Speeches

The summer of 2021 was full of disasters, with floods and fires all over Europe. But sometimes fires are not just fires, they are arsons. Sometimes floods are not just floods, they are consequences of landslides provoked by illegal deforestation. And these we call green crime! Such disasters lead not only to economic damages, but also to deaths. This year there was a cyclone in Romania, with devastating storms causing destruction. Climate change is a reality causing natural disasters five times more frequently than in previous years. Therefore, we need to adapt our solidarity mechanisms and provide for the damaged regions solid rehabilitation plans, accompanied by financial resources. We need to strengthen the EU civil protection mechanism and improve the infrastructure to be more resilient to natural disasters. We also need to provide to the population early warning tools, like alert systems, in order to save lives. Sometimes natural disasters are the consequence of environmental crimes, others aren’t. This means we need to invest in both: crisis preparedness and fighting green crimes. And by doing so, we invest in the safety of our families.

Madam President, the place of the Republic of Moldova is in the European Union. Moldovans are already Europeans. Moldovans are already in Europe, only we are behind in giving them their right to be here, European citizens with good papers. But in order for that to happen, we have to do more, we have to help them. Because Putin, on the other side, invests billions and billions, of euros, of rubles. Billions that he walks a lot even here, through us, through the European Union and, through his oligarchs, through politicians from Chisinau sold, traitors, try to pull the Republic of Moldova closer and closer to us, closer and closer to its place, closer and closer to Russia. So, what do we do? We let the oligarchs stay here with their money and use it. This has to stop! We must take the money of the oligarchs, because if we take the money of the oligarchs, we leave Putin without his most precious weapon: Billions and billions of them.

Madam President, there are suitcases of money walking around in the halls of Parliament, but we are talking about ethics. We have MEPs here in this House who have been caught red-handed with huge sums of money. But we are talking about standards. We have MEPs caught spying for China, for Russia, for money, together with their employees, and we are talking about institutions. No one will believe us, our citizens won't believe us if we stick to talking. I propose the example of Mrs Kövesi: Let's go get their money! Let's take a look at their entire structure! Because if you see what the key word is, in addition to ethics, institutions, standards: money, that connects us all! Until we do something concrete, until we take their money - those who are taken without any right and which are the citizens' money - whether they are European citizens or citizens of other states, until we do this, no one will believe us. The elections will come and you will wonder why the world is voting with others, with some who are anti-Europe. If we don't do concrete things, our citizens won't believe us.

Mr President, most corruption crimes also involve money laundering and a simple Google search of ‘corrupt politicians in Romania’, we will find super-famous names, former prime ministers, ministers, but even MEPs. Just as famous files: the Zambaccian file, the Microsoft file or the Gala Bute file, in which even a parliamentarian who sat here in this Parliament was convicted of corruption. But what connects them all? Well, aside from prosecutors sometimes. The fact that the fortunes are in the name of the family or other proxies. Sometimes they escape through their holy prescription, gift from the CCR, another time, when they do a little jail time, the wealth remains in the family. Let's look at that wealth. Let's check the assets of these proxies and not let them launder money, because if we take their money from unjustified assets, they have nothing to launder and we solve our money laundering problem. So, dear colleagues, let us also include in the powers of these European institutions the verification of these assets and the confiscation of unjustified assets.

Mr President, 63% of victims of human trafficking are women and girls. Trafficking in human beings means abuse, it means violence and can even lead to murder. But if in anno Domini 2024, there are people who publicly declare that the victim is to blame, that a woman is abused or can be abused because she asks for it or simply because she is beautiful, it means that we have a huge problem in our society and it is called, not that you are godly if you blame the victim, if you urge hatred, discrimination and violence, but it is called that you are sick and you have a huge problem if you do this thing. One in three women has been the victim of abuse and one in five women is the victim of domestic violence. These are real figures today, today when only now we have the first directive against violence against women and this should wake us up, because although we have the directive, we must also apply it and we must be careful that it applies, because otherwise it will remain just a paper thing and these statistics that are women and girls in the real world will continue to happen.

