Speeches

Mr President, right now, 12 hectares of green space are in danger of turning into concrete in the capital of Romania, in Bucharest. With a much lower level of green space and the most polluted air in Europe, Bucharest cannot afford to lose an inch of green. Already, social and health losses in Bucharest are estimated at over 6 billion euros. The citizens of the area are outraged by what is happening. Since the beginning of the year, more than a few hundred trees have been illegally cut down in the IOR Park. There were also hundreds of fines, but in vain, because the fines are small. Until institutional solutions are found to recover the land, we must stop the theft, keep what we have. The Environmental Guard must defend green spaces and not be on the same side as those who cut them. We have here, in the European Parliament, the legislation for nature restoration, which says this: “We shall halt any net loss of green space by 2030. We are increasing green spaces from 26 square meters per man and more until 2040.’ Or Bucharest is doing exactly the opposite. People want to park, they don't want concrete.

Mr President, I want to say to the people who are watching us: Green Europe is not a fad, it is a necessity for life, but also for the economy. I have to say that although we have the Paris Agreement of 2015 and it has been eight years since then, implementation is far too slow, money is scarce and the Member States are doing their work, but they are not implementing. We promised our citizens that we would leave no one behind. The green transition without social fairness will not happen. One month after the last IPCC report was published, the first ever climate process started in Romania by the Declic Association in Cluj and is supported by several environmental organisations. We have seen similar cases in the Netherlands, in France, and now the case of Damien Karem versus France is pending at the ECHR. These processes will only multiply because people demand their rights: rights to life, to health, to climate rights, to a future. Then we should hurry with implementation, because otherwise it will cost us money, otherwise the citizens will not understand us, otherwise we will lose the global competition. This is the way for Europe. That's what we have to do in the future.

Madam President, the COVID—19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of our healthcare systems. There is no One Health – there is not a European health if we don’t have a universal health. We have shown that borders are useless when we are facing a pandemic. Solidarity should be our answer. Antimicrobial Resistance, AMR, is a cross-border health threat that affects countries in pandemic proportions. As a response, we urge the EU to expand access to affordable antibiotics and ensure that they are balanced against misuse and overuse. We also advocate for specific operation funds to operationalise the One Health priorities in low- and middle-income countries. Lastly, we must strengthen health systems and increase universal health coverage to combat AMR more holistically. It is crucial that EU investments in third countries go where they are needed and that they are sustainable in the long term, because by working together with global solidarity, we can transform healthcare systems, not only for ourselves, but also for countries that badly need it.

Mr President, Commissioner, a little goes a long way, but it doesn’t make us a leader. So let me say what I said one year ago. As main rapporteur, I said without the MFF revision, we cannot really move Europe forward. Now, a few specific points: In the field of transport, I think we can achieve a good deal of our Green Deal objectives by increasing the funding for the European railway agencies, because it is important, especially given the various train crashes recently and other problems that we’ve encountered in the sector. We also think dedicated funding for active mobility within the Union regional funds and for active mobility industry within EU transport must be increased. And thirdly, we support funding into research of non-CO2 effects of aviation with a view to reducing aromatic and sulphur content. Now, on another type of mobility, which is very dear to my heart this year. Erasmus has been rather unfair to our young people. And when I say that it is because of our efforts for last year, we have increased scholarships, for instance, in France from EUR 600 to EUR 674, But who can live with EUR 674 when the value of money is eroded in such a way? Well, I’ll tell you the answer. Only those kids who have money from home can live with that kind of money. And therefore, Erasmus right now differentiates between the haves and the have nots, between kids who have and kids who have not. And this we need to change, Commissioner, especially if we want the young people to keep participating in the European project next year.

Mr. President, victory has many fathers, but defeat is an orphan. Today, when we vote on this big climate package, we all say, how much we've done for the environment, how much we've done for the planet. But I would like to say the same thing when we go to our capitals, to our countries where we come from. And not to run away from responsibility, not to blame the EU. I want to tell the truth. If we already had this package, if we already had renewable energy, we would have been much better this winter, the bills would have been much lower for people. I was responsible for CBAM, for the price we put on those outside the Union who do not respect the environment. Romanians rightly say: it is not ok for us to meet certain environmental standards and for outsiders not to meet them. It's no good for businesses to move from us to China, so they don't have to respect the environment, because that's where it really doesn't matter. Colleagues, it is important to act together as leaders. Leaders do not run away from responsibility, leaders do not hide, and if we speak with the same voice, then we will give business a predictability and young people a planet.

