Debate contributions by Georgiana TEODORESCU

Mr President, Europe has tried to solve the demographic crisis and the crisis in the job market through migration. It was not a good idea and we have thousands of victims of increased crime demonstrating this, as well as official reports from Frontex, Europol and other similar institutions, where illegal migration and migrant crime are extensively analysed. This year we will also see the effects of the Pact on Migration and Asylum in EU member countries where illegal migration was low. Are we really ready? Is the police in the member countries sufficiently prepared? Seeing what's happening on the streets of Brussels, I'd say no. Perhaps the right solution is not to save these people by bringing them to Europe, but to help them stay in their countries, as Giorgia Meloni, for example, thought of Matta's Plan. If we find financial resources in Europe for everything, maybe we should also find financial resources for the safety of European citizens. The lack of ownership on the issue of migration in Europe is not just an act of political weakness, it is a real act of sabotage against the security and sovereignty of the European Union.

Madam President, after more than five years in which, at the negotiating table, the European Union took decisions based more on ideology and less on strategy, the bill came. Progressive dinners are expensive. Large companies in the automotive industry, whose brands have been not only engines of the European economy, but true ambassadors of this continent, are silently moving their production to countries such as Mexico and India. Combined with fertilizers for agriculture, strategic production units on which European farmers are dependent, either they have already closed their doors, such as the case of Azomures in Romania, or they are preparing to do so, such as a colossus in Germany that reduces its business in Europe to invest 10 billion euros in China. An entire destroyed mining sector finds Europe not only unable to meet its energy needs, but unable to relaunch its defence industry, which, as much as we would like, cannot be rebuilt with any kind of green energy. But there's a cost, the most expensive of all: unemployed people. While Europe still hopes for the green dream, and large companies justify their relocations by conveyor belt to other continents under the argument of the free market, hundreds of thousands of people remain without hope and job. This file on just transition in the labour market must be seen in a responsible note. As ECR rapporteur, I strongly believe that we have managed, following negotiations over the last half year, to build a pragmatic compromise. The European Commission needs to hear the message of the report very clearly. Money is urgently needed to ensure this just transition in the labour market. And he needs to understand something else: that the reluctance about the need for new legislation also stems from the lack of transparency with which the Green Deal was launched, which has destroyed the competitiveness of the European economy. It's time to responsibly repair what's broken in recent years. We are already playing with the fate of some workers, their families, their children and future generations.

Madam President, the simplification regulation of the common agricultural policy must not be regarded as a whim of the sector, nor as a free concession to the European farmer. After years in which the European farmer has been either the guinea pig of green ideology, or an unwilling soldier in a war fought on the EU's borders, or even a bargaining chip in economic conflicts between continents, he deserves a breath of fresh air. But that's not enough. In the corner lurks an adversary even more feared than the Brussels bureaucracy. It's called Mercosur and if we don't equip the European farmer, already properly weakened, the battle is lost. Hallucinatoryly, in the same voting session, on the one hand, we will lift the veil of restrictions that have eroded European agriculture, on the other hand, we will adopt a mechanism to protect the European farmer from the danger of Mercosur, peak, with the same money allocated to him, for other emergencies. One amendment that I have initiated is a life jacket for the European farmer. It is Amendment 80 of the Mercosur Safeguard Mechanism. And if you care about what we all eat, I ask you to support it and vote for it tomorrow.

Mr. President, would you advise your son or daughter to become a policeman? From the rush of the car with a driver or from the comfort of the offices, some MEPs and MPs do not see the risk that lawmakers are exposed to every day in order to defend them, but they feel it in the street. Right here in Brussels a few days ago, a recognized criminal drove his car full into a police crew, and this spring two gangs faced Kalashnikov in the middle. Police are struggling not only with criminals, but also with the populism of those who demand more understanding for criminals and more gentleness in police procedures. As a criminal lawyer and a law professor, I say clearly: You can't fight crime with silk gloves. Prevention means action, investment and respect for those who defend us. That is why I support an urgent legislative initiative to declare police, military personnel, border guards and customs officers high-risk occupations and to give them the status and salary they deserve. And to those who think police work isn't risky, I ask a simple question: if your son or daughter were a police officer, would you sleep peacefully the night I am on duty?

