Speeches

Madam President, dear colleagues, citizens' trust in the European institutions depends not only on the decisions we take, but also on how those decisions are prepared, explained and implemented. Transparency, accountability and good administration are essential for the credibility of the European Union. That is why I would like to welcome the presentation of the 2024 Annual Report of the European Ombudsman and the important work carried out to promote transparency and high standards of good administration of the European institutions. The report highlights particularly relevant topics: transparency of decision-making, fundamental rights, ethical standards and institutional accountability. These issues are essential for the proper functioning of the European administration and for building citizens' trust in our institutions. In 2024, the Ombudsman opened 415 inquiries and closed 411. 4 were own-initiative investigations. At the same time, 427 investigations were registered. Among the main topics addressed in the completed surveys, this year were: transparency and accountability, public service culture and recruitment. It is worth noting that in 2024, almost 18 000 people benefited from the Ombudsman’s support, of which 17 700 received advice through the interactive guide available on the Ombudsman’s website. This highlights how digitalisation has contributed to the efficiency and speed of the assistance process. The PETI Committee has a close cooperation relationship with the European Ombudsman. Both citizens’ petitions and the Ombudsman’s interventions reflect the real concern of Europeans about the functioning of the European Union’s administration. At the same time, we must maintain the right balance between transparency and efficient decision-making. That is why we appreciate this report and support it in Parliament.

Madam President, dear colleagues, as rapporteur from the Committee on Transport and Tourism for the 2026 budget, I am interested in transport capacity and increased logistical capacity for the better functioning of the internal market, but also for the support of poor and peripheral regions. At the same time, I am interested in European security and I appreciate the fact that the European Commission has increased in the 2028-2034 multiannual budget by 10 times the value of military mobility, which is why it must also increase from 2026, to be a steady increase. At the same time, I want the TEN-T infrastructure to have a dual role, that of civil utility and military utility for all segments of investment. In order to increase European security, we call for the creation of three maritime security centres in the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, to ensure monitoring, coordinated response and, under the leadership of the European Union and NATO, to provide us with very good security for our area.

Madam President, dear colleagues, I welcome this important report and congratulate my fellow rapporteurs on their professionalism and balance. It was a joint effort that shows that we can build development support together in Europe in times of crisis. The Recovery and Resilience Facility was and is intended to be a success story, but it is precisely to protect success that we need realism. As a person who worked for 19 years in the local administration, I know what it means to implement European funds. That is why I strongly support the proposal to extend the implementation period of mature projects by 18 months. And yes, we need more clarity, objectivity and transparency from the Commission. Finally, I welcome the possibility of creating a performance-based post-2026 prioritisation system that allows projects to be completed through other instruments. We need, with the contribution of this Parliament, a solid strategy for public investment after 2026, including in defence, but without sacrificing resources for health, education and cohesion.

Mr President, dear colleagues, the discharge process is not a mere formality. This is how we reaffirm the fundamental principle of our Union: responsibility towards citizens and public money. We have a duty to ensure that every euro in the European budget is built transparently, legally and with real impact. In particular, we need to focus on investment in military transport and mobility infrastructure, a strategic pillar for the functioning of the single market and the security of the Union. Extending the TEN-T network is not just an economic project, it is an investment in our collective resilience. In an unstable geopolitical context, Europe’s defence capacity cannot be delayed without a solid and integrated logistical base. We therefore call on the Commission to continue to improve the control and audit mechanism so that the funds allocated are used efficiently, without systematic errors. We have a historic responsibility. Transparency and efficiency are not optional, they are the foundation of our credibility.

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, the European Union is experiencing a period of accelerated economic transition, marked by digitalisation, automation and the green transition. These changes are not only challenges, and they are many and real, but also opportunities. So if we invest smartly in education and training, we can have an increase in skills in our society. What do we propose? 1. A much stronger and more direct link between education and business. Companies must be actively involved in defining curricula, in order for the training to be real and applicable, and this can only start from the bottom up, from the local level to the national one and then to the European one. 2. Support for entrepreneurs and SMEs in vocational education and training. My vision is that of an education based on the real needs identified on the ground by companies and employees. I worked 19 years in the local public administration, I saw what the role of universities, high schools, dual vocational schools means. We've taken over a city with 39,000 jobs. In 10 years we have reached 90 000 jobs, unemployment below 1%. That is why, if we want an innovative and competitive Europe, we must offer freedom and support to those who know the reality on the ground. This means modern and entrepreneurial education. That's what the future is all about.