I think you are Irish, if my memory serves me well, but you might have been Chamberlain in the 1930s proclaiming peace, a peace that is so elusive that it led to the biggest catastrophe of the Second World War because actions were not taken when the time was right. How did the extreme left in this house become equal to the extreme right of other days?

Mrs. Yoncheva, what an irony to mention Nichts neues im Westen, and not to say that there were soldiers, three soldiers in a rifle, in World War I. Mr. Wallace, what an irony to care about the poor of the world, the poor of the South, and to support Putin in this house and to say that Ukrainians don't need help. Member States with stockpiles of weapons, what do you hold them for? What day do you keep them for? Now that others are dying for your interests, what good are you keeping them at home? We must help Europe, Ukraine with Peace FacilityThe European Peace Facility, and the Member States must deliver what they can. And President Zelensky made it very clear what his needs were: artillery is number 1 – systems as well as ammunition, such as shells in large quantities, to stop Russia. Not to shoot at their territory, but to kick them out of ours. That's what this is all about. (The speaker agreed to respond to a blue card intervention)

Mr President, I had a speech prepared on a completely different subject, but I witnessed tonight what we see in this house happening far too often: the far right shaking hands with the far left and witnessing the help given to Putin's Russia. Mr Terhesh, Europe is not a prison, where Navalny lives is a prison. Mr. Wallace said that it is not Putin who is the aggressor, but Ukraine. How is it possible to hear such a thing? Mrs Ždanoka, who has just left, said that, see God, the Russian minority is going to prison in Estonia. It is not possible to tolerate these lies. It is not possible to help the aggressor. We have to help the aggressors. I was in Romania and a citizen told me: Why don't we help the Russians more? Why do we care so much about Ukrainians? And I turned the question around: If it was a Moldovan, would we have fought more for them? But for Mick Wallace, if it was Global South, would we be fighting for Global South? We all have the nation we love. In the same way, we can all imagine that he will be our assaulted brother. Let there be more Churchill and fewer Chamberlain in this house.

Madam President, Mr Timmermans, this is the first time that a Romanian Member of Parliament has spoken as a European Green, but it is not the first time that a Romanian Member of Parliament has spoken about the climate change that he believes in and that we need to have an answer to. The climate crisis is here, but any crisis can also be an opportunity, an opportunity for progress. We only need to give clarity to people and we need to speak humanly, in Romanian, as we say at home. Let me give you an example: the Green House Program in Romania. We're told on TV that people don't want the green transition. But the reality is that tens of thousands of families have already applied to the Green House and want to put photovoltaic panels on their house and save on the bill. But the government and companies do not let people become producers, those prosumers, as they say in this Brussels language, that is, in the year in which energy companies made profit records, they do not let others produce for them. They're the problem. Here's the problem. It is not Europe that is the problem, it is not climate change that is the problem, it is the problem that resists a reality and a very clear direction of the world we live in.

Madam President, dear colleagues, Moldova and Ukraine are two organs attacked by the same disease. Of Putin's cancer. But Moldova and Ukraine are also the last shields that separate us from the Putin maniac. Today, Moldovan President Maia Sandu spoke about Russia's foiled plan. In a coup d'état, the Kremlin would change the political order in the country. The Russians planned to blackmail Moldova through energy prices, so that people could no longer, they had to go out on the streets, then kidnap political people through mercenaries, establish a puppet regime in Chisinau. Do you realize that Putin doesn't care about Brussels, Washington, the whole civilized world? Can you imagine that they wanted to put Maia Sandu in a trunk, just like the Red Brigades did with Aldo Moro? Can you imagine how manic this man is? The fight for Moldova and Ukraine is vital, it is the very battle for our Europe.

Mr. President, who's lying: The Chancellor of Austria or the European Commission? Romania is walked from gate to gate, with a file with a rail, for the entry into Schengen. I can't stand by and hear all the political statements, I can't hear Nehammer campaigning politically in Austria for something that is rightfully ours. We are in the European Parliament. We cannot pretend that we do not see an injustice against 20 million people in Romania, a European state that is part of the European Union. Commissioner Johansson, Chancellor Nehammer says Romania is a migration route. I know that's not the case. We have all this data. Frontex says this is not the case at all. We have to make this clear, or else we lose our credibility. Who is lying: Nehammer or Frontex?

