Speeches

Madam President, you have 24 hours to become more productive or you resign! This is the level of pressure faced by young people in Romania, as shown by a recent Atos case. And yet, for what? Boss bonuses, burnout, burnout, and even sometimes death for employees. And these cases are not isolated, the needs of employees are ignored. Is this how we want them to start their careers, young people, with unpaid overtime, unfair dismissals, wage delays and unpaid internships? This is how the state and employers see them as parts that can be easily replaced, discarded, ignored. Then why do you have the courage to call lazy or ignorant the young people who no longer accept such a thing? They're looking for a safe place to respect them, and they can't find it. Employees are not just assets in the company. They are first and foremost people.

The next item is the Commission statement "Confronting fake news, populism and disinformation in the EU - the importance of public broadcasting, media pluralism and independent journalism" (2024/2848(RSP)) and on behalf of the European Commission we have Commissioner Věra Jourová, who is just settling in. I'll give him a few seconds.

Please note that what you have done is unethical, because your colleague does not have the opportunity to respond to catch-the-eye. Catch-the-eye It is a section dedicated to one's own opinions and not to accusations against other colleagues. I want to... have Mrs. Sunčana Glavak on my list. One minute.

Thank you, Mr. Nemec, and I congratulate you on being the first man of this discussion! I believe that men should be with their colleagues, women, in this discussion, and if I were on the other side, I would certainly have contributed to the debate. Mrs. Heléne Fritzon.

Thank you, Commissioner, and thank you for your very important words on combating gender-based violence and violence against children in Europe, and I give the floor on behalf of the European People's Party group to Mrs Meleti Eleonora.

We move on to the next item on the agenda which is the Commission statement on the need to tackle the systematic problem of gender-based violence in Europe (2024/2847(RSP)). We are opening the debate with the presence of Commissioner Helena Dalli. Thank you, Commissioner, and this is an important issue throughout Europe. I invite you to the lectern.

To all my colleagues, this is obviously a very sensitive topic. Commissioner Johansson, you see, I tell you, not only as a Romanian, but as a European, Schengen is important to many of our colleagues. I give you the floor to answer them.

Madam President, it was said today, it is not the flood of the century, it is the century of floods, and today I feel a bit like a family funeral, because we are all suffering, from Gdansk to Budapest, to Bucharest, to Galati, to Vaslui and to many other European places. We wake up with pictures on TV, with people on the roof, we see bridges being taken as if they were sand castles by rivers, and we realize how powerful the climate change we are going through is. A representative of a Romanian far-right party said this: "substantive issue". Let's say "climate change" directly in Romanian, not the "substantive issue", "climate change" that are here. If we want to solve people's problems - and we have to solve them by strengthening the part of rescuEU, of European civil protection, with our own planes - we solve these problems by also strengthening the Solidarity Fund. You know, even the richest: Germany, Sweden, the Nordic states, no state in the European Union is rich enough to cope with climate change alone. That is why we need to mutualise, to put together this effort to combat and adapt to climate change. I also want to say: I respect the firefighters and soldiers who are risking their lives at this time for our brothers and sisters to survive!

Thank you, Commissioner, thank you, dear colleagues, for setting yourself in time with respect for European democracy. I want to thank you, this is the first time I chair this forum, on my behalf and on behalf of the Romanians. The following is Mr Mario Draghi's speech.

Mr. Pérez Alvise, I can't give you the time because you talked 30 seconds over and you also had time to talk. We have to be equal in terms of speaking time. Mr. Vandendriessche.

Mr Sieper, we have a blue card, but you are also registered for catch-the-eye. It's either that or catch-the-eye, not both. OK, we continue the mailing list, Mr. Złotowski Kosma.

Colleagues, we have received several requests for catch-the-eye, we are quite pressed with time, so I will close the catch-the-eye procedure. We have another hour of debate and we will see, depending on the remaining time, how many interventions will be possible. I'll take as many as I can.

Mr President, dear colleagues, we have a very long debate. This is my first time presiding. I extend my sympathy to flood victims across Europe and present Mr Agius Saliba for 2 minutes and 30 from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.