Mr President, Commissioner, the Draghi report has shown us how vulnerable we are in terms of energy. This is why we need solidarity, but also a global strategy. In the face of the energy crisis generated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is imperative to work together, to support each other, especially between the states to the west and east of the European Union. Romania, a country on the border with Ukraine, has made and is making considerable efforts to support not only Ukraine, but also the Republic of Moldova, providing energy and logistical support. So far we have borne these costs alone. It is time to correct this situation. It is time to work in solidarity. It is not normal for the eastern states, which are at the forefront of this conflict and the most exposed, to pay a higher price for energy than the western states, and the price is even double. That is why it is time to support prosumers, to trust in nuclear energy, to let go of hydropower production, to interconnect the West with the East, to show solidarity.

Madam President, dear colleagues, the parliamentary mission is to find solutions, not complicated, but simple, to the problems facing society. A major problem for the European Union is the lack of professional truck and bus drivers, with an estimated shortage of half a million employees. Only in my country, Romania, the deficit is over 30,000 people, that's also because many of the professional drivers work in Western European countries. Driver shortages are a problem that we can say affects not just one area, but entire economic sectors, essential logistics chains, at a time when we see at a strategic and security level how important mobility is. In the current context, in which youth unemployment is increasing, we need to remove certain barriers to entry into this profession without compromising traffic safety and to attract new people, to whom we can show confidence and who can train under the supervision of professionals.

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, as rapporteur on behalf of the EPP, I welcome the result that I have reached with my fellow rapporteurs on this regulation. This is another important step towards achieving a European digital space, but also towards strengthening European leadership in this area. We all want modern, future-proof, efficient and low-cost administrations for everything in the European Union, and now we are offering new opportunities to achieve this goal. With the negotiations on this regulation, I am happy for my country, where I have worked for 19 years in the local administration, that we will have digitalized public services in the interest of citizens and entrepreneurs. I was also able to include the European Cybersecurity Centre in Bucharest in the list of members with observer status in the Interoperable Europe Board, a strategic advisory body of the Commission. At the same time, as a Romanian MEP, I cannot help but notice that, on this occasion, while my country will be part of what digital Schengen means, we still have European partners that keep Romania outside the land Schengen area. I hope, however, that Russian propaganda does not work for a long time. Therefore, join us!

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Europe cannot and does not want us in the Balkans, and nowhere else, to have conflicts like in Pakistan, as we see in Nagorno-Karabakh or Kyrgyzstan. The reality, as I see it, is that without concrete and decisive action by the European Union, the violence in that region will last for years. This conflict in the region benefits Putin. He wants there to be instability in the Balkans, and Serbia needs to understand this. That is why the European Union must be much more determined, decisive and provide both sides with a concrete and clear path to development and collaboration with the European Union. It depends on the two sides. It's up to us to support them to be more democratic.

Mr President, Mr Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, the recent revelations and the visa scandal for bribery money granted by some consulates in Poland show us two things. The first is that the Schengen area must be modernised, supported with confidence by all the countries of the European Union, and violations must be sanctioned. The Polish government will, of course, have to respond clearly to these revelations, and the European Union will have to initiate concrete actions for these policies to be annihilated. The second thing that shows us is how unfair, illegal, immoral and unacceptable it is to keep outside Schengen countries and governments such as Romania and Bulgaria, which, without being part of Schengen, do their duty day after day, year after year. Who keeps them outside Schengen? A populist government like the Austrian one. Does that seem normal to you? Is this the European Union we want? No, obviously. We want a European Union for all citizens with equal rights.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I have the honour to present the motion for a resolution on Romania's and Bulgaria's access to the Schengen area, adopted unanimously by the Committee on Petitions. The excellent collaboration between rapporteur Dolors Montserrat and all shadow rapporteurs resulted in a bold and firm text. Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, for over 12 years, Romania and Bulgaria have been abusively and unmotivatedly kept at the Schengen gate. I say this because my words have been clearly and firmly supported since 2011 by this Parliament, by its resolutions, by the evaluations of the European Commission, by experts, by field checks, and this state of affairs is that Romania and Bulgaria are blocked at the Schengen gate. That is why, correctly, the resolution expresses strong support for the enlargement of the Schengen area for Romania and Bulgaria. These two countries have fulfilled the accession criteria, comply with and explicitly apply the Schengen acquis, which means that the Schengen area is functioning at this point in time. The resolution regrets the outcome of the debate at the JHA Council on 8 December 2022, which led to the refusal of the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area, without any legal justification having been provided. The refusal to accept Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area leads to the violation of five articles of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, namely the right to human dignity, freedom and security, equality before the law, environmental protection and freedom of movement. The resolution calls on the Council to comply with Article 4(2) of the Act concerning the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union and to vote without delay at the latest by the end of 2023 in favour of the accession of the two countries to the Schengen area. The Council is also asked to take into account the fact that carbon dioxide emissions from millions of vehicles waiting long hours at border points are in stark contrast to the European Union's climate neutrality objectives. The resolution stresses with deep concern that negative decisions on Romania's and Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area are being used as anti-EU propaganda, including anti-Russian propaganda. The Commission is invited to estimate the financial losses and environmental damage since 2011. The Commission should also explore the possibility of mechanisms to compensate the financial losses suffered by the Bulgarian and Romanian economies due to negative decisions. The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area is essential for the European Union to become stronger. With this resolution, the Commission is urged to explore all possible procedures to defend the right to free movement of citizens from Romania and Bulgaria. As a Romanian MEP, please allow me a brief personal observation. Until 2019, I was the mayor of the westernmost city in Romania for 15 years. The town of Arad is 50 km from the border. I know exactly the suffering of the people who drive the trucks. I know exactly what the border point means. That is why we place our trust in the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union that the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area is a high priority and to schedule a vote in the JHA Council by the end of this year.