Mr President, Mrs Kyriakides, it is 2023 and it is as if we are going back to where we started. Influenza and respiratory virus cases have exploded all over Europe. Basic medicines are missing from pharmacies and hospitals. Haven't we learned anything from the tough months of the pandemic? In Romania, in the middle of the cold season, drugs such as antibiotics, antivirals, anti-inflammatory drugs are missing. This is while increasing the number of cases, not only of influenza, but also of influenza along with COVID. Hospitals are almost at their limits, complete. In Constanta, the Pediatrics Department of the Infectious Diseases Hospital no longer has any free bed at this time. How do we always manage to be unprepared when it's respiratory infection season? We can no longer joke about people's health. It is about the integrity and good name of the European Union. In my country, the situation is clear. People demand decent medicine and hospitals. We want reserves. We want Europe to stand together. Europe must help us now.

(the beginning of the intervention was not done on the microphone) ... crises of European citizens. We can come up with all kinds of legislation, proposals, but if we don't put the money to make them, it's useless. People expect results, not words. And we know what the structural problems are, said Mr. Siegfried Muresan. These are microscopic reserves. We have interest costs in the European Union budget. We have the replacement of the Community method with the intergovernmental method, which is a danger for us, for the European Union. We have seen that the budget has been in crisis since the beginning of this year. When I started working as rapporteur for 2023, I was the first to say that the seven-year budget must be reopened and renegotiated. Because we noticed from the beginning that we don't have the money for energy, we don't have for Moldova, we don't have for Ukraine as much as we need. The financial framework needs to be reopened as soon as possible in the first quarter of 2023, so that we raise the ceilings of this budget so that we respond to citizens’ expectations. Before giving a sermon to the people, Jesus Christ told His disciples to feed the hungry crowds. So we can't talk to people's minds and souls about values until we respond to their priorities. Merry Christmas and I'll be waiting for you next year with answers.

Mr President, I regret that in this room we are almost only Romanians and Bulgarians. Apart from Mrs Düpont, to whom I also thank Mr Mandl, for a few seconds, we too often forget to be Europeans, to be united, to be in solidarity. The Austrian government believes that Austrians do not trust Romanians, but Romanian doctors treat Austrians. Romanians build houses for Austrians, Austrians do business with Romanians. What would Europe become if every national political party used the EU for political themes at home, regardless of truth or reality? Chancellor Nehammer, lack of compassion comes from fear. Sigmund Freud, your countryman, said it himself. But the Czech Václav Havel said that love conquers fear. This is what we must turn to, to return to a union of solidarity, of unity, of love.

Madam President, Romanians were promised eight new regional hospitals, which then turned into three. Today, zero will be funded by the NRRPs, because the authorities have not done their job. The government, in reality, does not want to build any new hospitals from the NRRP, but only to patch up existing hospitals. The Siberians have been completely forgotten. We have a county hospital project, but we don't have political approval from the Government. If we do not have this approval, the Sibiu people will not be able to build another hospital in the next 10 years, because they will not have money from where. So, Mr. Ciucă, Mr. Rafila, Mr. Boloș, put European money also for the construction of a new hospital in Sibiu. The Siberians cannot be the scapegoat of the Bushes in Bucharest. The European Investment Bank cannot finance the hospital unless the government approves at least half of the European funding. Give the Siberians a new hospital.

Mr President, "Warning, URS!" - this is how wild animals are protected nowadays, but this is how people are also protected. An SMS does not solve the problem at all, namely the fact that wild animals remain year after year without habitat due to illegal and aggressive logging. Forests are their home, their habitat, and it is lost year after year. But the struggle between the wild animal and man must not exist, that is not what civilization teaches us. Civilization teaches us that there must be room for everyone. Governments can do much more than just text, let's say, the right one. Affected farmers have to wait months before they receive their money for damages or simply do not know they are entitled to financial aid if they want to take action to prevent attacks by wild animals. The Habitat Directive allows all of this, it allows. Governments also need to do their job. Dear colleagues, instead of shouting at the moon about how we should eliminate the threat of wolves and bears, let's focus on prevention, on cohabitation, on education, needed in Europe where we care about the environment.

