Speeches

Madam President, the European Union's strategy for crisis preparedness is a useful step, especially since we live in an increasingly uncertain world where so-called black swans regularly appear. However, some of the proposed lines of action must either be reformulated or rethought. I point out four shortcomings of the strategy: First of all, the manner in which the 72-hour supply kit was communicated as mandatory created panic. It has been created the impression that war is definitely entering and that this is the reason why this strategy exists. Secondly, given that there are increasing problems with the functioning of democracies in some Member States, it seems that the European Union is encouraging institutional militarisation. Or, we remember that in the pandemic there was an authoritarian drift, with many excesses and abuses. Thirdly, as we have seen in the scandal Pfizergate, as long as there is no transparency from the European Commission, proposing that Brussels manage the storage of emergency resources in an integrated way is not the best idea. Last but not least, it is tragicomic that the European Union, on any subject, is to establish new institutions and bureaucratic structures implicitly chosen and without legitimacy.

Madam President, honourable colleagues, honourable representatives of the European Commission, I want the plenary of the European Parliament to hear an expression in which we, the GOLD, strongly believe: Bessarabia is Romania! The solution to the security, economic, social and political problems in the Republic of Moldova would be the union of the two states. The tectonic plates of history are moving at this moment – with the support of the European Union, the dream of Romanians on both sides of the Prut could be fulfilled. But we know very well that the style of Brussels and Strasbourg is the stalemate, in the hope that the problems will resolve themselves. Without adequate support, without a diversification of pro-European and pro-Romanian political options in Chisinau, there can be unpleasant surprises in parliamentary elections. Unionists also need to be supported. Returning to the mechanism you want to establish, AUR considers that any support for the Bessarabian brothers is auspicious. But I want to make three observations: - firstly, Moldovans will see that out of that total amount of 1.9 billion euros, only 520 million euros are grants, the rest are conditional loans. The ratio of non-reimbursable money to loans had to be the other way around; Secondly, the reforms demanded in the Republic of Moldova will be turned by pro-Russians against the current administration and used in parliamentary elections. See also the blockage of the NRRPs in Romania, also conditioned by reforms that have not been carried out. Demand more than a government in Chisinau under constant siege can deliver; - and last but not least, if you want to solve the energy problem of the Republic of Moldova, the situation of the European single market must be reviewed. Romania, which is self-sufficient on gas and electricity, has ended up paying the highest bills in the European Union. This is relevant because the Republic of Moldova has escaped dependence on Russia, importing all gas and electricity from Romania. We are currently producing and importing for two countries.

Madam President, it is said that at the fall of Constantinople, Byzantine theologians barricaded in the city were discussing the sex of angels. We are talking about a kind of madness of the ivory tower in which the functionaries cut off from reality have barricaded themselves. This is exactly what the European Commission's proposed Work Programme for 2025 looks like. Many empty bureaucratic acts, which only proliferate legislative inflation in the European Union. This blocks innovation and creates frustration, great frustration, among the citizens of the Member States. While others are developing high technology, innovating in medicine or obtaining new sources of energy, the European Union has tied the glass stopper. This commission led by Ursula von der Leyen is detached from reality. It is not able to produce public policies that encourage the economy. No wonder the World Bank recently cut its growth forecast for Europe to 1.1% this year. If you want to do something good, look at Department of Government Efficiency Trump and Maas set up in Washington and think about how much good such a structure would do in the bureaucratic hurdle of the European Union.

Mr President, Romania has a huge shortage of medical staff in public hospitals. There are 9,000 unoccupied doctors, 1,600 residents and 14,000 nurses. This is considering that Romania also has 26 medical graduates per 100 000 inhabitants, above the EU average of 15.5. Many Romanian health professionals are leaving to work in the European Union because of low wages, poor working conditions and an excessively politicised system. 22,000 doctors educated in Romania, or 37% of all Romanian doctors, were working abroad in 2021. From this point of view, our country ranks third in the world, after India and Pakistan, but it is by far the first in the European Union. It is disappointing that no one says a word about this, not even in the European Commission's report. Sign that there are states that like us to train doctors and then they pick ripe fruits. One solution could be a financial compensation formula towards Romania, which trains a large part of the medical workforce in Europe.

