Speeches

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, when we talk about economic inequalities, we are not just talking about figures in a report. We're talking about the difference between a kid who gets to school by bus and one who doesn't get to school at all. We are talking about the difference between a family that can afford to turn on the heat in winter and one that calculates every expense. Europe is not short of resources. Europe lacks the courage to decide for people, not just for statistics. For the citizens of the Eastern Union, for rural regions, for small towns, progress does not mean beautiful graphs, but means decent roads, functioning hospitals and salaries that do not force you to choose between rent and food. Economic inequality is not just a social problem. It is, first of all, a problem of stability, because an economy in which too many people feel that they work a lot and advance little becomes over time a fragile economy. We're not just talking about income differences. We talk about differences of opportunity, about places where talent exists, but opportunity never arrives. And when opportunity is lacking, people leave, and with them comes energy, confidence and innovation. We in the European Union invest billions in competitiveness, but sometimes we forget a simple truth. The Union's greatest resource is not its budget, but its people. If these people don't feel they have a future at home, no economic strategy will be enough.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we have a duty to think for what is coming, not for what is already here. We know how our mobile phones work with the mobile communication antennas on the buildings, but we need to adapt to the moment when the current mobile phones will connect directly with the satellite when we are outside. The Commission presented the Digital Networks Act and it is a text about networks, but above all it is a text about time, about the fact that the world has changed. We have to understand that networks are no longer just cables, they are no longer just underground. Today they are also in orbit, there are constellations of satellites, and tomorrow the satellite will talk directly with the phone in the citizen's pocket. The electromagnetic spectrum does not require either a passport or a visa. We need to understand how these things work and adapt. The Digital Networks Act gives us this opportunity. If we miss it, we'll fall behind. If we use it well, Europe can remain connected, competitive and sovereign.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, today we are not talking about pipelines or gas molecules. It's a debate about something much more important. We are talking about sick dependencies that bind us or link certain Member States to a sick regime, which exports fear and terror to the cubic meter. Like all addictions, it started comfortably and ends with a leash. Pragmatism is no longer buying cheaply. It means no more buying vulnerability. Strategic autonomy means, dear colleagues, choosing our own interdependencies, instead of being imposed on us by historical or geopolitical contexts. Today we close, we choose to close access to the Russian faucet. And my message is that we won't suffocate. On the contrary, Europe will breathe.

Mr President, Commissioner, the real world we live in relies on heavy infrastructure, on massive and slow transport, not on applications running in the cloud. We can have new phones and laptops every year, but at the end of the day electric cars that are brought to the ocean or sea are brought by ships that run on fuel oil, just like 50 years ago. If we really want to be honest with ourselves and want to reduce pollution, it is not enough just to tax emissions. We have a duty to build here, within Europe, factories to produce clean fuels for planes and sea transport. That means modern facilities for synthetic fuels and biofuels, ready ports for green fuel, clear rules and investment support for firms to have the courage to build.

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, we have a duty to produce the weapons on which our defence depends and to build production chains within the European Union, not to stand with our hands outstretched. It's useless to have all the money in the world if we don't have the products we need when we need them. If you have money, but the store is closed, you have a problem. If you have money, but there's a line at the store you depend on, it's the same kind of problem. Dear colleagues, strategic autonomy does not mean being independent. I'm afraid that's impossible in today's world. Strategic autonomy means choosing our own interdependencies, depending only on those we need and trust. We need coordination and simplification, and we no longer need to be victims of contexts.

Madam President, ‘cohesion’, what a beautiful word! But beyond cohesion is about what kind of games we choose to play. Do we want to choose the games of European cooperation or do we want to dig in the same place, dig a ditch, dig a hole and then watch others develop, and we stay put? They come from Bucharest, they come from Romania and in 2000, the gross domestic product of Bucharest was 6 billion euros. This year, last year, Bucharest produces more than Bulgaria, more than Serbia, more than Moldova. Bucharest produces as much as half of Hungary. Why? Because Romania chose NATO, chose the European Union and chose the games of European cooperation, the games of competition. When you have a unique identity, more special than others, this does not lead to winning. The winners are those who choose to cooperate and have more friends and allies. Good luck!

Madam President, ‘cohesion’, what a beautiful word! But beyond cohesion is about what kind of games we choose to play. Do we want to choose the games of European cooperation or do we want to dig in the same place, dig a ditch, dig a hole and then watch others develop, and we stay put? They come from Bucharest, they come from Romania and in 2000, the gross domestic product of Bucharest was 6 billion euros. This year, last year, Bucharest produces more than Bulgaria, more than Serbia, more than Moldova. Bucharest produces as much as half of Hungary. Why? Because Romania chose NATO, chose the European Union and chose the games of European cooperation, the games of competition. When you have a unique identity, more special than others, this does not lead to winning. The winners are those who choose to cooperate and have more friends and allies. Good luck!

