Debate contributions by Dan-Ştefan MOTREANU

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I begin by thanking the European Commission for the proposal to simplify the common agricultural policy and my colleagues in the AGRI Committee for their contributions. We managed to bring more flexibility in the application of environmental rules, to include animal diseases in the list of situations eligible for crisis payments, to reduce the loss threshold from 20% to 15% and, very importantly, to increase support for small farmers to EUR 5 000 and a one-off payment of EUR 75 000 for business development. These measures are undoubtedly welcome, but European agriculture needs clear, flexible and fair rules in the long term. However, in view of the next budget of the European Union, we are witnessing another type of simplification proposed by the European Commission, namely a budget cut of 20-30% in real terms, after the adjustment to inflation and the disappearance of Pillar II by merging it with cohesion funds. This proposal has sparked strong reactions among farmers, local authorities and rural communities, whose grievances risk being exploited by populist forces at both national and European level. Farmers demand real simplification, concrete support, fair income and predictability, and citizens expect quality food and fair prices. That is why we need a truly common, simplified and properly funded agricultural policy that ensures the dignity of farmers and protects village identity, traditions and quality food.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I begin by thanking the colleagues responsible for the reports debated today, and I would like to refer to the need to simplify cohesion policy. There are still regions of the European Union where local authorities and small and medium-sized enterprises prefer to resort to bank loans or wait for government funds instead of accessing European funds, as complex bureaucratic procedures, high costs and strict conditionalities make European funding difficult to obtain and manage. This situation is caused both by the rules established at European level, but especially by the additional rules imposed at national level, which are often superfluous. For this reason, I tabled a number of amendments to the Simplification Report, calling for a single set of rules for accessing European funds, as well as the application of the single audit in terms of implementation, monitoring and control. Only in this way can we ensure that beneficiaries, be they local or regional authorities, SMEs, NGOs, academia or individuals, focus their resources on the development and implementation of European projects and not on overcoming administrative obstacles. At the same time, I support the creation of a single European platform, connected to national platforms, that would provide all beneficiaries with quick access to the various European funds relevant to the sector in which they operate.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, drought is already causing losses of around EUR 9 billion annually in the European Union. In Romania alone, over 2.5 million hectares of crops were compromised in 2024 due to drought and lack of modern irrigation systems. The recent Commission proposal on the revision of cohesion policy foresees the reorientation of cohesion funds towards a number of strategic priorities, including water resilience and the digitalisation of infrastructure. Commissioner, I would like you to confirm to me whether, in the context of the mid-term review, cohesion funding will cover the modernisation of existing irrigation systems as well as the development of smart systems in areas where they are completely lacking. Such a measure would represent concrete and essential support for farmers, severely affected by the effects of climate change and the lack of adequate infrastructure.

Mr President, Commissioner, the absorption rate of cohesion funds for 2021-2027 is indeed low, but this does not reflect the lack of interest on the part of the Member States, but is caused by delays in the adoption of the European Union budget, the overlapping and completion of the 2014-2020 programmes and the implementation of the national recovery and resilience plans. The contracting rate should also be taken into account. In Romania, for example, more than 60% of the amount of funding is already contracted. In addition, we must keep in mind that some projects, such as road infrastructure or water and sewerage, are very complex and can sometimes take more than five years. The absorption rate of almost 100% in the previous period clearly shows that cohesion policy remains key to reducing disparities between regions. To those who propose to redirect the cohesion budget, I remind you that this policy has strengthened citizens' trust in the European project, through concrete investments in motorways, hospitals, schools and SMEs, investments that effectively counteract Eurosceptic discourses and influences coming from outside the European Union.

Commissioner, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, desertification is already affecting 13 Member States and drought is causing losses of EUR 9 billion annually. In Romania alone, 400,000 hectares are affected by desertification. The adoption of the Nature Restoration Regulation requires Member States to restore 20% of degraded land by 2030. Unfortunately, the Regulation was not accompanied by additional budget allocations. As a result, I call on the European Commission to address this insufficiency in the next financial year and to make concrete funds available to the countries of the Union. At the same time, to maintain food security, it is essential to increase investment in the development of smart irrigation systems, the use of treated urban waste water, rainwater abstraction and the construction of reservoirs. In addition, the results of research on marine water desalination from Horizon Europe must be accessible to Member States for the deployment of these modern technologies at low cost.

Mr President, Commissioner, free and fair elections are the foundation of our democratic process. Citizens must be able to vote freely, free from foreign interference, manipulation or disinformation campaigns. This is one of the biggest challenges facing our democracy in a digital age. The European Commission has already adopted a number of measures to prevent disinformation and cyberattacks during elections. However, the hybrid attack against Romania's presidential election exposed the vulnerabilities of democracy in the European Union and the ability of hostile actors to exploit modern technologies to influence election results. Such hybrid attacks have already been tested in the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. The risk of replicating these tactics in another Member State of the European Union is very real. I therefore call on the European Commission to guarantee free elections through rigorous monitoring and strict enforcement of the provisions on combating disinformation during pre-campaign and election campaign periods for all lines of elections, in all Member States, in order to be able to detect, prevent and combat any attempt at hostile interference in electoral processes in real time. I ask that digital platforms that facilitate or enable the spread of fake newsThey must be held accountable and severely punished, because otherwise the loss of democracy is the step towards the loss of freedom.

Mr President, dear colleagues, desertification is constantly affecting 13 Member States, and in Romania the drought has affected 2.2 million hectares of agricultural land this year alone. On the other hand, rainfall, as it has not occurred in the last 100 years, caused floods in only one county in Romania, affected seven thousand households, thousands of hectares of arable land and hundreds of vegetable greenhouses. Over the last four years, we have asked the European Commission several times to allocate funds exclusively dedicated to combating desertification and drought, and to draw up a concrete plan in this regard. Unfortunately, the measures are totally insufficient. EU programmes are fragmented and inconsistent. It costs us more to pay compensation than it would cost us to prevent these phenomena. Drought alone causes EUR 9 billion in damage in the European Union every year. I call on the new European Commission to include in the post-2027 budget a clear and well-funded integrated programme that addresses these issues in a unified way.