Madam President, an aphorism that has become famous in recent years is that the rules of physics apply whether we believe in them or not. Paraphrasing and taking into account the regulatory proposal Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) we can say that these virtual currencies will exist, regardless of whether the European Union or any other Member State thinks they are good or tries to control them completely. What the European Commission does not understand is the raison d'être of these cryptocurrencies. The logic of a trust-based currency, citizens or markets applies to them. However, the emergence of these virtual currencies is rather the result of mistrust in the functioning of the economy and complex political-administrative systems. Many are taking refuge in crypto to protect the value of their property in the face of inflation, financial and economic turmoil, but also as an attempt to bypass a Big Brother system that wants to know every second what every citizen does with money. In its current form, Markets in Crypto Assets It will fail precisely because of too great a desire to enter into people's privacy and to check and control financial flows. This is exactly what happened with the attempt to ban or limit cash payments. The approach proposed by the Commission is therefore closer to China, where crypto transactions are banned, than to a financial system open to innovation. Even in this regard, Brussels would have to learn from the new administration in Washington.

Mr President, the way this debate is conducted is a slippery slope for the future of European democracy. Talking openly about banning some media platforms just because establishment Politically, we can no longer control the narrative, we end up no longer making distinctions between our democratic system and what happens in dictatorships or autocratic systems. Censorship, no matter how many justifications you find, is not acceptable. I remind you that when Putin attacked Ukraine, a ban was imposed in Russia on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Google. In Romania, the cancellation of free elections by the political power through highly politicized institutions, such as the Constitutional Court, is much more dangerous. If you want to talk about immoral actions, look also at the approximately 100 million euros that, from the citizens' money, the old parties in Romania gave to the traditional media to promote their own discourse. While online there is an exchange of ideas, in the classical press one can only see the narrative of power, this is what brainwashing looks like.

Madam President, as an AUR MEP, a member of the Conservatives and Reformists Group, I support the fact that the European Union should develop sectoral programmes to ensure access to drinking water for all European citizens. In particular, newer countries entering the European Union must be equally supported and obliged. For example, in my country, due to successive very bad governments, guaranteed and supported in Brussels, five million Romanians drink water from unverified sources, and eight million Romanians do not have access to sewage. According to the National Institute of Statistics, 23 % of households in Romania did not have access to drinking water supply from public networks and 41 % of the population did not have access to sewage systems equipped with treatment plants. The two numbers must be joined precisely because, using primitive sewage systems, the groundwater from which water is extracted, especially in rural areas of Romania, are simply infested. All the things said here are good and beautiful, but those at the top of the European Union must also assume to pull the sleeve of those who govern in countries like Romania, where there are citizens who use water as in the Middle Ages.

Mr President, the railway network in Romania is in a deep state of degradation. As evidence, for 2023, the average speed for passenger trains was 44 km/h and for freight trains 15 km/h. There were higher average speeds between the two World Wars. The Romanian network is 20% electrified. Romania has at its disposal European funds of over EUR 6 billion. The total contracted amount so far exceeds EUR 3.5 billion, but many of the projects are lagging behind. The situation is dramatic due to endemic corruption at the level of the Ministry of Transport and state railway companies, with several former directors of CFR, CFR Marfa and CFR Infrastructură being investigated. At the moment, the Romanian Government is preparing a scam to liquidate and bankrupt CFR Marfă, which has debts of over EUR 900 million to the state budget and wants to set up a new company, Carpatica Feroviar, to take over the assets.

Madam President, the European single market is a very good idea, which, unfortunately, in certain areas of activity is not working properly. I'll give you three examples: the energy market, where Romania, which produces more electricity than it consumes, pays the highest bills in the European Union. The second dysfunction, which is still unresolved, is agriculture. Furthermore, cereals and certain food products exported from Ukraine reach the Romanian, Bulgarian or Polish market and create unfair competition for domestic agricultural producers. It is also worth highlighting the refusal to implement the process of external convergence, which should lead to the equalisation of subsidies for farmers in all countries of the European Union. Last but not least, recently, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared illegal several provisions of the mobility package targeted against Romanian carriers, which confirms the Draghi report. There is still gold-plating of the single market and this affects free competition. I would also point out that the killing of the Schengen area by the countries that introduce general border controls and the states that still keep Romania and Bulgaria on the sidelines still affects the proper functioning of the single market.

Madam President, the Schengen area is dead. This is evident from Germany's recent decision to introduce generalised controls at its border. You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out who killed the free zone in Europe. First of all, the states that made fun of the rules. The most handy example is Austria, which still blocks access with land borders for Romania and Bulgaria in vain. Second, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, under the popular leadership of the European Union, who invited migrants from the Middle East to come to Europe. Thirdly, the leadership of the European Union, which for years refused to discuss the issue of migrants, preferring to send them to all corners of the Union on the basis of arbitrarily set quotas. It is also the European Union that refuses a constructive dialogue with Turkey. If the Erdogan administration lets go of the flood of refugees, Europe will never look the same. Schengen will become what it was when internal discrimination is eliminated, when the European Union states show solidarity and cooperate, including from the perspective of securing the external borders.