Mr. President, Commissioner Hahn, Minister Bek, right now a mother is lighting the oven to cook the children only once this week, so as not to consume gas, which has become so expensive. Right now, a student in Sibiu is abandoning the plan to study in France, because 500 euros are no longer 500 euros, but 420 euros due to inflation, and rents have increased enormously. Right now, extremists are preparing to set the Union on fire, and if we do not respond to these crises in 2023, it will be far too late in 2024. We fought together with those who were shadow rapporteurs here, with whom we were a team, to get more for Europe and for Europeans, and we got one billion euros more, for three directions that correspond to the directions that people asked us for, and these are energy and lower bills. We got an extra 80 million for Horizon Europe, an extra 100 million for Facilitating Connecting Europe that finances energy and transport networks. An additional 30 million for the LIFE Programme which is not only about the environment, it is also about energy. Two, we fought to mitigate the effects of the war. We got 120 million euros for Erasmus+, for students suffering in Europe, 50 million more for the Asylum Fund and from this money we want to see money that goes for Schengen too, so that we no longer have excuses on December 8th and let Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia enter, because we have all the necessary facilities. We obtained 210 million euros for Ukraine and Moldova, because these people suffer not only from war, they also suffer from frost. And finally, and it is important, for the European Union, for our integration, we have obtained extra money, over EUR 60 million for military mobility, because it is important to be together in the face of global crises. Let's not forget one thing European society is important. Churchill said: “if we cut off money from culture during the war, what are we still fighting for?”. That's exactly how we fought for people in culture to be helped. We fought for European civil protection, we fought for the European health that has just been born and, last but not least, we fought for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, led by Laura Codruta Kovesi, to ensure transparency and justice in the use of European money. Ladies and gentlemen, the European Parliament has fought in these negotiations and is responding today with a solid budget of EUR 186 billion. It is a very important budget, but we have a problem, Commissioner, if we give more money for home policies, and if at home we are told that they cannot implement, that they do not bring the money home, it is in vain that we boast, it is in vain that I say Stefanita, Mr Hahn, Mrs Bek, that we support these important policies, if the Member States fail and if people do not see the result of my work. I believe, Mr President, that this is a good day for Europe today. We show unity, we show determination. But let's see, let's bring Europe into people's homes.

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, every time we pronounce the words no one will be left behind, at least one person dies of lack of water or food. At least one family loses their life's work because the waters have swallowed up their household. At least one farmer is left without a crop after the drought has cracked the land and burned its crops. The climate crisis has already hit, and those who will suffer are our children. It's so simple. What about the future for them? What remains for them in life? Let us not deviate from our common and international targets and let us not let other crises put climate chaos in second place. He told his German far-right colleague that the bill was high. Yes, the bill is high, but the bill for inaction is simply catastrophic. It means existence itself, it means denying the future to our children, and this bill we cannot leave behind, to say that our children do not deserve to have a future. So I want to encourage you, Commissioner, to represent our children at the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, to fight for them, to fight for their climate and for the future of this planet.

Mr President, Commissioner, thanks for being here today in the House of European democracy. Thanks to all the colleagues who have supported a reasonable, strong budget that responds to the European citizens. Domnule președinte, noi am plecat la război acum câțiva ani cu un arc și cu săgeți. Dar noi trăim în epoca în care suntem atacați cu drone, în care lumea a luat foc, în care avem cinci crize consecutive: pandemia, inflația, energia, noi state candidate, toate aceste lucruri trebuie să găsească un răspuns astăzi în ceea ce facem noi. Trebuie să schimbăm armele pe care le avem în dotare, nu să dăm vina pe săgeți. În acest moment avem păreri instituționale diferite pe buget. Consiliului i se pare că trebuie să facem economii pentru a avea bani rezervați pentru crize viitoare. Însă eu mă întreb care criză viitoare, că deja avem cinci crize pe care le-am menționat. Ce să le spunem oamenilor: mai puneți o geacă peste sau o să le spunem că Uniunea Europeană încearcă să vă ajute acum? Noi, Parlamentul, credem că trebuie să răspundem acum și de aceea punem acei bani pe care-i mai avem, puțini cum sunt, îi punem spre politicile care contează pentru oameni, pentru Uniunea Europeană și suntem uniți în asta. Am avut în Comisia pentru buget un vot de 31 la zero. Nici măcar euroscepticii domnului Kuhn, care spunea că Uniunea Europeană nu ar trebui să mai aibă bani și să acționeze, nici măcar ei n-au îndrăznit să voteze contra. Și chiar vreau să îl întreb pe domnul Kuhn, care nu mai este în sală, evident, cum ar arăta Europa dacă noi nu am reacționa? Costul inacțiunii nu este oare mai mare? Și atunci, domnule președinte, și atunci, domnule comisar, eu vă încurajez să găsim împreună soluțiile care trebuie, să găsim soluțiile acum pentru criza politică în care ne aflăm. Pentru că lupta este una dreaptă, este una dreaptă, este pentru oameni, este pentru democrație și este pentru libertate.

