- 2026-06-16 “Two more critical elements. First of all, we need a realistic decommissioning rule and plus three. This is major for us. Then we need cofinancing rules which are more favourable for both policies, agricultural policy and cohesion policy as well. And when it comes to the Competitiveness Fund, we believe that we need to ensure an extended access of member states to this instrument. And this remains a major issue for us from our point of view. Two things need to be solved in the Lego box. First of all, the effective access of companies and member states to the fund as part of an integrated approach on the market, with value chains covering many, if not most member states. And then we need to bear in mind the specific situations of the member states at the eastern border. We shouldn't just bear in mind the economic competitiveness. We should also think about the safety and resilience of the whole European Union. As a conclusion, we do have a positive approach for the future of the negotiations. We hope to find balanced solutions for the financial dimension and for the architecture and implementation rules. Thank you.”
EU industrial funding (mechanism level: EU-pooled vs nationally-financed) · Cohesion and rural funding
- 2026-06-16 “Thank you very much, Marilena. First of all, we appreciate the efforts made by the Cyprus presidency, as well as the openness shown by all Member States in the last weeks at the technical level and in Coreper. We have worked hard on these files and the texts we see today. Uh, reflect this hard work. Romania can, um, give its agreement to all three pgas on the NP regulation. We believe that a series of major elements requested by Romania have been included in a in a balanced way. For instance, the increase of visibility for the cohesion policy and the cap or reflecting the eastern region. The regulation also includes other, um favorable developments on the drafting and implementation of the single plan. For instance, territorial specificities and the flexibilities linked to the amendments to the plan or the specific needs at the level of the regions. We believe that the continuity of payments is also very important aspect on the cap. Many of the relevant provisions have been transferred to the specific Cap regulation. Nevertheless, there is a room for improvement on the role of this policy that will have to be clarified going forward. Romania has joined the statement on the Common Agricultural Policy.”
Agricultural funding
- 2026-06-16 “Thank you very much. Marilyn. I'll continue in Romanian. We welcome the presidency's efforts during the semester in order to advance the nego box. It is important that for the first time, the leaders will have a whole view on the situation so that the discussion can advance. We are in the initial phase of the process. We need to work more in order to have a budget who realistically reflects our ambitions? The major principle is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. When it comes to the numbers, we would have rather that the negotiations today do not start based on cuts. We need at least a budget at the level of that proposed by the Commission. Nevertheless, we believe that this approach has, up to a certain point, taken into account of what the Friends of Cohesion have said through their statement. Recent statement. This document reconfirms the importance of cohesion policy and the agricultural policy within the budget. The modernisation solutions. A correct allocation could lead to an efficient policy in practice. Romania is open to examine new own resources. When it comes to non-financial aspects. We identify positive elements here, but also less positive ones. We welcome the inclusion to the regions on the external border of the EU.”
Size of EU budget
- 2026-06-16 “On the basis of the principle, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed on the EU facility. We appreciate the clarification on the application in case of security incidents and crisis on the CF. We welcome the text. We believe it has managed to accommodate a series of requests made by Romania. We would have preferred a more comprehensive solution on a fair pan-European access to ECF, but we believe that the text includes a series of important elements that together contribute to an inclusive approach to the objective of the fund for all Member States. Ecf implementation should be thought of in connection with the objectives of the single market. The single market is based on strong value chains, and European companies should contribute to these value chains. This is the spirit of the letter and Draghi reports. Therefore, we welcome the strengthening of the wording uh, on this at the request of Romania. We also welcome the fact that the specific eastern border regions have been appropriately reflected on the global Europe instrument. We believe the new text will allow the European Union to better project its geopolitical interests and support candidate countries. Congratulations and thank you.”