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, there is probably no greater priority at this time at European Union level than ensuring full and common energy independence from the Russian Federation. I would like to stress that this independence will either be common or it will not be at all. As long as some states, for whatever reason and whatever reason, whether large or small, choose to extend their dependence and servitude to Moscow, the European Union as a whole will be severely affected. Therefore, it is obvious that we cannot rely on the winter that comes on the same temperatures as last winter. It was the luck of all of us, but we can't dream of the same luck every winter. It is equally obvious that we must act responsibly, unselfishly and urgently. Beyond the commercial or technical aspects, my appeal is to seriousness and, above all, to joint action. Otherwise, unfortunately, we will lie to ourselves. Moreover, until we are able to achieve renewable energy at European level, we need to maintain gas as a transitional energy.

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, I would like to bring two ideas to your attention today: ideas that I think we have a duty to worry about every day. The first is based on the basic principle of the European Union with regard to the free movement of persons and goods. In the movement of goods, we have seen that we have not done everything, today massively polluting the borders of countries that are not yet in Schengen. And for the free movement of citizens, it would be good to make sure that costs will not prevent them from getting to work, shopping or essential places. Therefore, a green transport will have to be a more inclusive one, giving opportunities. Secondly, I would like to mention that in everything we do, in everything we discuss and establish together, let us never forget the most vulnerable among us, the households that can no longer live from one month to the next, although people work hard. For them, we need to establish retraining and qualification mechanisms that enable them to participate fully, successfully in the well-being of the new European economy. (The speaker refused to respond to a ‘blue card’ intervention by Eugen Tomac)

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, I would like to point out a few points which, in my opinion, need to be addressed urgently and which are in line with the dozens of discussions that we have had lately with European citizens in Romania and elsewhere. People expect concrete results from the European Union to help them live better. But today we have a pandemic that affected them, we have the Russian invasion of Ukraine that affects us, we have an increase in energy prices that affects us, just as unemployment and lack of real opportunities affect us every day. Many do not know how they will pay their utilities, do not know if they will have a job, do not know if they will pay the loans. That is why we are very interested in having solutions now and not in 2025 or 2050. Small companies that have to fire people or close doors, what can we tell them right now? What concrete solutions do we offer now, beyond good intentions and plans for the next decade? Jobs are not created from the air. They are created by entrepreneurs, by people who need to be supported and by no means burdened by new legislative versions or by bureaucracy in the European Union. If companies and entrepreneurs disappear or are tempted to leave for America or Asia, how will we generate quality jobs and how much money will we provide for the needs of European citizens? That is why it is very important to invest in people, first and foremost in programmes and in entrepreneurs who will create those well-paid jobs for citizens.

