Speeches

The 2025 Asylum Report is important not only in terms of highlighting the migratory pressure on EU borders, but also in terms of timing of publication. Between 2024 and 2025, 115 000 third-country nationals residing illegally in the EU were returned to their countries of origin. This represents an increase of only 20% compared to 2023-2024. Most of these citizens had Moroccan, Syrian, Algerian, Turkish or Afghan citizenship. Unfortunately, from 2026 Romania will receive the mandatory quota of migrants related to the Pact on Migration and Asylum adopted in 2024. This increases concern about the rise of crime and the safety of our own citizens. Although Romania is not yet among the most affected countries at European level, between 2024 and 2025 110,000 people forced EU borders, but were denied access. Among the member states that stopped the entry of these foreign citizens was Romania, the country received much too late in Schengen. What can we expect from January 2026? Are we really prepared to deal with the wave of migrants? To what extent do the police receive the necessary support and equipment to prevent and fight against the rise of crime?

So many innocent civilians have been murdered, women and men raped, bodies mutilated and children taken hostage. And yet, almost two years later, this Parliament still fails to state the obvious: Israel has the right to defend itself! What were Israel's options? Do nothing? Accept any demand made by the terrorists while the hostages were still being held? No country in the world would tolerate this! The EU did not negotiate with ISIS, nor did the US negotiate with al-Qaeda! Just as the EU sees peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine as dangerous and invalid without security guarantees for Ukraine, it should analyse the situation between Israel and Gaza in the same manner, as long as the hostages are not released. If not, let us admit that we are applying double standards in the EU institutions. If we truly want peace, we should start by standing with those fighting against terrorism, not by legitimising those who practice it – including here, in Europe, in Brussels, Strasbourg, Paris and many other places. Which of our children will be the terrorists’ next victim?

(the beginning of the intervention was not done on the microphone) ...but not under the pretext of nullifying the fundamental right to privacy. I am a criminal lawyer and I say it clearly: Privacy is a fundamental right that cannot be negotiated. On the other hand, I am a mother and I declare with the same firmness: the right of minors to protection online is vital. Appropriate criminal penalties are therefore imposed on offenders, but the two rights do not nullify each other and are not in conflict. They must be guaranteed in parallel and it is up to us to find the right solution for this. The fight against child abuse must not turn into widespread surveillance and prosecution of all bona fide citizens. Any restriction of people's rights must be only exceptional and only in certain specific situations. That's not what the European Convention on Human Rights says. I support the need for effective mechanisms to combat child sexual abuse material. However, I reject technical solutions that would undermine global cybersecurity. We tabled targeted amendments to the Regulation extending the current rules, calling for end-to-end encryption to remain intact. It's the only guarantee of the confidentiality of our communications.

Madam President, Europe is facing the biggest housing crisis since the Second World War - a crisis that is at the root of the continent's demographic decline. A nation that cannot guarantee a roof for its young people is a nation without a future, and the solution to the shortage of its own migrant population is not a solution, it is suicide. Unfortunately, the European Commission has taken a little haste and launched its vision to combat the housing crisis, without listening to Parliament. After the vote on this report, I strongly call on the Commission to ensure that its future proposal faithfully reflects the content of our work here. As the ECR political group negotiator on this file, I have three strong messages. First of all, no more financial crumbs. In the negotiations for the next MFFWe need the money. We strongly demanded and obtained in the report a clear program for housing financing, modelled on the SAFE program. If we are to find money for everything and everyone, we must also find it for the homes of Europeans. Second, stop the Green Deal bulldozer before it destroys what is left. Anyone who does not vote on the ECR amendment on the abolition of prohibitive green legislation will contribute to the demographic death of the Union. Mandatory green renovations exhaust the savings of citizens, can cost between 30 and 100 thousand euros per unit, often exceeding the total savings of a family. Thirdly, no illegal occupation and migration. This so-called "squatting" must not be seen as an isolated phenomenon, it concerns us all. It is not just an attack on the fundamental right to private property, but on the legal protection of property in general. Illegal employment is not a housing solution. We therefore need a functioning budget, made available to the Member States, legislation that respects the citizen's wallet and a legal framework that honours the right to property and the competence of the Member States.

