Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, we are on a ship that is in the middle of a storm, and yet we use buckets to get the water out. Instead, we need to stabilise the ship, to have a steady ship, to know where we're going. I am using this metaphor because this is the yearly budget. We barely managed to move a few funds around to strengthen our priorities. What we truly need is a systemic solution – something that enables us to be strong in the face of dangers, such as defence dangers, like we have in Romania today, with Russian drones all over our skies. Systemic dangers such as the ones for the youth with their housing crisis, with their sinking Erasmus+ scholarships, with the failing health system, with the need to adapt for climate because we've already lost the battle to stop the climate change. So, Commissioner, I am not here to judge. I am just saying that for the future, we need communitarised loans. We need to stand together as a Union to really stop the feeling of chaos and have the feeling of leadership.

The next meeting will be held tomorrow, Thursday 13 November 2025, at 8.30 a.m. The agenda has been published and is available on Parliament’s website. The session is closed.

I would like to thank Madam Vice-President for your patience, our interpreters, our staff, our security, our huissiers and everybody for making this sitting a good one. That concludes the item.

The next item is a short presentation of the report by Evelyn Regner, on behalf of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, on Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation (BEFIT) (2023/0321(CNS)) (A10-0194/2025).

The next item is a short presentation of the report by Sérgio Humberto, on behalf of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, on the European Maritime Safety Agency (2023/0163(COD)) (A10-0217/2025).

The next item is a short presentation of Chloé Ridel's report on addressing transnational repression against human rights defenders (2025/2048(INI)) (A10-0206/2025).

The next meeting will be held tomorrow, Wednesday 10 September 2025, at 9 a.m. The agenda has been published and is available on the website of the European Parliament.

The next item is the debate on the Statement by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the situation in Colombia after the recent wave of terrorist attacks (2025/2855(RSP)).

I want to tell you that this debate, beyond everyone's political points, is also about people and about some expectations they have and about their future. They're all staring at our mouths. Thank you very much to everyone who contributed to this debate and I appreciate this ending. Moldova can, the European Union can. Moldova wants it, the European Union wants it. The debate has been closed.

Thank you, you've exceeded your speaking time by much, and the subject. In front of the plenary, Maia Sandu is the legitimate president of the Republic of Moldova.

The next item is the debate on Council and Commission statements on strengthening Moldova’s resilience to Russian hybrid threats and malign interference (2025/2811(RSP)). Colleagues, an entire nation is watching us right now. It is an honor for me to lead this debate and I look forward to having a good debate. I also had President Maia Sandu with us today, so I invite again Commissioner Kos, who knows Moldova well, has been there several times to present us the situation from the Commission.

Mr. President, Robin Hood took from the rich to give to the poor. In Romania, it is easier to take from the poor, so as not to disturb the rich. This is a problem for tens of thousands of teachers who took to the streets today because they had to choose between a decent salary or dignity. I remember the words of actor Ştefan Dinică from the film Philanthropic: ‘Can you, Professor, afford to have dignity?’ And that we cannot say, for example, to a substitute who is at the beginning of his career – 15,000 of these people have lost their jobs; or when you are a full-time teacher and you are asked for a longer norm or to choose to have your salary reduced. If the goal is deficit reduction, then isn't that longer norm actually aimed at fewer employees? And for what? All for 0.02% of GDP, i.e. less than the debt of Mayor Negoiță at the IRS, which is higher. So Romania sacrifices thousands, thousands of people for the debt of one man. In Romania, we either educate ourselves or we die.

The next item on the agenda is the debate on the Commission statement on governance of the internet – renewal of the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum (2025/2801(RSP)).