Madam President, the Council is thinking, the Council is talking, but nothing is happening, practically. The Americans have already taken the money of Putin and the criminals around him. In the meantime, what's going on with us? More than two years after the war and more than 30 years after the Romanian revolution, there are politicians who, with maximum courage in front of the cameras, say: ‘I am a criminal’; without any consequence, without any verification and without any confiscation of unjustified wealth. Let me tell you something: We all know that you are criminals, we all know that you have unjustified wealth, made from money stolen from citizens, we all know that you are oligarchs. And while we're at it, let me tell you something else: After all, we're still going to confiscate your money and we're still going to take that stolen money back from you, even if you don't agree with that.

Madam President, we look with admiration at America, we look with concern at China and we talk about the competitiveness of the European Union and we want to be more competitive, of course. But what do we deliver? We deliver speeches here, very nice, very nice words. But think about what it would be like if America had internal borders. What if in America a truck that leaves New York and wants to get to Los Angeles has to cross three borders? How competitive is that? This is what is happening in the European Union today. What if in America there were citizens of various categories, citizens of category 1, second class citizens, that is, some who are in queues, are checked, who are kept at the counter, and wait, and sit, to get from one side to the other, and some who are not checked and who move on without any problems. That's the reality! Commissioner, I am addressing you because Mrs von der Leyen has left, she is no longer in the room. How do we do it? Are we delivering nice speeches? In your speech you said all the time that Romania and Bulgaria have entered Schengen. Actually, they didn't come in. How do you want our citizens to follow all the rules if you don't follow them and if you don't follow them?

Madam President, throughout history, Russia has always stolen from Romanians. He stole our territories, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, he stole our cultural heritage, our treasure, and he stole our money. The value of the gold that the Russians simply stole, is somewhere at least 5 billion euros now. Now the question is, what do we do, let them keep stealing? Are we still sitting on the money of Putin and the Russians who are here in the European Union and complaining that the thieves are not willingly giving us back our treasure or are we taking their money? At least that much, if that's all we can do. If their money is here, why doesn't Europe say: "Take their money!"? Why doesn't he do that? Dear colleagues, if you are afraid of Putin, you have nothing to do here. Our ancestors, who made Romania, Greater Romania, were not afraid of dictators, of all sorts of tyrants. Those who made the European Union were not afraid of tyrants either, because we no longer had countries, we no longer had the European Union if that happened. So stop being afraid. Take their money already!

Mr President, we need more money in our budget for our farmers, for our carriers, for the people who pay their taxes and need our help. We complain all the time that we don't have enough money in the budget to help them. Let's see, why don't we have enough money in the budget to help them? Because we're not going to take the money from the big fraudsters, the criminals who make millions and millions illegally. Because if, say, Mihai, who has a small construction company near Paris, forgets to pay 500 euros in taxes, he instantly wakes up with garnishments and all the institutions on his head. Instead, we have a bunch of millionaires who either donate and make a lot of money with politicians, or leave luxury cars to politicians who go like this, quite by chance, with them and who are not bothered by anyone. Until Europe starts taking the money from these big fraudsters and big criminals, obviously we won't have the money we need to help our citizens, so this is my message: Europe, take their money and we'll have it for everyone.

Madam President, Putin is investing billions and billions of euros, of rubles, in politicians here in the European Union; very often, in politicians here, in this room in the European Parliament. I have asked, and many of my colleagues have agreed, that we change the rules of this parliament so that Putin's trumpets can no longer be carried out here, so that we can cut off their microphones and, very, very importantly, cut off their access to power, to the decision. You know what happened? One of Putin's trumpets from my country, from Romania, instantly began to offend me, made me a worm, made me a traitor and began to threaten me. Not that I have a problem with that, but it seems to me the best example that what we do here when we do something really bothers them. Do you know why all this is happening? Because we fail to take the money from the oligarchs and the people who make money with Putin and send it back so that that money can come, like this, nicely, back to these trumpets. Because my message to the European Union now is ‘EU, take their money!’, because that is the only way we can cut off their microphones altogether. My question is: what is the Commission doing, Commissioner, about this?

Mr. President, Putin is a serial killer and in a civilized world, serial killers have to stay in jail, not at the buttons. Putin also has accomplices. Unfortunately, we see them here too, through the European Parliament, we see them through the parliaments of our countries, they are accomplices who do its job and in exchange for this barter, they receive resources, they receive money directly. A lot of them get trolls, they get infrastructure. The accomplices of serial killers must stay in jail, not in parliaments, let alone in the European Parliament. We have rules, we can change them if we think they are not enough, but first we apply the ones we have and have the prosecutors do their job. Putin killed Alexei Navalny, Boris Nemtsov, many other human rights activists and opposition politicians in Russia, and he kills people in Ukraine every day. How long are we gonna stay and let him and his accomplices go free? They have to go to jail, led by Putin.

