 years ago, a Romanian was the first European to defeat and block the conqueror of Constantinople, Mehmed II. His name was Iancu de Hunedoara. In his honor, even today all the Catholic churches in the world ring the bells at 12 o'clock. I warn you that now Mehmed II is called Putin. He attacked Ukraine with tanks, but he also attacked the Eurosystem. He has two weapons: The lie and the politicians it supports. He has people who are already telling Romanians that the Eurosystem has abandoned them. In order to cancel any anti-European approach and to cancel the Eurosceptic discourse within the borders of Romania and Bulgaria, our countries must be mandatory in Schengen. Do not make a mockery of Romania and Bulgaria again. That's enough! 11 years was enough!

Madam President, Your Excellencies, I come before you as a representative of one of the countries most attached to European values and the European family. Out of solidarity and real European spirit, Romania helped Ukrainians and Syrians fleeing the war. In the name of solidarity, trucks and trains loaded with grain from Ukraine, which are about to reach the Western countries, cross Romania daily, and in the opposite direction, cross trucks and trains with aid for the Ukrainian people. In the name of solidarity, Romania understands and accepts that countries that have more energy should reduce consumption and give to those who have less. In the name of solidarity, but also of its right, Romania demands what is due to it: accession to Schengen, after 11 years, unfairly, waiting. What is the real state of the European Union, with states sitting in the box and states standing at the door? Romania meets all the conditions and has secured the borders with its own money and not with Romanian companies. Where is the solidarity? There is a risk that the number of populists and extremists will increase in Romania, precisely for this reason. Does anyone risk that in 18 months' time, half of the MEPs will be Eurosceptics? Who wants another European people to give up believing in solidarity? (The Chair interrupted the speaker)... Whose interests do they serve? The Romanian people are not asking for favors, but for a dignified and legitimate status in a Europe to whose stability and continuity they contribute every day. (The Chair interrupted the speaker)... We want justice for Romania, we want it in Schengen, it is our right, Madam President.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Your Excellency, the Czech Republic has been a member of the European Union since May 2004 and since December 2007 a member of Schengen. Václav Havel, the great politician, said that, in general, oil should not be more important than human rights or the rights of nations. Romania has been a member of the European Union since January 2007, and four years later it fulfilled the conditions for joining Schengen. It's 2022, but we're still waiting. For 11 years, my Romanians have been kept at the door of an exclusive club. The most faithful people in the European Union, the most Eurooptimistic, with much suffering in the collective mind, are treated with indifference. We are denied the right to full freedom, although we have every right to it, both culturally and historically, but also politically. Is it any wonder that there are political movements that challenge the eurosystem? Europe, now shaken by the war in Ukraine, should have learned that indifference costs. Europe has been silent about the annexation of Crimea and is now looking at the Russian deadly leap in Ukraine. The Romanians are not in any danger, thank God, because we are NATO members. The danger is another, to continue to leave their country massively, considered second category. Seven million left and 20 million left. It's not fair, it's not moral, it's not democratic, that the rules are applied discretionarily. Not to mention democracy. But my question and that of my people is: when will Romania really be on the agenda of priorities of the European Union, my dear ones? What is happening is unacceptable!

Mr President, your excellencies, every package of sanctions against Russia announced by the European institutions is presented as ‘unprecedented’ and is meant to put pressure on Putin, but this antichrist resists. Every import of hydrocarbons from Russia to the countries of the European Union supplies the daily war machine of the Kremlin with 800 million euros, which must stop. It's unacceptable. We block on the one hand and finance on the other. It's not okay, and it sounds like sheer hypocrisy. It's like an invitation for Putin to continue a demented war. We give him water at the mill and feed the dementia. Who's next? My country, Romania, has a 650km border with Ukraine, plus over 120km on the Black Sea. We are assured that it will not attack NATO countries, that it will not be the Republic of Moldova either. The truth is, we're just guessing that. The Republic of Moldova is in an area of energy blackmail and must be extracted from the pressure to give up its Euro-Atlantic orientation. Goethe said that for every achievement the first step is courage. Let us have the courage to end the indirect financing of the war. It's hard, but the pyramids were also hard to build. Our industry needs to look for alternatives to Russian power supply. Immediately! Do we have this courage or do we pat ourselves collegially on the shoulders, satisfied that we have beautifully mimicked the action?

