Speeches

Madam President, in order to solve global problems, we must first solve those at home, in each country. I hear we're concerned about crises and global solutions, but we've forgotten the people around us, we've lost contact with those we represent. The grievances of Romanians are more and more numerous and are related to everyday living. Now we see the grievances of farmers and transporters, but the truth is that the decline in living standards has affected us all. Mr. President, we could have done more and more for Romania. Honourable Commission, Honourable Council, you have often ignored the problems and pains of my people and my country, and here, unfortunately, we have seen too many political snowdrops that are unable to say ‘no’ when our interests have been trampled on. I can say "no" every time and I will do so from now on. That's why I think it's a time when we need to reconnect to people's problems. Each in his own country, each in the city, and I think this is the only way we can increase their confidence that what we do here is only for the good of each of them. I believe that this is the only way Iasi and Romania will be in good hands, just like the whole of Europe.

Madam President, Mrs O'Reilly, I have supported you from day one and I support you today. I am Tudor Ciuhodaru, doctor, emergency doctor in Iasi, Romania, Nicolae Oblu Emergency Clinical Hospital. When we saw each other, we talked about the 21st century being about human rights. Among them, the right to health and the right to education, poorly respected in this pandemic. Mrs. O'Reilly, we have two more elephants in the room: the one related to the purchase of vaccines and the one related to the side effects. Despite the fact that we asked the Coronavirus Committee for the presence of the European Commission and vaccine manufacturers, this has not happened today either. In my country there is a huge scandal related to a billion euros given on vaccines that went to the trash and about the side effects of these vaccines. So, Mrs O'Reilly, I have all the hope, and that is why I will support you from now on, that these problems will be solved and know that in me you always have a supporter, because the only healthy option always remains a primary practitioner and what can happen good in Europe, and from this collaboration we can make things move, and transparency is mandatory, whether you are a member of the European Commission or a member of a pharmaceutical company.

Mr President, Commissioner, rapporteur, I will move the discussion tonight more on people's lives and science, because I am a doctor, an emergency doctor in Iasi, Romania, at the Nicolae Oblu Emergency Clinical Hospital and I can tell you that I come from the most polluted city in Romania, on the European statistics of the European Medicines Agency. We inhale poison and breathe cancer, so I think it's time to intervene until it's too late, because people's lives are the most important. Mr President, Commissioner, I hope that we will all support this approach, because if health is not, nothing is, and all these steps that we take beyond ideology, beyond the economy, should be for people's lives. I hope to understand once and for all that we, here in the European Parliament, can also do good to the European Union, and maybe come to Iasi, my hometown. I have been working for over 25 years in the emergency service and I continue to work in the Nicolae Oblu Emergency Clinical Hospital and know that I believe that being a doctor means more to treat patients, it means starting to treat both the world and health, and what is happening at this moment in the European Union, and I hope that you all support this approach, because the only healthy option remains health.

Mr President, I want all patients in Romania to benefit from cheap medicines and we are on a minefield. More than 3,000 essential medicines have disappeared from pharmacies and many of them are life-saving essentials, and this is the first time that amoxicillin and paracetamol have not been available in Europe. Accessibility means availability and price. My approach today is related to a European Health Union also in this area, and the five priority objectives for me, which I have already tabled as First Vice-President of the Health Commission, mean a real revolution in what pharmaceutical policy means and for every vulnerable citizen in this Europe to benefit from cheap medicines when they need them. They are basically the creation of a list of essential medicines, European quality standards in health, a unified production strategy based also on resuscitation of existing production capacities. I invite you, Commissioner, to support the ‘Cantacuzino’ Institute in Romania. It can be a solution to Europe's strategic problems at any time. On the other hand, I am talking about reducing or even eliminating fees for generic medicines. I have already defended them before the Commissioner, and on the other hand, an emergency pharmacy, on the ‘rescEU’ model, in which manufacturers are obliged to have 10% of annual sales on stock, so that they can respond when we talk about increased demands or difficult supply chains. Health is treated with concrete solutions and I hope you will support me in this endeavor as well. I invite you, Commissioner, to also see the ‘Cantacuzino’ Institute in Romania.

Madam President, I am raising a new alarm today. The drug problem is no longer just a public health problem, but a safety issue at European level. I tell you that I am a doctor, an emergency doctor, and Nicolae Oblu Emergency Clinical Hospital treats such cases and, from now on, it is official: The third wave has reached Europe. I am talking about synthetic drugs, an explosive danger to Europe's health, an explosive danger that has also reached Romania. That is why I want zero tolerance for those who kill our children and I am proposing today a Europe-wide anti-drug plan based on three clear pillars: (1) exemplary punishments (this means that both trafficking and illicit production of drugs are included in those Eurocrimes, as provided for in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in Article 83); (2) health education (because it is important to recognize, prevent, be able to treat and have notions such as first aid, and families to be warned) and (3) consumer support. I hope that all MEPs will support such a move, and that the Commission will take the necessary measures as a matter of urgency, because we are already in the 13th hour. Know that if you said that with fentanyl you saw the worst, the worst is yet to come. ‘Tranq’ comes from the United States.