Mr. President, Mr. Geoana, Mrs. Lasconi, Mr. Ciolacu, Mr. Ciuca, on November 24, a young student will travel nine hours to go home to vote for one of you. He's a young man you don't know because you're not used to talking to young people. He's probably a 12th grader who's going to vote for you for the first time. Did you know that he'll wake up at 6 o'clock on Monday to commute to school and come back in the evening for the occasion? What are you doing for him? You have never spoken to young people, to young people who are perhaps going to Pride demanding equal rights, to young people who are going to protest for the climate crisis, to those who are protesting today for Palestine. With them, when? When? When will you talk? The young man will tell you by vote that the scholarship is not enough for rent, that the state does not give him social housing. He will tell you that he doesn't have access to a stable job, he will tell you that he feels bad and he certainly can't afford to go to a psychologist. Will you believe him? Will you help him? Will you listen to him? Young people in Romania deserve support, respect, so do not ask for their vote. Give them respect!

Mr President, I cannot, as a Romanian, sit here in the European Parliament and accept what has been said in this debate. It's unacceptable! Mr Terheș of the AUR said that the ‘so-called right to abortion [...]’ spoke of the ‘so-called right to abortion’. What, I mean, the so-called right to abortion? What about the "so-called" victims, millions, who fell victim to communism and other extremist times, because people like him said it was a "so-called" right, and not a fundamental right of women. No one has to die for a picture. I'm a girl's father. There is pain in our schools. Because of an illegally circulated photo, people and young people end their lives. So I'm glad this directive stops cyber bullying, harassment and all these indifferences that are taking place today. And I'll say something else, to that far-right part of this room. Don't hate what you don't understand. Put away the transphobia. Let people be themselves as they are.

Mr President, "women are afraid of getting this guy psychotic, of killing him, of rape, of beating her, of getting her drunk, of stealing her, of kidnapping her, of arguing. Girl, let me give you a live location in case of anything." This is a song by Erika Isac, who revolted half of Romania and many women listened to her, some in headphones, scared not to hear a certain Mirel. They're lyrics that have awakened a society, and they're not just lyrics. It's not just lyrics, it's the truth. On March 1st and 8th, the same Mirel wakes up to give tulips to women, because the abuser knows best to apologize. What Mirel doesn't want to understand is that women don't want flowers, women want to be respected, they want to stop being abused, they don't want to walk in fear on the street, they want to have the right to abortion, to reproductive health, they want to decide for their body. Women are heard very little and I want to mention here the work done by associations such as FILIA, Anais, E-Romnja, Iele-Sânziene and many others. I want to support them. Women don't want flowers, they want rights.

Madam President, Mr President, Minister, Commissioner, today we are talking about the future of Europe and Romania and we want every peace, freedom, equality. Reality is not like that now. A lot of Romanians are still leaving the country. We don't have new hospitals and we have a poor population. Millions of young people don't know what to hope for in the future. If populism and extremism are not to increase, and you have said so yourself, democracy must go hand in hand with good living. Romanians and Bulgarians are still waiting in queues at customs and want to enter Schengen dignified and full this year. Mr President, thank you for your commitment to Ukraine and your Euro-Atlantic orientation. It is the right fight, but because your mandate and our mandate in the European Parliament are coming to an end, let us ask ourselves. What Romania do we leave behind for our young people? What Europe do we leave them? What did we plan to do in Sibiu, the city I come from? Let us put the future of young people at the heart of politics. Young people need to be listened to, heard, helped! I want to fight for a Romania that offers young people affordable housing, decent jobs, health services, including mental health. We need decent homes for the students now. Our future doctors, teachers, architects are studying in homes with dampness, with 4-5 in the same room. The future President of Romania, Mr. President, is today in such a home. How do we deal with him or her? What do we offer him or her? Let's also take care of the environment. I know you care about the environment and I care very much about this component and the whole Green family does. Like a Romania with greener cities, with fresh air, with fast trains? A Romania with healthy food and more respect for nature, soil, forests, bees and animals. I would like to leave to my little girl, who is four years old today, such a continent and such a country. Young people, and this is a very important idea, do not want to live in a country with the extreme right in power. Therefore, I ask you, Mr. President, not to allow a fascist government in Romania. We don't need a new referendum on hate. Europe loves human rights and the human right to love whomever it wants. And because we had a case here in the European Parliament, Romania must ensure, Mr. President, that it does not allow Russian agents to do politics for Romanians. Emil Cioran said “The past of Romania does not flatter me and I am not proud that my ancestors slept for so long in the expectation of freedom”. Today we are free. We don't expect freedom, but we won't give in to extremists either. We have what we need, we have resources, but above all we have the heart for a better Romania.