Madam President, our children must be protected at all costs! I am a mother and believe me, there is no legislative issue more important to me than the safety of children, and if we are talking about this, it is vital to also consider prevention, not just catching and criminally holding predators after they have already committed a crime. Prevention also involves stopping the stimulation of deviant urges. Personally, we tabled amendments in several parliamentary committees to ensure that any child pornography content, even that generated by artificial intelligence or disguised as cartoons, is banned altogether in the European online space. In addition, also to prevent the feeding and propagation of deviant behaviors, which often lead to the commission of crimes, I support the elimination from the European market of any inflatable dolls with a child's face, which today sell freely. Who do you think would buy something like this other than those directly interested in sexual acts with minors? It's not just disgusting and outrageous, it's absolutely hallucinatory. If we really want to protect our children, today we must put an end to this monstrous trade!

Madam President, my country, Romania, is facing a painful reality today: the highest cancer mortality rate in the entire European Union. Every year, nearly 60% of people diagnosed with cancer lose their lives. Breast and cervical cancer remain the leading causes of death among women in Romania. More than 80% of cases are detected in advanced stages, when the chances of survival decrease dramatically. This is not just a medical statistic - it is a human and social tragedy. Behind each number is a woman, a mother, a daughter, a sister. Women who, in many cases, could have been saved through accessible screening and appropriate treatment. While the European Union is allocating significant funds for defence, green transition, external support, it is time to ask ourselves: Do we give the same priority to protecting the lives of our citizens? I strongly believe that health must be a strategic priority of the European Union. That is why I call on the European Commission to allocate funds for free screening and cancer treatments for all European citizens. We cannot speak of a united Europe if we accept that the difference in resources means the difference between life and death. Let us demonstrate, through facts and budgets, that the lives of every woman in Europe matter.

Mr President, are you surprised that in just three months we have come to vote on three no-confidence motions against Ursula von der Leyen, initiated by different political groups? One of the main criticisms of the Commission in these motions concerns the infamous Green Deal and its destructive effects on the European economy and industry. Today we are analyzing the situation of the automotive industry and we cannot do it without mentioning how affected this area has been by the Green Deal policies: closed factories, hundreds of thousands of people left without jobs, increasing costs for the production of cars, and even more, the appearance on the market of a dangerously cheap competitor, China. Just today it was voted here, in this plenary, to help Germany and Belgium with money because of the closure of factories in the automotive industry. On the sixth place in Europe in car production, Romania is among the most affected states. As we debate in plenary today, 200 workers at a factory in Dej have just lost their jobs. Thousands more went through layoffs last month. The Green Deal must be urgently suspended and the European economy saved.

Madam President, my country, Romania, contributes to the food security of the European Union side by side with the other EU countries, but with an enormous handicap: with a Romanian farmer overwhelmed by inflation, severely affected by the sale of Ukrainian grain on the black market, indebted to the highest interest rates in Europe and with a subsidy much, much lower than that of his colleagues in the West. And if that wasn't enough, the European Commission comes up with one more blow: allocates less money to Romania from the future agriculture budget than at present, excludes from financing an area of about 4 million hectares of arable land for which no subsidy will actually be received and opens wide the doors of the largest trade agreement in the history of the EU, the one with Mercosur, which will flood the market with cheap and poor quality products. The Romanian farmer is not a second-class citizen, he respects all European norms, so it is the turn of the European Commission to guarantee him a sustainable future in agriculture.