Madam President, I was a little nervous because I just gave a historic vote, an important vote by which Romania is closer to Schengen today. But today we are talking about the budget of the European Union, the money we have and what we will do with it. Martin Luther King, Commissioner, Madam President, my fellow shadow rapporteurs, said that "our measure is not where we are when we have comfort, when we have peace, but where we are when we have trials and tribulations." When I was appointed rapporteur for the 2023 Union budget, I felt honoured that the economic recovery was coming. But for many Europeans, for most Europeans, this year is the year of inflation, it is the year of home cold, and for millions of Ukrainians it is the darkest year. The year that took their loved ones, took their homes, the year that made people, normal people with their homes, displaced people, refugees. The year their lives changed. In this attempt, their courage and dignity moved us. Ukrainians reminded us how precious democracy, peace, freedom are. That's what they fight for, and that's what we have to fight for. We do not let ourselves be beaten, we stand and we say today united, that the European Union shows courage like it has never done before. With words, with deeds, with money, with weapons, where Putin destroys, we must rebuild. Where Putin drives away, Europe must welcome with open arms. Where Putin brings fear and terror, Europe brings peace and quiet. The European Union budget must be a shield for European democracy and must show a simple thing: that we are united both for better and for worse. Today we are giving a budget answer to three major problems of the people, of the citizens. 1. We have a border war that affects us too. We cannot accept that dictators win this war. Ukraine must win for democracy and rules to last. If not, we're all in danger, we're all in danger. This war has consequences in Ukraine, but also in Moldova and in all EU countries. That's why we've increased the budget where the war has left serious consequences. €853 million for the consequences of the war in Ukraine and Europe, to help refugees, to have money for our own defence, for our military mobility. Money for young people through Erasmus+. Money for Moldova, which is in great need of help now. Money for all our states to cope with the flow of people, and your state, Mr. President, has been much tried in this period. 2. We have a major energy crisis, with a very expensive price, which we are paying. On all energy bills this winter should appear the face of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, because people, all Europeans, suffer and suffer because of him. But we can't just show where the fault is. We need to give clear answers to people. So Parliament is proposing over €533 million, more than half a billion for energy, through aid for energy bills, aid for renewables and climate change adaptation. This money must, of course, be complemented by the REPowerEU programme and other money, in order not to let the European economy fall because of energy. Citizens need to have access to cheap and secure energy this winter, and if we have learned anything as Europeans from the pandemic, it is that together we are much stronger. When the states gave separate answers, the European Union suffered, and we see this in the case of Italy today. 3. The last priority, Madam President, and please allow me to conclude, is the European economy and society. Health must remain a priority in Europe, otherwise we have learned nothing from the pandemic. The rule of law and EU values must not change in times of crisis. We must support culture and we must support civil society organisations and European values. Churchill, during World War II, said this: ‘If we don’t support culture now, if we cut money, why are we still fighting with weapons?’ That’s exactly how our philosophy must be and not give up values. And dream pacem para bellumIf you want peace, you must prepare for war, and we must be prepared today to respond to what Europeans expect of us.

Madam President, today, many Romanian and Bulgarian colleagues convince you that it is worth entering Schengen, and so it is. But today is not only their day, it is the day of a united Europe. Is it not European patriotism to continue Schuman's European integration? Isn't it European patriotism to let Dacia take the cars produced in Mioveni faster to the customer in Marseille? Doesn't the French win, doesn't the Romanian win from this? What good is it to give money with one hand and tax these companies at the worst hour of the European economy? Isn't it European patriotism to respect Mr. Popa, who built your home in Berlin, but who has to stay on the border with the days when he returns home for Christmas or Easter? Then we're not a family anymore? Then we're not brothers anymore? Vorgestern will 33 Jahren ist in Berlin die Mauer gefallen. Il y a 233 ans, c'était le tour de la Bastille. And 33 years ago, Romanians took down communism and shouted: Freedom! What Romanians have never shouted before and what Europeans often forget is that solidarity, that fraternity, that equality. Let us show them that Europe is about this, let us show them that Europe is united!