Mr. President, there are one million citizens of the Republic of Moldova who have also formally received Romanian citizenship. Many of them work in other states of the European Union and prove to be good people and workers who have fully adhered to European values. They send home significant amounts of money and, in fact, represent the real engine of the economy of the Republic of Moldova. It is becoming clear that our Bessarabian brothers see in the European Union the way to an improvement of the economic and social situation. What the Bessarabians do not see, however, is that Europe's political leaders should be genuinely concerned about what is happening in their country. It would have been necessary, also in view of the referendum of 20 October, to increase the presence of Europe's leaders in the Republic of Moldova, in order to clearly present the benefits of this accession and to make firm commitments in this regard to the citizens. You can't just love from one side. Today's debate in Strasbourg was much, much more useful if it was held in the Parliament in Chisinau, including from the perspective of countering the hybrid attacks of the Russian Federation against the institutions of the Republic of Moldova. I reiterate the GOLD's hope that the Republic of Moldova will be a member of the European Union as soon as possible and that the referendum of October 20 will be a success.

Mr President, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians strongly condemns Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. We support the continuation of economic and military aid to Kyiv and hope that we will have a peace summit as soon as possible. We keep in mind that it is not the weapons that will end the conflict, but diplomacy. It is also crucial to pay more attention to areas bordering the conflict. The Republic of Moldova, a state strongly affected by the perpetuation of the war, will have on October 20 a referendum on joining the European Union. I call on the Member States, the European Parliament and the European Commission to provide greater economic, technical and administrative support for Chisinau. Bessarabians must see and feel that they are wanted in the single European project. We, the GOLD, want the Republic of Moldova to be a member of the European Union as soon as possible. This seems to be a prerequisite of our idea that a political union between Romania and the Republic of Moldova under the umbrella of the European Union is necessary and useful. We believe that it would be a good thing from the perspective of a re-editing within the European Union, of a reunification, as happened with the two Germanys in October 1990.

Mr President, the floods that have occurred and the catastrophic effects on Romania highlight two aspects. First of all, the serious infrastructure problems that Romania is facing. Almost nothing has been invested in the last 35 years in terms of hydrological systematization and protection of areas where floods can occur. No flood dam in Romania has a safe operation permit. Just as no less than half of the 2 000 dams have this operating licence. Secondly, the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region has not been properly implemented, has been abandoned too early and has not been properly funded. For example, my country would benefit if some funds were found for embankments in the Danube area. In all ports on the territory of my country, flood quotas have been exceeded. I would also like to point out that the management of the situation by the Government in Bucharest has been catastrophic, both logistically and from a human perspective. For example, the Ciolacu Cabinet mocked the people, allocating the humiliating sum of 2,000 euros to the families of the people who died in the floods.

Mr President, Romania, although it is a net exporter of electricity, with production exceeding consumption by about 3.25 terawatt-hours in 2023, is currently paying around EUR 150 per megawatt-hour, the highest price in the European Union. This shows us two things: firstly, that the European single energy market is a hoax at the moment, as long as other states pay less than half. There is little to say that there is no solidarity. We are simply being robbed. Second, it is obvious that states like Austria are playing Russia's games. At this point, there are congestions in the network. I remind you that Romania helps both Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova in the energy area. We have high costs with this effort, which are not shared at the level of the European Union. Brussels seems to want equality, but not for the eastern countries, which bear the costs of the war. I would like to point out that there are suspicions that we are witnessing a policy of economic sabotage, as long as NGOs paid from Brussels or other Member States, including Austria, under the pretext of environmental protection, oppose the exploitation of Romania's hydropower potential, which would like to build more hydropower plants.

Mr President, censorship and political control of ideas emerging on social media, defined as public space by most decisions of the CJEU and national supreme courts, are incompatible with democracy and the rule of law. The fight against disinformation should not be done through censorship, but through effective communication and transparency. The brutal and unjustified intervention of Commissioner Thierry Breton in the story of the podcast with Elon Musk and Donald Trump was supposed to lead to his dismissal. It is a pity that we have come to the situation where Breton's removal was the result of not kissing Ursula von der Leyen's royal condom, not the attempt to limit freedom of expression. We see that there are such anti-democratic tendencies in all member countries. I give you the example of Romania, where a SRI general claimed that they are directly involved in controlling what appears on social media and there was no reaction at the level of the European Union. Also, the PNL representatives, which is the ruling party, under the pretext of protecting children, want to censor online platforms and cancel the right of anonymity on the Internet.