Mr President, European farmers are not just producers of meat, milk or cereals. They are the ones who bring villages to life, preserve traditions and ensure that every family in Europe has healthy food on the table at affordable prices. They work in the cold, in the heat, in times of uncertainty, for 450 million European consumers and for their fundamental right to food. We cannot remain indifferent when political decisions risk weakening their work; reduced budgets, unfavourable trade agreements, harsh conditions and counterproductive legislation, all in recent years. European solidarity must mean more than words, it must be a real shield for those who feed us. At the same time, we know that our relationship with China is strategic and of great value. We're not looking for conflict, we're looking for cooperation. We believe that any challenge can be overcome through sincere dialogue and mutual respect. Europe and China can find balanced solutions that protect the interests of both sides. In an increasingly complicated global context, it is vital that the EU and China find a diplomatic way to make concessions to each other so that relations can develop for the better. It requires wisdom and flexibility. European farmers wake up every day before sunrise to feed millions of people. It is our obligation to awaken as leaders and defend them with the same dedication.

Mr President, this is a message for all moralists who are teaching us about generosity, accusing us of being extremists because we do not open Europe's arms wide to migrants. We are elected by European citizens from EU Member States. We have a mission to prioritize their interests, the interests of those who have chosen us. This means putting first their right to occupy existing jobs, their safety on the streets, their access to health services, their right to manifest their belonging to a religion. In the struggle to publicly demonstrate how politically correct you are, you end up sacrificing the European citizen in order to help another. You may not know, but the European Commission itself has adopted a proposal for a regulation for the return of illegal migrants to their countries of origin. Moreover, new attributes of Frontex to combat this overwhelming phenomenon, to increase the number of troops at the border by 10 000 and to triple the number of coastal personnel. If the European Commission is also extremist for you, I challenge you to demonstrate your so-called generosity with facts, not words. All those who dare to attack us, open your homes and welcome a migrant family to live with your children. It's only after you do that that you have the right to give us lessons.

Madam President, positive discrimination is still discrimination, but against the majority for defending the minority. Why do minors have to see semi-naked people on the street, dressed in dog suits, muzzle and leash, or in all sorts of provocative clothing, in order for the LGBTQIA+ minority to feel respected? Why should we expose minors to a parade that often expresses sexually explicit behavior? Why should we be interested in and see matters that should relate exclusively to the privacy of each individual and his home? At the Pride Parade in Bucharest took part many minor children who came to this manifestation not because they were part of the community, but out of curiosity, because it was something new, something different. cool, something different. Coming to the Pride Parade can also be a form of teenage rebellion, a way of doing something forbidden by parents, teachers or expressing that you are unique. But no matter why a child participates, what he sees creates an emotional impact. And we all have a duty to protect our children from anything that can affect them emotionally. The sovereignty of a country also implies that it cannot be forced by anyone to hold Pride Parade shows, and sovereignty is not negotiable, just as the best interests of our children are not.

Madam President, the crisis in North Korea, the confrontation in Taiwan, the India-Pakistan conflict, the Iran-Israel war, the war in Ukraine, these are just some of the 28 outbreaks of instability that are boiling around the globe today. Therefore, the upcoming NATO summit must look at the geopolitical map of the world in its complexity and with the specificity of each region. Therefore, any solution that will be advanced, whether we are talking about increasing the contribution to the defense budget, or the role of the North Atlantic Alliance in any of these conflicts, will have to be adapted to the needs, dangers and specificities of the regions and member countries. That is why the European Union must be firm when it comes to its own defence industries, the way its member states will adapt their contributions to NATO and the indirect support to the Alliance, through many measures already taken so far, as well as the renegotiation of some clauses. offset categorical. Until we build a future army of Europe, the only real and effective defense we have is NATO. So we must constantly improve it, while also taking care to strengthen the national defense capacity, as well as the national military industry.