EU Single Market harmonisation
- 2026-06-16 “This was one of the main concerns that we have expressed, but we need to go even further and identify concrete solutions for these border regions. We welcome the fact that the relevant specific objects are mentioned and the the fact that the Member States have to face major challenges, and the fact that the principle of proportionality has to be observed. And we welcome the fact that the concrete support is mentioned to the farmers two thirds advance, some for agricultural interventions, rural interventions, and the fact that the farmers and fishers will be helped in case of natural disasters from the agricultural reserve. But as I've mentioned, we see many critical elements here. First of all, the structure of the budget and all these issues have to be solved through the Lego box. And when it comes to the agricultural policy, important comments here, the capping of support for farms, the fact that we no longer have full external convergence, the digressive character and so on and so forth. Then the targets for environment and climate. The general percentage percentage of 35% and the 40% percentage for the plan. We have a critical view here. We don't we have a problem with the exception from the climate, uh, target when it comes to internal affairs funds.”
Agricultural funding
- “Thank you. Chairwoman. We support the council conclusions and feel that the document adequately reflects the current challenges and solutions in this area. We highlight the beneficial potential of digital technologies such as access to information, support and online therapies, but also the risks it can pose to young people's mental health. The document highlights the need for urgent action to promote safer and healthier use of technology. This requires close cooperation between authorities, industry educators, health professionals, families and young people. Thus, Romania agrees with the adoption of the document, considering it useful also for the benefit of the younger generation, as it can help mitigate the negative effects on mental health and promote a safer, balanced environment online environment for children and adolescents. Thank you.”
EU policy on mental health
- “Commissioner. Colleagues, we need a balanced and proportionate approach in drafting legislation because the efforts of our producers to increase animal welfare are not rewarded enough. In Romania, significant investments have been made in livestock farming farms, and this has generated additional costs and constraints. And if we continue like that, there might be an impossibility of continuing farmers activity. We need to focus on, um, better animal welfare standards, of course, but we also need to ensure predictability and clarity for European farmers. We need indeed, um, a comprehensive impact assessment. And we also have to additionally support European farmers under the cap. Thank you for your attention.”
EU requirements on animal welfare for farmers
- “Thank you very much. Um, I would start by saying that I'm very glad that we regard this initiative regarding the digital euro as a pan-European initiative because this goes back to our roots. For us, for Romania. This would be a very important step for modernizing the European financial system, improving the safety and efficiency of payments while assuring its adaptation into the new economic and technological realities. Of course, we realize the benefits of the digital euro, the benefits that this could bring to the national economy, including increasing financial inclusion and strengthening monetary stability. We look forward, of course, for an agreement in 2026. However, we consider necessary to have an equal treatment for all member states in accepting the euro digital for payments, regardless of their currency. We consider it essential for the implementation process to be fair and inclusive, and ensuring accessibility and equal benefits for all citizens and companies in the union. Of course, and most of all without creating divisions between the euro and non euro economies. And most of all, as a means to complement and not to replace cash. Thank you very much.”
Digital euro
- “57:41 – 11:58:40): Thank you, minister. For rail transport to truly become the backbone of sustainable mobility in the EU, we need strong regulatory stability. To ensure the success of ERTMS projects, we need to act strategically on 2 pan, parallel levels, institutional reform in the case of the European Railways Agency and technical predictability. We need a structured dialogue. The introduction of a mandatory pre application consultation process and the publication of detailed road maps for the TNT corridors will provide the industry with the necessary certainty for investment planning. In addition, financial mechanisms must support technical stability. Financing through instruments such as the Connecting Europe facility or InvestEU should use smart conditionality protecting projects from sudden legislative changes and providing dedicated support for technological upgrades. Thank you.”
EU support of rail transport
- “Chair. Commissioner. Dear colleagues, Romania can fully support the arguments and justifications brought by Hungary on the need to refocus the European policies in the field of animal health and animal welfare, so that the European Union can live up to the very diverse challenges that she's faced with and the increasingly complex global market, the difficulties in eradicating African swine fever, the impact of foot and mouth disease on member states trade relations, the evolution of avian influenza, small ruminants, past bluetongue, or the high prevalence of Newcastle disease, can only confirm the stringent need to explore vaccination possibilities. Vaccines should be seen as a main solution in preventing animal diseases. It goes hand in hand with robust biosecurity and surveillance measures. We need to intensify our efforts to look at all barriers coming between health policies and sustainable practices, be they commercial, financial innovation, research, development or having to do with regulation. Rethinking European policies in the field of vaccination as a tool for preventing animal diseases will contribute to a holistic approach to health challenges, with an impact on more extensive objectives such as lowering antimicrobial resistance or food security. Thank thank you.”
Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
- “Madam chair. Commissioner. Dear colleagues. Now, taking into account that 81% of the national fishing fleet is consists of vessels under 12m, Romania fully supports Germany's initiative. Concerning the need to clarify, but also simplify the Union's fishery legislative framework, especially the provisions on weighing, so that errors in estimating catches below the 50 kilogram mark should not be considered serious infringement. Thank you.”
Environmental regulation of fisheries
- “Chair. Commissioner. Colleagues, Romania would like to thank the Hungarian presidency and congratulate it for the very balanced and fair approach to this extremely important file, both for production and international trade of the EU, as well as for the protection of European citizens health and the environment. The efforts of the Hungarian Presidency to approach all these issues are the essential elements of the proposal. Grouped in the nine areas of interest have demonstrated that we need debates and analysis that may lead Need to identifying solutions to improve the text while respecting the principle. The cautionary principle, and maintaining the aim that the EU food system is the safest system in the world. Romania does keep its red lines, uh, and we remind everybody that guaranteeing access of products on third markets has to be done without generating additional costs for farmers. Uh, and the consequences of uh, issuing uh, patents, uh, has not, have not been sufficiently clarified. The EU is constantly making efforts to ensure full transparency of labeling information, which are doubled by setting up detection and identification methods that can confirm correct labeling. And we would like the same approach to be kept in the in respect of products.”
Food labelling harmonisation at EU level
- “Firm use of trade defence instruments trade agreements that secure supply chains and open new export markets, supporting critical industrial capacities and ensuring access to financing for SMEs. Tax incentives and dedicated innovation instruments. On the third question for Romania, the automotive sector means jobs, investment, innovation and strategic autonomy, which is why competitiveness and decarbonisation must advance together. Firstly, we need legislative predictability and coherence. European initiatives should form a stable architecture, avoiding fragmentation and cumulative burdens along the value chain. Secondly, technological neutrality is essential. Multiple technological solutions can contribute to emissions reduction, and maintaining optionality is key to innovation, industrial resilience and preserving production capacities in Europe. Thirdly, affordability must be safeguarded. If vehicles become unaffordable, fleet renewal will slow down, affecting both climate objectives and social acceptance. Lastly, European preference must be built on a balanced and gradual approach grounded in solid structural analysis on the EU's real production capacity in order to avoid distortions to competition and the single market. Thank you.”
Energy (green transition)
- “Chair. Commissioner. Dear colleagues, Romania welcomes the Polish presidency's efforts to bring this topic to everyone's attention and to harmonise the positions of Member States. We believe that the discussions have led to acceptable results for most Member States and that the works will continue, including during the Danish presidency. Romania has granted the presidency the negotiation mandate for the negotiations with the parliament, even though we would have preferred option number two, which referred to exempting unauthorized producers organizations from the competition rules. Those organizations that are not authorized but do meet the conditions to be authorized for what follows. We expect a simple and clear legislative provision that does not contribute to unjustified administrative burden. Given the fact that we would like to consolidate the farmers position within the food chain and to, um, to create a win win relationships among all actors along the food chain. Thank you.”
EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
- “President. Commissioner. Dear colleagues, we appreciate the efforts of the European Commission to simplify modernise the legislative framework. But this should be accompanied by accuracy and proportionality in order to ensure that the objectives are met. Against the current backdrop of the economy and geopolitics, it is essential to increase the efficiency of resources. We welcome the Commission's initiatives on the omnibus package for the food safety Food and stuff, and also the ongoing assessments of the sanitary, veterinary and biocide legislation. At the same time, we point out that although the motivation of introducing some amendments is correct, we should make it sure that the cumulative effect should not compromise or undermine the EU competitiveness, and that no actor is left behind. Especially the exchanges in the field of animal welfare should be calibrated in order to be realistic, applicable and proportional. Since we have some concerns, recent concerns on the possible effects of these standards. To conclude with, we support the Commission objective to ensure a high level of public health, food safety and animal health. But we insist upon a balanced approach that should not undermine the competitiveness of European producers. Thank you.”