Mr President, Europe has tried to solve the demographic crisis and the crisis in the job market through migration. It was not a good idea and we have thousands of victims of increased crime demonstrating this, as well as official reports from Frontex, Europol and other similar institutions, where illegal migration and migrant crime are extensively analysed. This year we will also see the effects of the Pact on Migration and Asylum in EU member countries where illegal migration was low. Are we really ready? Is the police in the member countries sufficiently prepared? Seeing what's happening on the streets of Brussels, I'd say no. Perhaps the right solution is not to save these people by bringing them to Europe, but to help them stay in their countries, as Giorgia Meloni, for example, thought of Matta's Plan. If we find financial resources in Europe for everything, maybe we should also find financial resources for the safety of European citizens. The lack of ownership on the issue of migration in Europe is not just an act of political weakness, it is a real act of sabotage against the security and sovereignty of the European Union.

Madam President, after more than five years in which, at the negotiating table, the European Union took decisions based more on ideology and less on strategy, the bill came. Progressive dinners are expensive. Large companies in the automotive industry, whose brands have been not only engines of the European economy, but true ambassadors of this continent, are silently moving their production to countries such as Mexico and India. Combined with fertilizers for agriculture, strategic production units on which European farmers are dependent, either they have already closed their doors, such as the case of Azomures in Romania, or they are preparing to do so, such as a colossus in Germany that reduces its business in Europe to invest 10 billion euros in China. An entire destroyed mining sector finds Europe not only unable to meet its energy needs, but unable to relaunch its defence industry, which, as much as we would like, cannot be rebuilt with any kind of green energy. But there's a cost, the most expensive of all: unemployed people. While Europe still hopes for the green dream, and large companies justify their relocations by conveyor belt to other continents under the argument of the free market, hundreds of thousands of people remain without hope and job. This file on just transition in the labour market must be seen in a responsible note. As ECR rapporteur, I strongly believe that we have managed, following negotiations over the last half year, to build a pragmatic compromise. The European Commission needs to hear the message of the report very clearly. Money is urgently needed to ensure this just transition in the labour market. And he needs to understand something else: that the reluctance about the need for new legislation also stems from the lack of transparency with which the Green Deal was launched, which has destroyed the competitiveness of the European economy. It's time to responsibly repair what's broken in recent years. We are already playing with the fate of some workers, their families, their children and future generations.

Madam President, the simplification regulation of the common agricultural policy must not be regarded as a whim of the sector, nor as a free concession to the European farmer. After years in which the European farmer has been either the guinea pig of green ideology, or an unwilling soldier in a war fought on the EU's borders, or even a bargaining chip in economic conflicts between continents, he deserves a breath of fresh air. But that's not enough. In the corner lurks an adversary even more feared than the Brussels bureaucracy. It's called Mercosur and if we don't equip the European farmer, already properly weakened, the battle is lost. Hallucinatoryly, in the same voting session, on the one hand, we will lift the veil of restrictions that have eroded European agriculture, on the other hand, we will adopt a mechanism to protect the European farmer from the danger of Mercosur, peak, with the same money allocated to him, for other emergencies. One amendment that I have initiated is a life jacket for the European farmer. It is Amendment 80 of the Mercosur Safeguard Mechanism. And if you care about what we all eat, I ask you to support it and vote for it tomorrow.

Mr. President, would you advise your son or daughter to become a policeman? From the rush of the car with a driver or from the comfort of the offices, some MEPs and MPs do not see the risk that lawmakers are exposed to every day in order to defend them, but they feel it in the street. Right here in Brussels a few days ago, a recognized criminal drove his car full into a police crew, and this spring two gangs faced Kalashnikov in the middle. Police are struggling not only with criminals, but also with the populism of those who demand more understanding for criminals and more gentleness in police procedures. As a criminal lawyer and a law professor, I say clearly: You can't fight crime with silk gloves. Prevention means action, investment and respect for those who defend us. That is why I support an urgent legislative initiative to declare police, military personnel, border guards and customs officers high-risk occupations and to give them the status and salary they deserve. And to those who think police work isn't risky, I ask a simple question: if your son or daughter were a police officer, would you sleep peacefully the night I am on duty?