Mr. President, we always say that education is the solution. Dear colleagues, we say that we are under Putin's hybrid war that is firing fake news at us in the European Union. Is it true, and how do we defend ourselves against fake news? With education. As we always say, education is the most important thing, that we need educated people who understand and are no longer easy to manipulate with fake news. It's all good and wonderful. What do we do about it? Absolutely nothing. We have protests on the streets, we had them in Brussels, we had farmers here in Strasbourg, we had farmers in Romania, farmers, transporters. But do you know who was on the streets for the first time and who started these protests of our dissatisfied citizens very well? Teachers, because we don't invest in education, we don't invest in teachers, we don't give them, not only the respect they need and deserve, but we don't even give them the infrastructure with which to do their job. They are our soldiers in the war against Putin's fake news, but we send them without bullets, without weapons and possibly with an empty belly. Then we complain, here in this very beautiful and wonderful Parliament, that, you see, Lord, we are losing the war on fake news, that our citizens no longer trust us, because, again, we are going back to education. We always say we don't have money, we let governments make fun of our teachers, we don't have skills, we don't have money. How can we not have money? We have a lot of money, but we have to stop giving them all kinds of nonsense, stop making unjustified purchases and give money where it matters, in education and in teachers.

Madam President, we have trumpets here in the European Parliament, and they are Putin's trumpets spewing only false propaganda, of course. We also have cans here in the European Parliament, which, when broken, only bring out dirty interests, also of Putin and the Kremlin. How long do we keep looking at them without doing anything? How much longer do we stay without making any rules about how to respond to this? Because the last time we stood, we woke up with Putin's tanks at the door. We have trumpets, we also have canned goods in other European countries, in other capitals. We also have, we have Shosoaca, the biggest preserve, the biggest trumpet in Bucharest. I'm still in Budapest, I'm still in Vienna, but let's start here and solve our problem. Let's stop letting them be on the buttons, let's stop letting them talk all the nonsense we're all listening to here, and more importantly, let's stop letting them influence our politics.

Madam President, we are talking about fundamental rights in the European Union, but we have citizens whose rights are being violated right now. In Romania, a civic activist was picked up from her home by violent police for a Facebook post. In Romania, protesters who want to legitimately express their problems and demand legitimate and peaceful solutions from the authorities are systematically prevented from doing so. In Romania, authorities have ordered police to harass and stop them from what is their European right to protest. And I'm not saying that. This is said by the police unions, who have acknowledged the political pressure that is being put on them precisely for this, in order to satisfy the interests of politicians. So, dear colleagues, we are talking here about fundamental rights. We have to do more than talk. We really have to do something. We must be very careful about what is happening in our countries and I am taking advantage of the Commissioner's presence here to inform them of what is happening, both in Romania and in other countries, and I am asking for intervention to help the citizens. The right to protest is a fundamental right, Commissioner.

Madam President, there are protests now in Romania, by farmers, there are protests all over the European Union, and people are right. People can't and don't want to suffer any more quietly. I'm doing very well! What are they told? The government tells them there is no money. That's a huge lie! How could there be no money? There's a lot of money. There are billions and billions leaving the European Union, going to countries like Romania. They are told that nothing can be done - another very big lie! It can be done, but it must also look at the citizens, at the ordinary farmers. What's the real problem? The people who are put there to make decisions, the people who make decisions for themselves and for their party friends, who make millions, just them with their comrades, and who make combinations. Don't give up, folks, you're on the street, because that's the only way you're gonna get the rights you're really entitled to. Because there's money, only if they steal it all, there's obviously no one left but them. Don't give up, stay on the street until you get your rights!