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, there is a potentially dangerous road ahead in terms of relations with our American friends. We had and have this structural asymmetry when it comes to principles, values and interests. We're out of line, and this is deeply dangerous. These tariffs are the expression of a deep social crisis in the United States, a social crisis, because the distribution of wealth in the United States is more unequal than the distribution of wealth before the French Revolution. I'm not criticizing our American friends for being partners, but with everything they've done in recent decades, I'd say they've prioritized not the wages and living standards of those who work, but they've prioritized increasing the capital of those who invest, and that should change in order to have peace and a proper transatlantic partnership.

Madam President, dear British friends, let's get pragmatic and get together. This summit must not just preserve past agreements, it must open new doors for the next generation. I'm saying all this because nowadays citizens care about real impacts: supply chains, travel rights, student exchanges. All this is at stake if we lose momentum. We must also address new challenges like energy cooperation and digital trade, which could boost our economies by billions and billions if handled properly. Today, trade between our two parts is worth over EUR 650 billion annually, yet unresolved issues risk disrupting this vital relationship. Let's focus on that and let's get together.

Madam President, we are facing an epidemic of suicides in the European Union. It's shocking, it's a disturbing paradox, and I want to give you a few figures: the ratio between the number of people who kill themselves by committing suicide and the number who are killed in the European Union is 11 to 1. These are the consequences of the danger that comes, not from outside, but from within us, from the unseen suffering of our citizens. And we cannot ignore the role that social media plays. Their algorithms, set to maximize time spent online, often end up amplifying states of anxiety, depression, and isolation. We call on the European Commission to treat this issue as an emergency. We want to firmly regulate the digital impact on mental health and we want to put human life above the logic of profit.

Madam President, dear colleagues, today we have the opportunity to take a significant step forward in the EU's approach to chemicals management by reattributing scientific and technical tasks and fostering deeper cooperation among Union agencies. We are streamlining expertise, avoiding duplication and making our regulatory system more coherent and responsive. Let us commit to a more integrated, transparent and science-driven system for chemicals policy in the EU. This is my plea to you, dear colleagues. Stronger cooperation is not just efficient. It is essential.

Madam President, honourable Members, dear colleagues, the re-attribution of scientific and technical tasks to the European Chemicals Agency is not just a matter of administrative efficiency, it is a strategic step towards strengthening the EU's ability to act decisively on chemicals policy. This move enhances our Union's capacity to protect citizens' health and the environment, while also supporting innovation and regulatory clarity for European industry. I urge this House to support the re-attribution and continue building a chemical policy that is effective, future-proof and rooted in scientific excellence.

Madam President, equal access to treatment and early diagnosis must also include practical solutions for patients' daily lives. Today, patients treated with medical radioisotopes face difficult situations at airports and checkpoints, as residual traces of radiation can trigger security alarms. Such incidents cause delays, additional costs and especially profound psychological stress for patients. I propose, in this regard, the introduction of a European passport for medical radioisotopes, integrated into the European Digital Health Record. This digital tool would make it possible to quickly and discreetly identify patients recently treated with radioisotopes, simplifying security checks while protecting the confidentiality of personal data.

Madam President, we in the European Union are doing what we have always done for the Republic of Moldova: we support reforms, we offer money, 2 billion euros, we support funding programs and in the past we have offered candidate status, we have liberalized the visa regime for the Republic of Moldova and we have stood by the Republic of Moldova and its citizens whenever needed. At the same time, the Russian Federation closed its market for products from the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation cut off gas in the middle of winter, and exported hybrid war. Is Moscow interested in the Republic of Moldova? Yes, certainly, because for Moscow, the Republic of Moldova has a use value, as a buffer zone that they want. For us, people are important and this is why we will be with the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, regardless of ethnicity, the language they speak and origins. You can still count on us.

Mr President, information technology speeds up all the social, political and economic processes to which we are accustomed. This is why today, at the same time, things are much better than they were in the past, but also much worse. Mr President, we need to equip European citizens with mental models, with cognitive tools that enable them to successfully navigate this new information environment. My proposal for the European Commission and my call is to use European money, for European digital literacy, technology literacy and media literacy programmes - these are the only ways we will have citizens ready for tomorrow. This is my call and I urge you to act!

Madam President, we have a problem with ride-sharing platforms and please listen to me carefully. Drivers confirm rides, but they don't come to their destination. They're forcing customers to cancel those rides so they, the drivers, can collect the penalty money. That's wasted time for customers, that's wasted money. These practices cannot even be flagged to platforms, as platforms do not provide a direct way of contact, such as, for example, a phone call to be made. I tell you that we need updated rules, we need primary legislation that obliges platforms to provide direct and direct support. We want strict penalties for abuses and unfair practices, and we also want criminal checks for drivers and deliverers.

Madam President, dear colleagues, I dare to say that we don't need more politicians talking about innovation – we need more scientists backed by politicians to do innovation and fusion research. I'm saying all this because, from my perspective, we don't need more ideology. We don't need more doctrines. We simply need to understand how the world really works and we have to align ourselves to it. In the end, let me say that ideology adapts reality to the theory, while science is the one which adapts its theory to the reality. We should keep this scientific mindset when talking about these important subjects.