Madam President, our children must be protected at all costs! I am a mother and believe me, there is no legislative issue more important to me than the safety of children, and if we are talking about this, it is vital to also consider prevention, not just catching and criminally holding predators after they have already committed a crime. Prevention also involves stopping the stimulation of deviant urges. Personally, we tabled amendments in several parliamentary committees to ensure that any child pornography content, even that generated by artificial intelligence or disguised as cartoons, is banned altogether in the European online space. In addition, also to prevent the feeding and propagation of deviant behaviors, which often lead to the commission of crimes, I support the elimination from the European market of any inflatable dolls with a child's face, which today sell freely. Who do you think would buy something like this other than those directly interested in sexual acts with minors? It's not just disgusting and outrageous, it's absolutely hallucinatory. If we really want to protect our children, today we must put an end to this monstrous trade!

Madam President, my country, Romania, is facing a painful reality today: the highest cancer mortality rate in the entire European Union. Every year, nearly 60% of people diagnosed with cancer lose their lives. Breast and cervical cancer remain the leading causes of death among women in Romania. More than 80% of cases are detected in advanced stages, when the chances of survival decrease dramatically. This is not just a medical statistic - it is a human and social tragedy. Behind each number is a woman, a mother, a daughter, a sister. Women who, in many cases, could have been saved through accessible screening and appropriate treatment. While the European Union is allocating significant funds for defence, green transition, external support, it is time to ask ourselves: Do we give the same priority to protecting the lives of our citizens? I strongly believe that health must be a strategic priority of the European Union. That is why I call on the European Commission to allocate funds for free screening and cancer treatments for all European citizens. We cannot speak of a united Europe if we accept that the difference in resources means the difference between life and death. Let us demonstrate, through facts and budgets, that the lives of every woman in Europe matter.

Mr President, are you surprised that in just three months we have come to vote on three no-confidence motions against Ursula von der Leyen, initiated by different political groups? One of the main criticisms of the Commission in these motions concerns the infamous Green Deal and its destructive effects on the European economy and industry. Today we are analyzing the situation of the automotive industry and we cannot do it without mentioning how affected this area has been by the Green Deal policies: closed factories, hundreds of thousands of people left without jobs, increasing costs for the production of cars, and even more, the appearance on the market of a dangerously cheap competitor, China. Just today it was voted here, in this plenary, to help Germany and Belgium with money because of the closure of factories in the automotive industry. On the sixth place in Europe in car production, Romania is among the most affected states. As we debate in plenary today, 200 workers at a factory in Dej have just lost their jobs. Thousands more went through layoffs last month. The Green Deal must be urgently suspended and the European economy saved.

Madam President, my country, Romania, contributes to the food security of the European Union side by side with the other EU countries, but with an enormous handicap: with a Romanian farmer overwhelmed by inflation, severely affected by the sale of Ukrainian grain on the black market, indebted to the highest interest rates in Europe and with a subsidy much, much lower than that of his colleagues in the West. And if that wasn't enough, the European Commission comes up with one more blow: allocates less money to Romania from the future agriculture budget than at present, excludes from financing an area of about 4 million hectares of arable land for which no subsidy will actually be received and opens wide the doors of the largest trade agreement in the history of the EU, the one with Mercosur, which will flood the market with cheap and poor quality products. The Romanian farmer is not a second-class citizen, he respects all European norms, so it is the turn of the European Commission to guarantee him a sustainable future in agriculture.

Mr President, European farmers are not just producers of meat, milk or cereals. They are the ones who bring villages to life, preserve traditions and ensure that every family in Europe has healthy food on the table at affordable prices. They work in the cold, in the heat, in times of uncertainty, for 450 million European consumers and for their fundamental right to food. We cannot remain indifferent when political decisions risk weakening their work; reduced budgets, unfavourable trade agreements, harsh conditions and counterproductive legislation, all in recent years. European solidarity must mean more than words, it must be a real shield for those who feed us. At the same time, we know that our relationship with China is strategic and of great value. We're not looking for conflict, we're looking for cooperation. We believe that any challenge can be overcome through sincere dialogue and mutual respect. Europe and China can find balanced solutions that protect the interests of both sides. In an increasingly complicated global context, it is vital that the EU and China find a diplomatic way to make concessions to each other so that relations can develop for the better. It requires wisdom and flexibility. European farmers wake up every day before sunrise to feed millions of people. It is our obligation to awaken as leaders and defend them with the same dedication.