Mr President, the Commission is the guardian of the Treaties. What does that mean? It means that the Commission must ensure that all countries and institutions in the European Union apply the same, but above all apply European law. However, what do we do when the Commission itself, which has this role, does not apply European law? What do we do when the Commission itself does not apply a resolution of this last European Parliament by a large majority not ten years ago, not five years ago, but this year in July? What do we do when the Commission, while saying that it supports some principles, some very important principles, equality, non-discrimination, does not sufficiently help countries that are left out, that are discriminated against? Let's see how these things relate. We have a resolution voted here in the European Parliament for Romania and Bulgaria to enter the Schengen area. This resolution doesn't just come from us, it comes from here. This resolution came through a petition, by the will of our citizens, passed through the Committee on Petitions and reached a resolution in the European Parliament. However, the European Commission does not apply its provisions. What does this resolution say? Not only should we, Romania and Bulgaria, enter the Schengen area, but we also have a very important right: the right to compensation, because someone does not apply European law as they should (in our case, Austria), because someone discriminates against us, because someone abuses their rights and we have that right to compensation against Austria. He writes this in our resolution, voted here in the European Parliament, and he also writes that the European Commission has an obligation to calculate these compensations and to find ways for the affected countries, Romania and Bulgaria, to receive them. What do we do when the European Commission says one thing and does another? Dear colleagues, if we allow this to continue, we are losing even our European principles. It means that if the Commission doesn't apply the rules, I don't really see how it can ask others.

Madam President, before we become researchers, our young people are pupils and students; and they need at least a laptop, at least a tablet, and then they need a reasonable home to live in and a rent. Right now I can't afford most of them, none of them, not in any way from the allowance, let alone the scholarships. The money we spend here is a lot. We like to sign billions on paper. But they don't get to them, they often get to some rectors, some heads of universities that nobody changes anymore, who stay there for life. Our young people end up researching, but they're researching sites to find jobs, job sites, and our young people are leaving their countries to find a better future, and we're just sitting there looking at this. I want to ask you: don't you think it would be a common sense thing, at least, I don't know, to help them, to give them the money directly, not to take them away from the rectors, to give them at least a plane ticket, to return from where they are, at Christmas and Easter, at home? I think we should take this very seriously.

Mr President, let us acknowledge the truth: half of Europeans are second-class citizens at the moment. Half of Europeans are paid less for the same work, half of Europeans are harassed on a daily basis, half of Europeans are harassed, abused and even killed, with no great consequences for criminals. There are Europeans who go to school, work, pay taxes and raise their children. They are our daughters, our wives, our sisters, our mothers, and they are people just like the colleague you see hit today and maybe tomorrow, God forbid, you don't see her at all. Because there is no crime of love, love does not kill. But the indifference of the European authorities does. And in addition to the beautiful words we say today, my message is somewhat different: that we need justice without mercy for the harasser, justice without mercy for rapists and justice without mercy for criminals. Otherwise we won't do much.

Mr President, there are colleagues around here in the room, who find it very difficult to share the billions in the rooms here in Parliament. The same colleagues think it's even more difficult not to forget who the money really is. I'll remind you whose money it is. The money belongs to the citizens. The money belongs to Romanians, Italians, Czechs and all other European citizens. This money is made by people who get into a shooting booth and leave their families at home to make a better life for them. This money is made by people leaving their country, having to build other people's countries, and this money they don't enjoy. Why isn't he enjoying it? Because they should have good schools, European-standard hospitals, safe highways for truckers and everyone who uses the highway and they don't have them. Why? There's only one reason. Call it whatever you want. Thieves, bribes, corruption is the big word. Until we understand that we have to take the money from the corrupt, we won't do anything.

Mr President, Mr President of the European auditors, I congratulate you first of all on the work you have done, but I notice that you have scared my colleagues a little, that I look around here and there is not a lot of people in the room. What I'm telling you is don't take it personally, because I know someone else who has the same effect. He's freaking out coworkers around here. It is Mrs. European Prosecutor, Mrs. Kövesi, and I see that you have the same effect. When people hear that the auditors are coming or the prosecutors are coming, they don't come through Parliament much anymore. But know that this is also happening in Bucharest, it is not just here, because politicians are also scared of the European funds that you and Mrs Kövesi check because they no longer use them and they also prefer to raise national taxes so that they do not use European funds. So it's nothing personal, but I have a message at the end to tell you. Besides congratulations, please take their money every time you catch them, because the only thing they care about is their money. So take their money!

Madam President, we can make and break the Schengen visa system, it will still not work. It won't work for a very simple reason and I'll tell you it's no secret. As long as we ask Romanians and Bulgarians, the peoples who are on the border of the European Union to guard the border of the Union, but at the same time we tell them to ‘guard it only after you stand in line at customs’, nothing will work. As long as we discriminate against these peoples who care about an extremely important border now. We see, we have a war there. Romania's longest border is with Ukraine. While we say ‘today we discriminate against you, but tomorrow you have to get to work, guard our border’, it is in vain that we make all possible rules on Schengen visas. And as long as we let a country like Austria queue us up at customs just because it can, nothing will work. And I'll tell you one more thing so you don't say that I'm only talking about Romanians because I'm Romanian. Italy, which now bears the brunt of migrants from the Mediterranean, what has it received from Austria? He got the borders closed because I can.