EU requirements on animal welfare for farmers
- “Thank you. Dear president, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, we welcome the vision of the European Commission to Make the high speed rail transport one of the pillars of the European mobility. Romania has a strategy for making um for improving this, and we want to make sure that it develops, uh, that it leads to a quick development of rail infrastructure. We also, um, request, uh, financial allocations under the future MFF post 2028, as well as the current funds, uh, CEF Cohesion Funds and Recovery and Resilience Plans. Successful implementation requires stable funding and efficient institutional coordination. The Ministry of Transport has recently. Made some changes in order to consolidate Date. European rail industry. The and it will improve the integration of the European rail transport at the European level. It will also improve the transport of goods in the European Union. Thank you.”
Energy (green transition)
- “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Please allow me to express solidarity with the Member States affected by the foot and mouth disease outbreak. We are among those concerned about the evolution of this outbreak, which is close to our borders. In this context, we have undertaken measures to prevent the introduction of the virus in our country. These measures have been established by the National Centre for Disease Control and communicated to the territorial structures. Press releases were also issued, instructions were sent to the territory and meetings were organised with livestock breeders associations. The measures consist of adopting restrictions in accordance with the provisions of the Commission implementing decision for 96 of the 11th of March this year on certain provisional emergency measures relating to foot and mouth disease in Hungary. We also had to take some additional national measures regarding the movement of live animals and products in order to reduce the risk of infection with the virus. Of course, just to confirm that these additional measures will be gradually lifted based on how the epidemiological situation would evolve. Thank you.”
Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
- “Chair. Commissioner. Colleagues, I would like to thank friends for raising the issue of conditionality in the context of the implementation of strategic plans. However, [00:04:30] the flexibility requested by France does not cover Romania's needs, which is why I like to bring to your attention the possibility of adopting derogations from seven and eight at least for the year 2024, as we have advocated at previous agri councils for Romania. The French proposal to include nitrogen fixing species, including in the 3% of non productive areas and characteristics of the 7% in Gaec eight, is not advantageous as [00:05:00] the area cultivated with these species in 2023 is approximately 560,000 hectares, with an upward trend considering their inclusion in eco schemes. Now, at the same time, we would like to reiterate our request to identify a possibility to apply the aid requirements at national level, as Romania has a fallow area of approximately 2000 hectares. Now it's worth mentioning that reduced rainfall resulting in soil moisture deficit between 75% and 98% in [00:05:30] the period September to October, especially in areas devoted to autumn cereal crops. It's worth mentioning that the current geopolitical context has not improved. Russia's aggression towards Ukraine is still having a negative impact on the agricultural sector, and Romania has not taken a unilateral decision on the import of cereals from Ukraine. So in this extremely difficult context, Romania would like to maintain its request for the application of the derogation from GAC seven and eight also for the year 2024. Thank you very much.”
Agriculture (green)
- “Commissioner, dear colleagues. Romania considers that the sustainable management of national resources, of the security of food system and of the implementation of bioeconomy should be supported through promotion policies and adequate financial measures. This will bring us step to step closer to a sustainable recovery of the EU agricultural sector. The use of biomass can play an important role in bioeconomy. The development of the supply chain can increase the uptake of biomass as raw material in industry. It can also create and keep jobs. The development of bioeconomy can bring about supplementary income for farmers. The EU support mechanism for bioeconomy policies that will later feed into the development of national strategies and the development of entrepreneurship. Programmes should be adapted to each member state and bear in mind. Macro, regional, regional and local characteristics. Thank you.”