Mr President, family doctors in Romania are neither respected nor paid. Half of the 10 000 family doctors are over 60 years old, and still waiting for a post to be vacated, over 4 000 family doctors from Romania have gone abroad. And who can condemn them? Family doctors are on the front line, we go to them when we cough, as many of you do in this room, and when we have colds and other things, now, in the middle of winter. Health is more expensive than all of them, but apparently the government says it's expensive for money. They cut the budget, so you have to be lucky to get treated. They've created a practical quota for those who escape and for those who don't. Because with less money you can't treat as many people. I stand in solidarity with family doctors and ask the government to respect them, to pay them. They are when we suffer, including at night, when we call on the phone. Mr. Ciolacu, don't catch a cold, because no one will answer the phone!

Mr President, I kept looking at those young people upstairs who came to support Europe, but it's hard to support Europe when you don't have money in your pocket, when it's humiliating that you don't have a home, that your only home is the couch in your parents' house. A young man in Romania does not have the same conditions as in the West. Credit conditions are different, interest rates are very high, wages are very low. They've been promised that if they go to school, if they stick to school, if they work, they will have all these things and they don't have them until after 30 and maybe even later. So we need to lead by example at European level. I am thinking of the city of Vienna, which ensures that rents for young people are low, that rich people are not separated from poor people on the outskirts of cities, and I would even propose a wealth tax to finance the construction of social housing so that young people can have a larger social housing fund. I even tell the home minister, Mr Veștea, to invest all the money from the NRRP, as much money as possible from the NRRP, to have social housing. It is important for young people, because without them we do not build Europe, without them we lose Europe.

Madam President, in Romania, students are preparing for Christmas break, but they may be returning to some empty schools. This is because the Government's lack of respect for teachers has no limits. Tens of thousands of teachers took to the streets last summer and left only because they were promised to raise their salaries to dignified salaries by 40%. Students also demand that the man in front of them be respected, that they in turn respect him. As the deadline approached, we were curious to see what rabbit Prime Minister Ciolacu took out of his hat. Surprise, however, the promise made in the summer will not be kept: salaries will increase by 13%, only one third of what the Romanian Government promised them (if they increase). I urge the Romanian Government to keep its promises to teachers, because in this way they keep their promises to the future Romania, they keep their promises to educated Romania. Without it, we have no future.

Mr President, 6 700 dorm places, but 90 000 students. This is what happens in Cluj. It's like admitting to home, not college. What do young people do when they don't have room at home? I'm going to the free market, looking for a private rent. It starts somewhere around 400 euros. They're humiliated at first by the system, and then the real estate sharks take over. Have you heard of the garage made room? What about the disused bathroom? Advertisements of all kinds of cells and closets make the Internet a delight. It's just not funny. Young people suffer, they have anxiety, they have depression. From one basic thing: to have a place to live. I'll pay 500 euros for the rent. I have three other students with me. My family can support me, I'm lucky. Others have to work full time and go to college just to live. Aren't you ashamed that we say young people come to vote? If we want that, we should start by listening to them.

Madam President, Commissioner, 95% of young employees aged 18 to 30 are affected by mental health problems. That is, almost all of our children at the beginning of their careers. They go through many pressures that can lead to exhaustion and, in some cases, regrettably, suicide. In Romania, one third of Romanian employees are in burnout, but only 1% go to therapy, that is 7 people in this room. I'm one of them. I'm glad I can afford it. I'm glad I can go to therapy, because the cost is the big problem. I want you, Commissioner, to tell the Member States, to tell Romania that there is a need for a minimum number of therapy sessions settled by the Insurance House throughout Europe and in Romania. Let's help our young people! Let's give them free access to therapy and support and understanding from society, from employers, from everyone. Their mental health is the lifeblood of our European future.

Madam President, Commissioner, it used to be said that social networks democratise information, that journalists keep it all to themselves. Is that true today? Hasn't the situation returned to 180 degrees? How is it possible for a man like Elon Musk to say ‘this content is ok, this is not ok, here I leave, here I do not leave, here I give the internet, here I do not give the internet’? Especially when whole lives depend on it. How is it possible that no news can go beyond the filters and algorithms of Facebook, Twitter and so on, without paying a lot of money? So somehow they attracted us with cheap content and now they make us pay the most. European competition must intervene to get the truth to the people.