Commissioner, dear Véronique, how long will we be second-rate patients? What is it like to be sick and know, for example, that in Belgium you would have immediate access, and in Romania you do not even have an empty bed in the hospital? No syringes, no soap, no toilet paper! Sometimes you have to buy the medicine from the hospital, come with it from home. My Siberians want a new hospital so badly that they've already made plans, feasibility studies, everything. All they need is money to build it. Let's send the promised health money to where it's most needed. We have been through the pandemic together for two hard years and Europe knew how to be together, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has been a real shield for life and health. But the agency needs us to move on. He needs money, he needs resources, he needs people. Now is the time to help her. We cannot continue for some Europeans to have and others not to have, for some to live and others to die by days. We want equality now, we want European health now!

Madam President, a war for values and principles, a war for freedom is at our borders. I hope you didn’t get used to it. This war has to be won, and the EU budget should come in support of our citizens and our friends who are fighting for their freedom. Does democracy have a price ? Yes, it has. The very high bills for energy and inflation are consequences of the unjust war that Russia is leading in Ukraine. But we can deal with this crisis together, not only with words, but with money. Here in the House of Europe, we will echo what President Zelenskyy said: ‘without gas or without Putin? Without Putin’. ‘Without Putin’ means more support from the EU budget, and each support means a faster victory. We are hearing some good news from Ukraine on the counteroffensive. That means that our support actually matters. Each euro will bring us closer to victory. Now the Council’s position on the EU budget is traditional in the most untraditional of times, in the most extraordinary of times. The Council makes EUR 1.6 billion in cuts overall from research, and even EUR 200 million from health. As usual, the Council cuts some priorities that are dear to the European Parliament, but these are not usual times. I have to say, Mr President, that margins should be created at the beginning of the process, not at the end. By reading the Czech Presidency’s position, I hope health and energy are important to you, just as they are important to us. What other crises do we need in addition to realise that these are not normal times? These are not times where we need to spare money for future years, but rather times where every cent should be spent to the benefit of our citizens. We also don’t want to choose which people we will be able to help: the Ukrainian citizens, the refugees, the poor EU citizens who are the victims of the energy crisis and inflation. This is why, Minister, my message is clear. We need an urgent revision of the MFF to be able to help our citizens in these extraordinary hard times. This year we need to make do with everything we have got for the citizens. I give you an example of two important headings, very current ones: those dealing with refugees and with humanitarian aid, which are unfortunately empty. This is just not normal. The EU’s credibility is at stake. We have to help our SMEs. We have to help the health sector, we have to help the youth that has been very affected by the pandemic. We need to invest more in defence and military mobility, especially in these times. Beyond money, we also need to understand the importance of Schengen enlargement for Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia this year. This doesn’t cost you anything, and it costs us a lot. This will ease military mobility, but also we can boost the European economy by billions. Let’s think also in terms of economics in this. Our friends from Ukraine and Moldova need our support right now. Madam President, Commissioner, as the general rapporteur, I don’t speak just for myself; I speak for all the shadows who are here in the room or the chair. I speak for Parliament with one voice. We think that this year, more than in others, the EU budget is just too modest. Ten years ago, the European Union received a Nobel Peace Prize for creating a space without war. But today, instead of celebrating peace, we have an unjust war at our borders. And yes, democracy has a price. Peace has a price, too. And we need to spread peace and say it out loud: ‘peace, also with the support of the European Union budget’.

Mr President, Commissioner, rapporteur, in Romania, there is an old saying: “He who has a forest has gold” – it is the most precious thing we can have. Why do we continue to put our forests at risk? Why are we still assaulting nature - as in the case of Comorova forest in Constanta County, the only forest still alive on the Romanian Black Sea coast -? Luckily, there are still people who do not give up and fight for every tree in their city, people like Abdurefi Semiran or Dumitru Paris, who take things in hand and stop the abuse. They don't close their eyes for money. It is very important, but their civic initiatives still mean little. Politics needs to do more. In Bolsonaro's tenure, deforestation in the Amazon has reached its highest level in 14 years before our eyes. We need global action, not just European action, but it is good that we start today with European action. What distinguishes great leaders from the weak at such a difficult time? Courage and taking difficult decisions.