Madam President, as a mother, I believe that nothing is more important than the safety of children and their harmonious development, free from worries and dangers. On the other hand, as a criminal lawyer, I know very well the scale of the crime phenomenon, the drama and the lasting emotional impact on victims of sexual violence. I therefore call for zero tolerance for material that in any way encourages sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. As a LIBE member, I proposed amendments increasing the penalty limits for such offences and proposing criminal sanctions for all those who, using artificial intelligence or any computer means, create or distribute cartoons or any other type of videos involving child victims. These creations of a sick imagination and deviant behavior are exhortations to abuse, and studies show that access to them increases the risk of future assaults on minors in the real world. Let's get out of here with an unmistakable message. We will not tolerate anyone who allows or commits child sexual exploitation and abuse. We will not allow anyone to cover up these crimes. Our children are the reason and our duty for which we are here in this Parliament.

Madam President, by her apparent generosity. The European Commission is unveiling legislation that no longer fits the weather and times, allowing GM plants to be imported into animal feed. Today, while we are discussing in plenary, whether we want to accept it or not, despite the European ban, genetically modified plants are already in the feed of animals and, implicitly, of humans, without being sure of the consequences for the human body, because neither the Commission nor the European Parliament actually solves the underlying problem of European agriculture: Lack of global competitiveness. After dozens of agricultural reforms and layers of legislation, the European farmer became trapped on his own farm. It produces hard and expensive because of the strict, patchy legislation to sell cheaply and insufficiently compared to its non-EU counterpart. If we want crops that are resistant to the new climate conditions, sufficient crops for both animals and people, and an agricultural sector that is environmentally and health-friendly for Europeans, it is time to rely less on the cloth and more on science. New plant breeding techniques would have saved us today from unnecessary debate and would have given European farmers back the lost edge over global competitors.

Mr President, it is the sovereign right of each Member State to decide who can become its citizen, and this right must not be undermined by a broad interpretation of the Union Treaties. Golden visa investment programmes can be a legal and legitimate instrument for raising capital and economic development. Let us not forget that other Member States have similar schemes, but we see again the double standard applied to smaller countries. Let's tell the truth: if Malta offered overnight citizenship to migrants, it would not have made anyone uncomfortable in Brussels. The problem with "golden visa" schemes is that they allow states to make money other than through loans. If we really want to talk about the ‘do not sell our citizenship’ principle, then let us do it fairly and not selectively. In Romania, a law has just been given to reduce the period of obtaining Romanian citizenship only for migrants. So we can make them fast-forward European citizens, but we do not accept and do not want other rich citizens from outside the EU.

Mr President, the Roma are the largest ethnic minority in the EU, with around 12 million citizens, of whom more than one million live in Romania. Despite the EU Roma strategic plan and national support programmes, they continue to face the same serious problems: extreme marginalisation, poor socio-economic conditions, discrimination, violence, unemployment, poverty, poor housing and poor health standards. It all starts with education. In Romania, 70% of the Roma population is affected by poverty and school dropout. Studies show that about two thirds of Roma have either not graduated from any class or have only graduated from the top 8. These problems could be solved by implementing specific educational programmes adapted to Roma traditions and lifestyles and with an adequate allocation of resources, both financial and human. Programmes should target both children and young people and adults and could contribute to the long-term social inclusion of this disadvantaged community. We are helping refugees and victims from third countries, but we are not investing enough in solving the problems of the Roma community. Our lives, all of us, would be much better if we made sure that through education we would make their lives better.

Mr President, the development of transport infrastructure within the EU is one of the best strategic directions that we can pursue both from an economic or military perspective and in terms of the cohesion of the European project. Unfortunately, in Romania, due to profoundly incompetent governments, we have long delays with the implementation of projects included in the TEN-T network, both on the area of speed roads and especially on rail. Many projects are still stuck in bureaucracy: documentation, feasibility studies, tenders, approvals and clarifications. And here is also the fault of the current European Commission, which seems to have taken its hand off Romania and lets the government in Bucharest go at its snail pace. The second relevant observation is that the Starline network was thought very badly about Romania. If the current government hasn't told you, I'll tell you. To get from Bucharest to Brussels, you have to change trains three times, once in Sofia, once in Frankfurt and once in Paris. A distance of 2 100 kilometres turns into 2 850 kilometres. A Bucharest-Budapest connection would be more normal and natural and would cover a larger part of Romania, crossing it, but it was not wanted.