Madam President, Commissioner, I am a doctor, an emergency doctor in Iași, Romania, the Nicolae Oblu Emergency Clinical Hospital and, from my point of view, today we have two extremely important problems: one related to public health and one related to European security. So we need to ensure accessible food for all citizens of Europe. And that, attention, at affordable prices! So, Commissioner, I invite you to Iaşi, Iaşi, Romania, because I want you to listen directly to the dissatisfaction of Romanian farmers with the different subsidy compared to other European countries, with the fact that energy prices have risen exponentially, with the fact that the price of fertilisers has taken off like a rocket on the ground. And yes, we are talking about simple, concrete solutions, easy to put into practice, and from my point of view you should know that resuscitating European production is extremely important and think about the Romanian infrastructure in this field. On the other hand, I think it is time to rethink these subsidy policies and ensure that emergency support for farmers, especially those at this eastern limit of the European Union, who are trying hard during this period, and I hope that once and for all what we have proposed by renegotiating that National Recovery and Resilience Programme, will come into practice, because there are many solutions that need to be rethought. A great Romanian writer - and I want you to give me 10 seconds - Marin Preda, said that if love is not, nothing is! I, as a doctor, can tell you that if food is not, health is not, and if health is not, nothing is!

Mr President, Mr Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, the health of European citizens has been and is and always will be a priority for me. I am a doctor, doctor at Nicolae Oblu Emergency Clinical Hospital in Iasi, Romania, and I treat every day patients affected by pollution, by this pathology that reduces life expectancy and affects the quality of life in all European countries. From my point of view, any step taken to reduce pollution is extremely important and I will support at any time any measure that includes boosting the production and purchase of electric cars in the Member States, which are often inaccessible, rethinking, if you will, the hybrid clause, a rethinking of the second-hand market so that our lives are protected. If I wanted to paraphrase the first man on the moon today, I could say that, from a legislative point of view, today is a small step for the European Parliament, a small step for the European Commission, but a huge step for European citizens.

Mr President, Schengen blackmail must stop. Romania's presence in the Schengen area is a right of my country as a member state of the European Union, based on some obligations that we have fulfilled. Do not change the rules during the game. He who sows wind, reaps storm.

Madam President, it is incredible and inexcusable that the vote of this House does not matter. I voted twice in this House for Romania's accession to Schengen and a vote elsewhere made things take a different direction. These things need to be changed. Honorable Commission, honourable Council, I want Romanians to no longer be considered second-class European citizens and Romania to be considered a country at European level. I have never suffered such an injustice, given at the time of the vote against Romania's accession to Schengen. It's incredible, it's unfair and unfair for some to be more equal than others, and these things have to stop. I want us to be treated like the French, the English, the Dutch and the Austrians. Honourable Commission, Honourable Council, unity and solidarity also mean concrete measures and I ask you, I want, I ask you and I want to return home saying that three extremely important things have been achieved: to find once again that we meet all the conditions, to make a very clear timetable regarding Romania's accession to Schengen and to trigger those procedures that you have triggered each time, of infringement, of sanctioning those who do not comply with the Treaties on the functioning of the European Union. This vote against Romania was in fact a serious fracture against European unity and solidarity, and honoured the Commission, honoured the Council, we were extremely supportive of all European crises. If you want us to be close, keep in mind that Romanians and Romania deserve better, including changing the treaties at European level.

Mr. President, I am a doctor, an emergency doctor in Iasi, Romania, in the Nicolae Oblu Emergency Clinical Hospital. I listened with astonishment and outrage to the statements of representatives of pharmaceutical companies in the COVID Committee. It's official! From now on, the entire political-legal and economic scaffolding related to the introduction of the digital green passport and the purchase of billions of doses of vaccines has collapsed, and that is why today, once again, I have voted against the digital green passport every time, to urgently give up this aberrant act, which only shows that you have been vaccinated, otherwise you can transmit the disease, and on the other hand to immediately suspend these billion-euro contracts, Romania has one billion euros given on such vaccines, which no longer comply with the rules, and these contracts to be renegotiated. It is of major importance and I am convinced that you will support me in this endeavour, because such errors must not be repeated.

Mr President, now is the time for the final decision. I want Romanians to no longer be considered second-class European citizens. And for that, Romania must enter Schengen as soon as possible. Honorable Commission, honourable Council, I have told you many times in the plenary of this Parliament, I also say today, that we have long since fulfilled all the conditions for accession. It is unfair for some to be more equal than others, and this must stop. I want, in fact, equal rights for Romanians, the same rights as those for the Dutch, Germans and French. Any delay now is no longer justified. I hope you all support my approach.