Your Excellencies, I begin by congratulating Roberta Metsola on her courageous journey to Kiev. I'm leaning! He has laundered the honour of Parliament! At the time when the European Council presented its conclusions, we did not imagine that the Bucha massacre would take place. But the barbarity of Putin and his generals is always breaking records and paralyzing us. Well, that's exactly what we can't afford. We do not have time to waste to see who has closed their eyes in the European Union and who has benefited from the member countries since the annexation of Crimea. The bloody reality can't be changed anyway. Every hour children die, families fall apart, the soul of a nation is mutilated. One child per minute leaves Ukraine. One child per minute! It is clear that the time for compromise has passed and any half-measured sanction does not achieve its purpose. I think less hypocrisy and more action would be desirable. We announce sanctions, but we still leave Russian banks functioning in the SWIFT network and Target 2, five Russian banks, and we pay 300 million euros a day, dear colleagues, Russian gas and oil. In other words, we are feeding Putin's Russia accounts with 9 billion euros a month, that is, we are financing the Kremlin's war machine. Hypocrisy! However, it is certainly worth welcoming the fifth package of sanctions announced by Mrs von Der Leyen. I propose another course of action: to find, I stress, to find together, how to inform Russian citizens about Putin's horrors. This Antichrist has restricted access to the truth, arrested it, but this must not demobilize us. I propose one task force in partnership with NATO to find the way of truth to the Russian citizens, and this task force the information must not know the word ‘impossible’. No matter how many sanctions, investigation commissions and international courts work together to block this war criminal, as long as he has the support of the Russians, aggressively manipulated, we are disarmed. We know from history that truth always finds its way. But we don't have time. For the dire situation in Ukraine, terms such as ‘drama’, ‘misfortune’, ‘disaster’ are too few. We live with the fear that the invasion will not extend to other states, and I, as a Romanian, pray every day for my brothers in the Republic of Moldova. God save her! Let's not witness another nightmare! Albert Einstein said this: I don't know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but surely the fourth will be with sticks and stones.

Madam President, your excellency, Mr President of France, your excellency, I begin by saying loudly that Romania owes enormously to France since the 19th century, from historians Edgar Quinet and Jules Michelet, friends and supporters of Romania, to Napoleon III, without whom we would not have a dynasty. Without France, the modernity and modernization of Romania would have lasted longer. We are grateful to you! General Henri Berthelot called the Romanians family and contributed to the reorganization of the Romanian army, and this helped us to save not only our territory, but also our national identity. For the past two decades, France has been the permanent advocate of Romania's accession to the EU. Thank you for your support! Mr. President, intervene once again in our history! Indebt us once again! Continue the tradition of friendship of our countries and become the advocate of Romanians for joining the Schengen area! Romania has fulfilled all the technical conditions for accession since 2011, but it is blocked on incomprehensible political criteria, it is practically kept at the Schengen door. Unfortunately, this unfair situation towards Romanians accentuates the virulence of extremist manifestations in my country. Until last year, Romania was the positive exception, without parliamentary formations hostile to the European Union. Unfortunately, things are changing today. Clearly unjust situations like this fuel anti-Western rhetoric. Romania is becoming a testing ground for anti-European extremist populism, for anti-Semitism. We, the Romanians, ask for your support and count on it! Be our elder brother, as your country has historically been for us, in a Europe of values and solidarity... (The president interrupted the speaker.)

This debate is very important, Manfred, congratulations. Madam President, your excellences, for 500 years, every day, at 12 o'clock, in all the Catholic churches in the world ring the bells in honor of the Romanian prince Iancu de Hunedoara. This was the result of a papal bull, through which the strategy of genius was praised, which ensured the victory of Christendom against Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople. In the history of Europe, the Romanian people have been the defender of Christianity many times and I am proud to be Romanian. Coming from Romania, the gate of Christianity, I love Europe and the European Union, which stands like a dome on the towers of all Christian churches on the continent. I am indebted to defend it further, and Europe will now and for centuries celebrate the birth of the Saviour. Someone's playing dangerously with fire. Whether they are neo-Marxists or just individuals incapable of understanding the history of the future of this European world is not of the utmost importance. It is essential, however, that the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council publicly state whether they accept these concepts and attitudes. We, who celebrate the birth of the Lord, will not give up the freedom to manifest our convictions publicly, with courage, with love, with much love. Merry Christmas, dear Europeans!