Mr President, this is a message for all moralists who are teaching us about generosity, accusing us of being extremists because we do not open Europe's arms wide to migrants. We are elected by European citizens from EU Member States. We have a mission to prioritize their interests, the interests of those who have chosen us. This means putting first their right to occupy existing jobs, their safety on the streets, their access to health services, their right to manifest their belonging to a religion. In the struggle to publicly demonstrate how politically correct you are, you end up sacrificing the European citizen in order to help another. You may not know, but the European Commission itself has adopted a proposal for a regulation for the return of illegal migrants to their countries of origin. Moreover, new attributes of Frontex to combat this overwhelming phenomenon, to increase the number of troops at the border by 10 000 and to triple the number of coastal personnel. If the European Commission is also extremist for you, I challenge you to demonstrate your so-called generosity with facts, not words. All those who dare to attack us, open your homes and welcome a migrant family to live with your children. It's only after you do that that you have the right to give us lessons.

Madam President, positive discrimination is still discrimination, but against the majority for defending the minority. Why do minors have to see semi-naked people on the street, dressed in dog suits, muzzle and leash, or in all sorts of provocative clothing, in order for the LGBTQIA+ minority to feel respected? Why should we expose minors to a parade that often expresses sexually explicit behavior? Why should we be interested in and see matters that should relate exclusively to the privacy of each individual and his home? At the Pride Parade in Bucharest took part many minor children who came to this manifestation not because they were part of the community, but out of curiosity, because it was something new, something different. cool, something different. Coming to the Pride Parade can also be a form of teenage rebellion, a way of doing something forbidden by parents, teachers or expressing that you are unique. But no matter why a child participates, what he sees creates an emotional impact. And we all have a duty to protect our children from anything that can affect them emotionally. The sovereignty of a country also implies that it cannot be forced by anyone to hold Pride Parade shows, and sovereignty is not negotiable, just as the best interests of our children are not.

Madam President, positive discrimination is still discrimination, but against the majority for defending the minority. Why do minors have to see semi-naked people on the street, dressed in dog suits, muzzle and leash, or in all sorts of provocative clothing, in order for the LGBTQIA+ minority to feel respected? Why should we expose minors to a parade that often expresses sexually explicit behavior? Why should we be interested in and see matters that should relate exclusively to the privacy of each individual and his home? At the Pride Parade in Bucharest took part many minor children who came to this manifestation not because they were part of the community, but out of curiosity, because it was something new, something different. cool, something different. Coming to the Pride Parade can also be a form of teenage rebellion, a way of doing something forbidden by parents, teachers or expressing that you are unique. But no matter why a child participates, what he sees creates an emotional impact. And we all have a duty to protect our children from anything that can affect them emotionally. The sovereignty of a country also implies that it cannot be forced by anyone to hold Pride Parade shows, and sovereignty is not negotiable, just as the best interests of our children are not.

Madam President, the crisis in North Korea, the confrontation in Taiwan, the India-Pakistan conflict, the Iran-Israel war, the war in Ukraine, these are just some of the 28 outbreaks of instability that are boiling around the globe today. Therefore, the upcoming NATO summit must look at the geopolitical map of the world in its complexity and with the specificity of each region. Therefore, any solution that will be advanced, whether we are talking about increasing the contribution to the defense budget, or the role of the North Atlantic Alliance in any of these conflicts, will have to be adapted to the needs, dangers and specificities of the regions and member countries. That is why the European Union must be firm when it comes to its own defence industries, the way its member states will adapt their contributions to NATO and the indirect support to the Alliance, through many measures already taken so far, as well as the renegotiation of some clauses. offset categorical. Until we build a future army of Europe, the only real and effective defense we have is NATO. So we must constantly improve it, while also taking care to strengthen the national defense capacity, as well as the national military industry.