Madam President, honourable committee, I once again call on you to introduce health education as a compulsory subject of study in schools in Europe. Know that it can make the difference between life and death, and we have seen in this pandemic too, we see in what it means to increase the number of cancers, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, that without effective prevention measures these things cannot be corrected. Maybe we need to finally have the right of initiative at the level of the European Parliament in order for this extremely important project to be put into practice, and I will recall what a great Romanian writer – Marin Preda, in his last novel, ‘The most beloved of the earthlings’, said that if love is not, nothing is –, I will say that if health is not, nothing is, and obviously if education is not, neither is health. It is simple, easy to put into practice and must become a problem at European level, which has solutions and can be easily, extremely easily solved. Unfortunately, the European Parliament still has no right of initiative.

Madam President, Commissioner, I too want the life of every European citizen to be protected. I am an emergency doctor in Iasi, at Nicolae Oblu Emergency Clinical Hospital and I treat the effects of these toxic substances, a wide range of pathologies, and my questions are clear. The goals are extremely generous. But I also want to know who and how will check that these goals are put into practice, and on the other hand who and how will dose and identify these substances. And Commissioner, are you thinking of an independent network of centres to ensure these assessments? Because we are tired of there being a double standard and one being in one part of the European Union and the other being in the other part.

Madam President, thank you, I have a more difficult name to pronounce. Rape means violence and violence in times of war means war crime. I want zero tolerance for such abominable deeds, but in addition there are many other problems that I would like to have mentioned today. I am an emergency doctor in Iasi, Romania, at the border with Moldova and I have already treated patients from conflict areas. So know that drama is enormous and needs to be addressed in other ways as well. And I want the lives of women and girls, mothers, grandparents, children in war zones to be protected. And I ask you once again, Commissioner, to activate the European Medical Corps and to go - I also volunteer - to these war zones where everyone's life must be protected.

Mr. President, thank you. Good morning, Moldova, welcome to the European Union. Today, May 5, 2022, is a historic moment because the Parliament votes and shows its solidarity with this European country and I ask all of you to vote for this demarche because it brings Moldova together with Romania in the great European family. I am an emergency doctor, I work in Moldova, in Iasi, at the ‘Nicolae Oblu’ Emergency Clinical Hospital and I treat citizens on both sides of the Prut and I want from now on, because I know their problems and wishes, and the Council to give a firm and clear political signal about this country’s accession to the European Union. Good luck to Moldova.

It's official. We're on a minefield. The desire to extend the digital green certificate by one year brings us precisely to this minefield because there was no medical or epidemiological logic in establishing such an approach, but only an instrument that destroyed both society, the economy, and even the health system. I'm just reminding you that the vaccine can get infected and transmit the disease, and it can even be unimmunized. And in these circumstances, the millions of citizens in Romania were denied the only great right obtained with difficulty, once my country joined the European Union, to move freely only on the basis of the identity document issued by my country, Romania. I'm a doctor, an emergency doctor. I worked throughout this pandemic in a coronavirus support hospital, Nicolae Oblu Emergency Clinical Hospital. And we have always come up with a coherent strategy based on testing, screening, securing medicines and vaccination based only on informed consent. I only care about people's lives and science, and that's why I'm asking you to vote against extending this digital green passport.

I come from a country, Romania, where this blue economy means balance. Especially, I invite everyone to see the Danube Delta, a monument of nature that should be appreciated by all of Europe. But, unfortunately, we are not alone in this process and what happens in the area influences our lives every day. I hope that, after this report, we will find the wise solutions and, above all, the necessary funding so that a goal that we want to be viable for our children can persist for millennia. And I hope that in this European Parliament Romania's objectives can be sustained.

Mr President, as a doctor, I want every working citizen's life to be protected. Honourable Commission, honourable Members, the world has changed, as have the labour market and working conditions, and the war and the pandemic will continue to have consequences that are still difficult to assess. I have been working since the beginning of this pandemic in a Coronavirus support hospital in Iași, the ‘Nicolae Oblu’ Emergency Clinical Hospital, a hospital where the exact time is given in emergencies and neurosurgery at European level and which has treated the first refugees from Ukraine these days. Know that new risk factors for occupational diseases have arisen, and even the problem of the old ones has not yet been fully solved. I see that one in five jobs in Europe is of poor quality, and differences in approach and legislation between Member States are only a risk factor and have immediate consequences, and the consequences are visible. In a single year, in the European Union, we have seen more than three million accidents at work with 3 000 deaths, 200 000 deaths linked to work-related diseases, 100 000 deaths linked to work-related cancer, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, because the real figures are greatly increased, and that is why I think, at this point, I want everyone's life to be protected and that we need to adopt today another strategy, a zero-plan in terms of work-related deaths, linked to work-related diseases and accidents, and I am aware that we can do this today.