Mr President, for some time now I have been hearing, including here in Brussels and Strasbourg, that the European Union has tired of helping Ukraine. It's a good thing the Ukrainians aren't tired of fighting. It's a good thing the Ukrainians didn't get tired of dying on our borders. It's a good thing they didn't get tired of stopping Russia's missiles until they reached Romania, Poland, Estonia. It is a good thing that the Romanians have not tired of avoiding night after night the Russian drones that are also passing abroad. It is good that European citizens have not tired of helping mothers and children fleeing with their clothes from rape, torture and death sown by Putin. How can we get tired when others fight and die? But something, yes, we have to change. We must start to truly respect European citizens. We cannot continue to spend Europeans' money on Ukraine, when the hundreds of billions of oligarchs and the Kremlin regime are simply idle. We can no longer protect the fortunes of Putin's accomplices. We can no longer finance Putin's business partners in Europe, even if they are European companies. We can no longer encourage the blackmail of Putin's friends in the European Union. We can no longer tolerate the avoidance of sanctions and exceptions to exceptions, exceptions. It's been 600 days of war. For the peace and prosperity of European citizens, we have a duty to support Ukraine's struggle and its reconstruction, but with the money of those who attacked it, with the money of those responsible for the destruction of entire cities, with the money of those who pollute our air, water and soil, with the money of those who burn grain to raise our prices, with the money of those who thought they would bring Europe to its knees with propaganda and gas, with the money of Vladimir Putin and his oligarchs. Take their money!

Mr President, I have voted and will always vote in favour of supporting Chisinau on its European path. But I want it to be very clear, so that the people here in Parliament can understand it. We're not doing anyone any favors. This is the right of Moldovans, because Moldova is a European country, because Moldova is under Putin's attack and because Moldova keeps the border of the European Union, because if it were not for Moldova, it would not be Ukraine, Putin would not stop there, and it is our duty, once, because it is their right to help them and, secondly, it is a strategic choice, but it is a smart choice to have Moldova in the European Union. That's no doubt about it. And if you don't see it that way from Budapest, if you don't see it that way from Vienna, you know that you can see it very clearly from Bucharest and you should see it from here, from Strasbourg, because things are clear. So we must continue to help Moldovans until we have them here, in the European Union, where they belong, not next to Putin, where others want them.

Mr President, truckers, truckers, drivers, all European citizens, despised or ignored in the European Union, although food, medicines, all the products we need are delivered by them! We leave them to the thieves in unsafe parking lots, we abandon them in endless queues in customs, we make them bear all the disadvantages of their work on their own. Drivers leave their families by day and cross Europe. They are forced to unload the goods, but they are not paid for it, and they even pay for the damage after they are attacked by thieves. Sometimes they even lose their lives. Two years ago, Romanian Mihai Spătaru was killed in a parking lot in France. Despite the petition with tens of thousands of signatures that we have turned here into a resolution, the situation of European drivers has changed, but too little. It is intolerable not to defend our citizens. It is shameful that in the European Union, your job puts your life at risk. It is our duty now to improve the lives of truck drivers.

Mr President, let us say some things about our Union, so that even some colleagues here in Parliament can understand it. A Union in which some are more equal than others violates European values and a Union in which Romania and Bulgaria are left outside Schengen does not respect the Treaties. A union with second-class citizens is discrimination. A multi-speed Union gives the most speed to extremists. A union with internal borders in 2023 is weak and lacks credibility. A Union that accepts blackmail and tolerates dictators is at the hands of its enemies. Some are asking for walls to win elections, others are asking for money to continue paying Putin. Others demand sovereignty, but sell European visas. If we do not punish even in the 12th hour the bribery, corruption, next year we all look at the European Parliament at home. European citizens are not stupid. I see very well that the European Union speaks a lot, but it does very little. Citizens feel discrimination, hypocrisy, populism, and they hate us more and more for all this stuff. So if they don't pay the bribes, we'll pay the bribes. Wake up and be the leaders Europe needs!