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, when it comes to energy efficiency in new buildings, we can say that we have a positive direction, we are changing design standards and we can have good energy efficiency. Moreover, we can even think of a design of what the energy independence of these buildings means. When we talk about the energy efficiency of old buildings, I can tell you, from my experience, as a former mayor for 15 years in the local administration, making our buildings energy efficient, we had positive results, positive results in terms of bill reductions, positive results in terms of the cost of producing the product, which means gigacalory. And I believe that this positive theme can bring us in the direction of making good energy efficiency. It's just that, we have to be honest, to say that solidarity is needed. To stand in solidarity with what vulnerable people mean today, to stand in solidarity with people in rural areas, because to be able to convince these people to invest in their buildings must be seen with European support. This is why solidarity-related energy efficiency is needed.

Mr President, dear colleagues, I speak to you as the father of a wonderful daughter, who, like your daughters, I wish to live in a world where she is respected as a man, where she is treated equally and where she is never discriminated against for the kind she was born with and where she does not fall victim to violence of any kind. In this spirit and with these thoughts I say it firmly: The Commission of the European Union must ensure the ratification of the Istanbul Convention as soon as possible. While our good intentions are limited to the clearly necessary steps we take in the European Parliament, victims sometimes suffer life-long consequences. Therefore, I ask you, please, to make this urgent, and we in our countries, every day, to speak and fight to be with the victims.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Russia's action against European democracies cannot happen without support from within. Russia finances politicians, journalists, NGOs and parties in the European Union. It is a fact that the fight against nuclear energy, for example, has had the effect of increasing our dependence on Russian gas. Moscow's voice is constantly and aggressively heard within the European Union. This was the case in the JHA vote last week, when, despite repeated resolutions from the European Parliament, an EU government blocked Romania's accession to Schengen on the basis of lies that stink of Russian disinformation. Commissioner Johansson said last night, I quote: "We all lost with last week's vote. There is only one winner, and he lives in the Kremlin. I know December is the month of gifts, but I say: no gifts for Putin’. I'll finish the quote. For this reason, I call on the Commission to tell us how it will fight those who help Russia from within the European Union.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that with regard to the authoritarian regime in Belarus, any illusion of a certain normalisation of the political situation at the level of pluralism, freedom of expression or the democratic transfer of power when people decide has been shattered. At the moment, the only chance of survival of the authoritarian regime in Minsk is association with the criminal regime in Moscow, which is unacceptable for the European Union, all the more so as the effects of this association spill over negatively, tragically and dangerously on Belarusian citizens fighting for freedom. The European Union has an obligation to take all legal and moral measures to prevent a direct involvement of the Minsk regime in the Russian war against Ukraine. Now is the time to act firmly and effectively. Everything else will have a negative effect on us and our allies.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in any situation, but especially in the current context, aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the deficit of democracy within the European Union, but also at its borders, is a cause for concern and, at the same time, a new opportunity for coordinated action between the European institutions and the Member States. This is also the case with the events in Tunisia, which I believe we must not easily deal with at any level, but which I believe we must nevertheless deal with constructively. Of course, even at diplomatic level, the European Union often sets an example, which is essential. But I believe that we have an obligation, within the limits of our treaties, to support, especially to defend, all those who democratically fight for freedom, prosperity and dignity. The European Union has an obligation to maintain a lively dialogue with Tunisia and, with it, Tunisians' hope for stability and a better future.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Russian aggression against Ukraine has been an unfortunate but good opportunity for the Balkan governments to reconsider and reassess Moscow's influence in their region. At the same time, it is a good opportunity for us at European level to reconsider the dynamics of our relations with those countries, especially as regards the clear support they need on the road to their accession to our political and values community. And I would like to welcome on this occasion the Commission's recommendation by the Council to grant candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is an extremely strong signal for the whole area, and our attachment to the process of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, democratically supported by the people and demanded by them, must be the basis for having as many concrete things as possible.

Madam President, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, dear colleagues, in the current context of alarming increases in energy prices and inflation, the Social Climate Fund is more important than ever. The energy transition will only succeed if all Europeans can make the transition, not just a few happy people who can afford it. That is why we need a Social Climate Fund, which will be one of the tools to ensure that everyone is able to make the energy transition and stop dependence on Russian gas and oil. Taking into account geopolitical circumstances, it is essential to maintain a level of co-financing at least similar to that existing in cohesion policies. In addition, it is essential to take into account the different starting points and the far-reaching reforms that Member States need to carry out in order to contribute to the European Union’s climate target. For Romania, my country, it is very important to support the financing of natural gas projects together with nuclear energy, as essential for the replacement of coal. Ambitious measures at European level must be fair, sustainable and socially acceptable and must not widen economic differences between Member States.