Mr President, dear colleagues, how can we talk about social Europe and making life accessible to all if the level of exposure to poverty in the Union is above 21%, i.e. the risk of poverty reaches more than one in five of our citizens. The situation is even worse when we talk about Romania, where one in three citizens is at risk of poverty, which unfortunately reaches the highest level in the EU. What are we doing specifically for these people? We are preparing a strategy against poverty and we have a European Pillar of Social Rights, established almost ten years ago. We are investing through the main financial instrument, the European Social Fund Plus, more than five and a half billion euros in actions to help eradicate poverty. However, from 2015 to 2023, the risk of poverty decreased by only 2.6 percentage points, so we are not doing enough. By comparison, EU humanitarian and civil protection aid to third countries amounts to around €1.65 billion per year, more than €700 million more than aid to the Union's poor. Not to mention the money given to third countries or the financial envelope allocated to the Green Deal. When will we start putting European citizens and their needs first?

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission is talking about a skills union and bringing talent home. We agree. We at Gold have been talking a lot about the need to repatriate the diaspora. But where was this concern of EU bureaucrats 20 years ago, when millions of Romanians and Eastern Europeans were forced to leave because their own economies were suffocated by the policies imposed by Brussels? There is talk of creating better opportunities in the EU, but what kind of opportunities and for whom? Because while the EU opens its arms wide to migrants and sends money to support countries on other continents, our young people don't seem to be prioritised. A European future for Europeans, and not for others, means concrete and generous financial solutions to support education and retraining. It means vocational schools, scholarships and financial support for young people to complete their education cycle, as well as real anti-poverty policies. If we want a strong Europe, every state must be strong, not just a few capitals. It is not forced migration and mobility that saves Europe, but real opportunities and the best possible education for all citizens.

Madam President, since the beginning of the conflict, 5.2 million Ukrainian refugees have arrived or passed through Romania. We opened our arms wide and received them, we gave them housing and humanitarian aid, schools for children and then jobs for adults. Ukrainian grain transited through Romania even at the cost of serious road damage. We helped with a lot of money, even with the donation of the only functioning Patriot system we had. We helped because we understood the drama and the need, because we know better than many Europeans what it means to have enemies of the Russians. But Romania is terribly close to war. Russian drones sometimes fall on Romanian territory, and from villages in the Danube Delta you can hear bombings across the border from Ukraine. The aid that the EU intends to provide to Ukraine must also be extended to the neighbouring countries of this war, which have also suffered financial losses. If the EU helps only Ukraine, but not the EU countries already affected by the conflict, the message received by the European citizen paying taxes is that others matter more than we do. Solidarity must not be selective. Conclusion: European money for Romania and for the other EU countries neighbouring the war.

Mr President, looking to the future, education and training will continue to be key pillars of excellence. Romania condemned its future when it closed its arts and crafts schools. Vocational education is the basis of education in all the advanced states of the world, while in our country the project of educated Romania was to produce university diplomas on a conveyor belt, to enrich private schools, and our university graduates not to be good at anything. What good are diplomas? We have university graduates who are now unskilled workers in the diaspora, in construction or agriculture, or cashiers at supermarkets in the country. At the same time, we wait for weeks when we need the services of an electrician or plumber, simply because we don't have enough. Our young people leave the country or learn to make money from something else, but not from skilled trades, because the Romanian state does not teach them either books or skills. It is time to restart vocational education and give young people a secure future by learning a trade. Only in this way will we be able to contribute effectively to the increase of the birth rate and to the economic development of our country.