What Carmen spoke about.

17

Jan

2023

RO Speech

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Question Time (Commission) - Food price inflation in Europe

Mr President, we see all these statistics coming from the European Commission, and from international organisations, and from the governments of the Member States, and they are worrying, as are the consequences. Romania, for example, ended 2022 with a 22 percent increase in food prices, and this translated into the gradual disappearance of some food products from shops and even the blocking in alm…

16

Jan

2023

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, the 30th anniversary of the single market is, for some, a moment of celebration and, for others, a reason for sad remembrance. For, three decades later, in this theoretically unique market, offering, we are told, equal opportunities and responsibilities, there are Member States that are still victims of the double standard. For example, my country. Although for 16 years Romania has b…

13

Dec

2022

RO Speech

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The recent JHA Council decision on Schengen accession (debate)

I think we can turn this topic into a topic of domestic politics, but the truth remains that Romania was rejected by a single voice, by the Austrian Chancellor, who, with the help of a lie, relying on false pretexts, opposed the other 26 states that stood firmly behind Romania.…

13

Dec

2022

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The recent JHA Council decision on Schengen accession (debate)

Mr President, as a man who has longed for 40 years to be part of the European Union, as a citizen of a country that still loves this Union, although it has endured hardships and sacrifices, as a member of a nation that has survived a cruel history only by living in the hope that one day it will be respected and treated equally, I was and remain terrified and degraded by the moment on 8 December, w…

12

Dec

2022

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A long-term vision for the EU's rural areas (debate)

Madam President, this debate is not about isolated villages, farmers' problems and a romantic view of country life. This debate is about 30% of the population of the European Union, over 80% of its territory and an urgent issue on which the future of the Member States depends. For example, in my country, 45% of the population lives in villages, the highest share in the European Union. But the situ…

23

Nov

2022

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Protection of livestock farming and large carnivores in Europe (debate)

Mr President, those who think that this debate is only about more compensation for farmers or about promoting hunting are bitterly mistaken. It is and must be about how we recover the lost balance between flora, fauna and man, because in my country the loss of this balance costs us, it costs us human lives. In a decade, Romania recorded the highest number of predator victims in the entire Union. M…

23

Nov

2022

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A truly interconnected Energy Single Market to keep bills down and companies competitive (topical debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, in the 1980s, which were the worst of communism, 23 million Romanians, including myself, lived in daily humility because of elementary shortages of food, heat and electricity. We were given little and rarely enough to see that they existed, but we had no right to have them. Four decades later, while living in the heart of democracy, millions of Europeans risk experie…

9

Nov

2022

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Communication on ensuring availability and affordability of fertilisers (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, we thank you for this presentation, but I can tell you right now that it will severely disappoint many European producers, especially those from countries that cannot afford state aid, because they are already financially exhausted because they have to face a war that is very close to their border. So we do not have real, effective solutions for European factories th…

6

Oct

2022

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The urgent need for an EU strategy on fertilisers to ensure food security in Europe (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, in an energy crisis whose end is hard to predict and around a cold season that could create new and big problems for us, Europe needs to learn how to save on heat, electricity and water. It is the price it pays, because for more than a year, despite warnings and repeated calls, the Union has hesitated to intervene firmly to combat anomalies in the energ…

5

Oct

2022

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The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area (debate)

Mr President, for 11 years, Romania has been sitting in the Schengen anteroom, waiting for the door to open. For 11 years, my country is not only ready to enter, but has shown solidarity and exemplary action in crisis situations, has respected the legislation and is now preparing the implementation of the new European security systems. However, after 11 years, we are still opposed by some great tr…

13

Sep

2022

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EU response to the increase in energy prices in Europe (debate)

Madam President, the people who sent us to the European Parliament are asking us why the Commission is failing to save them from the ordeal of huge energy prices. They ask us to tell them who is to blame because they will stay in the winter hungry and in the dark. And some, more knowledgeable, want to know why Brussels announces only measures with limited effect, as if we do not see, in our own ho…

13

Sep

2022

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Consequences of drought, fire, and other extreme weather phenomena: increasing EU's efforts to fight climate change (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, for almost a year now, my country has been waiting for the permission of the European Commission to reopen a damaging NRRP, with zero cents for agriculture, to finally allocate money for irrigation. I hope that following the recent statistics, the Commission will quickly take a decision, as the data shows us a catastrophic, alarming situation. At E…

12

Sep

2022

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, the State of the Union speech, which will take place in two days' time in Parliament's plenary, is eagerly awaited by all of Europe. But if it does not contain the most important element, namely a strong social pillar, this presentation will arouse a wave of dissatisfaction in the European Union. Millions of people simply can no longer find ways to survive and the approaching winter …