Madam President, Commissioners, President of the Court of Auditors, Minister, ladies and gentlemen, we must recognise the importance of the transport sector and of investment in this sector, which is going through a difficult period, that of the pandemic, and the transition to a green and digital economy. Without transportation, there is no economy. Moreover, transport affects every citizen every day as a worker, student, tourist and consumer. Without transportation, there is no high-quality life. Finally, transport plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between remote areas and Europe's main economic and industrial centres. Without transport, there is no internal market. Dear colleagues, the European transport agencies have proven their efficiency and professionalism in this time of crisis, and I welcome the fact that no suspected cases of fraud have been sent to OLAF. That is why the European institutions need to pay more attention to transport agencies and joint undertakings in the field of transport, so they call for an increase in the budget for all relevant agencies.

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, I come from Romania where, in the mid-1940s, the foreign interference of the USSR on the democratic process cost us half a century of communism. Ladies and gentlemen, let no one else go through our experience. These days, a Ukrainian refugee who arrived in Bucharest described Russian disinformation. I quote: “When I sent filming of dead people near my home in Kharkov to my friends in Russia, they stopped writing to me,” I close the quote. The woman also said that she was called by a cousin from Crimea and invited her to stay with him until the Russian army liberated Kharkiv from the Ukrainian Nazi army, and finally, when the woman called her aunt from Belarus to tell her that she had arrived safely in Romania with her daughter, she asked her what she was doing with the NATO attackers. Ladies and gentlemen, this is how Russian disinformation works, and we must have the courage and determination to dismantle the Putin disinformation network in Europe, a network that funds parties, politicians, journalists and analysts. This must be done because foreign interference constitutes a serious violation of the values and principles on which our Union is founded, such as human dignity, freedom, solidarity, democracy and the rule of law. Thank you and happy birthday, ladies! (Applause)

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, in April 2019, we were all campaigning to get the support of citizens to represent them in the European Parliament. For me, April 17, 2019, was the day when, after some medical tests, the doctor called me and said: ‘Mr Falcă, you are diagnosed with cancer and must be operated on urgently, even tomorrow if possible’. In that moment, in that moment, everything changes. Then you see the world in different colors. Speaking stutteringly, I got from my doctor four days spent with my family in my hometown, with friends, with many hugs and with a lot of support, and then I climbed on the operating table, an operation transformed into three operations. Out of four hours, eleven were made, and after five days of sitting at the Reanimation, the doctor said to me: “The operation is successful, the therapy is on, and it's going to be fine.” With what we're doing now, we're giving thousands of people a chance to hear from the doctor: ‘You beat cancer!’. Cancer can be defeated. Thank you, dear colleagues, that we can bring hope to people diagnosed with cancer and I wish you a lot of health, wisdom and support for these people.

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, 2020 has been a difficult year for all because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year citizens sent 1 573 petitions to the European Parliament, a significant increase compared to 2018 and 2019. This increase in 2020 is due to citizens’ concern about health, of course. The main topics of interest of the petitions submitted since 2020 concern fundamental rights, and there we are talking about the impact of emergency measures taken by Member States, the right to work, the right to information, we are talking about health, where the protection of citizens' health, the purchase and distribution of vaccines and the quality of protective equipment are the things of concern addressed by citizens. In the environmental field, we are talking mainly about mining, nuclear safety and air pollution. In the area of justice, we are talking about concerns about the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. When we talk about education, we are talking about discriminatory access to education or contested national reforms, and when we talk about the internal market, in particular we are talking about national travel restrictions and their effect on free movement in the European Union. Dear colleagues, our committee is the only one that forms its agenda according to citizens' requests, and petitions are a gateway for citizens to the European institutions, a unique opportunity for the European Parliament and other institutions to establish a direct link with citizens and residents of the European Union. Moreover, admissible petitions also make valuable contributions to the work of other parliamentary committees, which provide opinions or receive petitions for information. In 2020, 56 petitions for opinion and 385 petitions for information were submitted. Although the time allocated to committees in 2020 was less, we expressed our views on the important issues raised in petitions and contributed to several parliamentary reports. I recall the agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the resolution on the international abduction of children from the European Union to Japan and the resolution on the allocation of additional funds for biomedical research. In our report, we also appreciate the work of the European Ombudsman and the good cooperation with him. In 2020, the petitions web portal was developed, making it safer and easier to use. Finally, I would like to mention that we are sorry that in 2020 it was not possible for petitioners to physically come to our committee, but citizens must rely on us, on those who accept them and discuss their petitions. That's why I thank you and wish you a merry Christmas.