12

Sep

2022

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New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 – Sustainable Forest Management in Europe (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to begin by thanking the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs for their exemplary collaboration in finalising this report on the forest strategy, in which we have managed to strike the balance between all three functions of forests: environmental, social and economic. This balance is extremely important today, in the context of multip…

6

Jul

2022

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Facilitating export of Ukrainian agricultural products: key for Ukrainian economy and global food security (debate)

Madam President, since the war began, there has been no European state, whether on the border with Ukraine or not, that has not made efforts to help this bloody country. Whether it was humanitarian, financial, military or agricultural support, the European Union has come to the rescue. Moreover, European leaders decided to raise administrative or fiscal barriers for Ukraine's agricultural sector t…

4

Jul

2022

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, Commissioner, the Commission's proposal on the sustainable use of plant protection products is not only not based on an impact assessment, but also puts farmers in Romania and elsewhere who already use chemicals well below the European average to the wall. My country, for example, would have to reduce by 35% the amount of pesticides, that is, it would be left with 4 times less sub…

7

Jun

2022

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The EU’s Foreign, Security and Defence Policy after the Russian invasion of Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, Putin's war is a war against our values. It is therefore time for the European Union to retaliate with a decisive leap towards a new paradigm, that of an active player, to move from patching broken relations to the role of creator of foreign policy, to become able to solve conflicts, but also to anticipate dangers. The new foreign policy of the Union must not start after the end o…

19

May

2022

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The REPowerEU Plan: European solidarity and energy security in face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including the recent cuts of gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria (debate)

Mr. President, to violent attacks, response with appropriate strategies. REPowerEU is Europe's way of taking the decisive step towards energy independence, but also the immediate response to the blackmail of Putin's criminal regime, which closed the gas tap for two Member States. I therefore welcome the Commission's plan and the instrument that will refuel the Union. Allowing Member States to adap…

18

May

2022

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Prosecution of the opposition and the detention of trade union leaders in Belarus (debate)

Madam President, the arrest of trade unionists in Belarus is not just a criminal attack on people uncomfortable with the Lukashenka regime. It is an attack on a democratic institution - the trade union - and on the fundamental rights guaranteed by the International Labour Organisation, of which Belarus is a member. It is no coincidence that three months after the barbaric invasion of Ukraine, the …

2

May

2022

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

We are going through several crises at once and preparing for another one: Indefinite recession. Between anti-Putin strategies and pro-Europe measures, however, we should not ignore a phenomenon that could give democracy a fatal blow: The resurgence of extremism in a conjuncture that creates the perfect premises. We were relieved by Emmanuel Macron's victory. But if we make an honest calculation, …

4

Apr

2022

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, Commissioner Stella Kyriakides has recently announced that, while there is no question of abandoning the Green Deal targets, the 50% reduction in pesticides and fertilisers in agriculture will not apply at national level and the Commission will take into account the characteristics of each Member State. This is good news for food security. In the original version of the proposal, agr…

23

Mar

2022

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Need for an urgent EU action plan to ensure food security inside and outside the EU in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, I welcome Parliament's resolution and the Commission's plan to save the agricultural sector at this time of great crisis. But for food security, we need even more, well-calculated measures, such as: adapting to the new reality of national strategic plans, postponing provisions that may decrease production, increasing the percentage of advance on subsidies, viable solutions for the…

17

Feb

2022

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The surge in commodity and input prices in the agricultural sector (G-001004/2021 - B9-0005/2022)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the enormous energy crisis we are going through surprised us at the very moment we were taking off towards . At the same time, our farmers also faced Russia's attacks on grain prices and its expansion to other markets and the political instability triggered by it. After just a few months, the balance is already dramatic for the European consumer…

16

Feb

2022

RO Speech

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EU-Russia relations, European security and Russia’s military threat against Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, ‘You do not understand Russia’, Moscow’s officials accuse us and they are right. How can the European Union understand, with its values, a dictatorship with imperialist nostalgia, ruled even today by people who come from the darkness of the USSR and no longer want to leave? On the other hand, however, it is difficult to understand why when Putin's intentions are very clear to us, …

14

Feb

2022

RO Speech

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Implementation report on on-farm animal welfare (debate)

Madam President, animal welfare and farmers' welfare are not negotiable, nor are they antagonistic concepts, as some also insinuate, simply because the welfare of the animal depends 100% on the farmer's ability to grant it the highest breeding standards. These two concepts being interlinked, they must therefore be treated simultaneously and with identical degrees of attention and responsibility. N…