Agricultural funding
- “Romania Romania is in favor of the proposal initiated by Germany and Italy, which is aimed at improving our response strategies to African swine fever and bluetongue disease. These diseases are significant challenges to the livestock sector and require coordinated and efficient measures. Romania argues in favour of making restriction periods more flexible in those regions that are not directly impacted by African swine fever in order to mitigate economic pressure on farmers while maintaining an effective control of the disease. Certified biosecurity comes with guarantees that should be more efficiently integrated in regulations that are applicable to regionalisation. We need to intensify our efforts to promote scientific research that is aimed at developing safe methods to inactivate virus. Methods that are compatible with trade, and these are essential in order to manage outbreaks and to continue trade. We also underline the need to have a new level of support for preventive vaccination programmes against bluetongue disease. We are in favour of accelerating a vaccine authorisation processes in order to Make effective solutions available in a timely fashion in order to mitigate disease risks. Romania is in favor of developing pragmatic solutions in order to face the challenges linked to African swine fever and bluetongue disease. We welcome discussions going on, and we welcome measures meant to support the resilience of the sector of livestock farming. Protecting public health and economic stability. Thank you.”
Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
- “Thank you very much. Dear Commissioner, dear president, dear colleagues. In the name of Romania, I would like to express the appreciation for the president's effort to stabilize a balanced and coherent compromise text. And we are supporting overall architecture of CF three, and we support the text presented for adoption today. I would like to thank straight to the dear Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, when we met one month ago in Bucharest at a meeting, we have a very pragmatic discussion about the future of energy in Europe and the interoperability of our trade networks in this manner. I am very glad to see that what we discussed over there is on the paper, and I would like to thank for his leadership and for pragmatism in the way he looks at the project of how we could reconnect the Central and Eastern Europe countries to cheap and affordable energy from Western countries. Thank you very much, Commissioner. It is a very important message which you bring to the Central and Eastern Europe countries in the way we should bring down the prices, which is one of the largest European Union, the on the energy pillar. The way that we discuss very clear about interconnection bottlenecks, the strengthening of the critical infrastructure is one of the most important targets which you have in our region.”
Energy (green transition)
- “Thank you very much, Maria. Romania appreciates this initiative and considers that the region labeling of food products is essential to protecting local producers, ensure traceability, but also to support informed consumer choices. The evolution of the European regulatory framework from a mere indication of the place of packaging to the increasingly detailed requirements reflects the importance of transparency in the food chain, especially for processed products where raw materials like milk and meat are concerned.
By doing so, short supply chains will be strengthened, and European farmers will be supported, also giving consumers the possibility to choose products with a reduced environmental footprint. Thank you.”
Food labelling harmonisation at EU level
- “Once again, I would like to congratulate our French colleagues for the success framework for nuclear energy in the European Union. Many thanks, first to Bulgaria and Hungary that have already indicated their support, and we hope that other member states would resonate with our proposals as well. We would like to thank the European Commission for the instruments made available in terms of market design, state aid, industrial development, and we witness a growing interest from the private sector to support nuclear projects. However, we believe that more can be done to further improve the financing frameworks for nuclear energy in the EU along the whole value chain. The principle of technology neutrality should be better reflected in energy and climate policies, which I think the European Commission should could help more. The nuclear projects, by carrying out a comprehensive evaluation of the accessibility of EU financing instruments, including loans, guarantees and blended finance mechanisms. European Commission could also provide member states with a toolbox of predefined instruments and blueprints that can be used under state aid procedures and extend the cooperation and joint efforts with the AIB regarding the risking instruments for nuclear projects for Romania in particular. Accessing grants under the Modernisation Fund, in coordination with AIB and DG clima, would also diversify the financing financing sources. These messages are derived from previous calls of the Nuclear Alliance and we believe that in the current context, we have a good opportunity to explore further ways in which nuclear energy can be better supported in European Union. Thank you so much.”
Nuclear energy
- “Thank you, president. Commissioner. Dear colleagues, we would like to congratulate the Hungarian presidency for organizing the conference. We appreciate the conclusions on the need to give urgent financial support to beekeepers who are currently affected by honey imports, and in order to reward them for the benefits they bring to the ecosystem. We think we should rapidly develop precise methodologies for testing the authenticity of honey. We need to make efforts to improve traceability. Labeling is essential. For example, in the case of honey imports from Ukraine, the EU measures did not have the results we were expecting because of the extremely low price for Ukrainian honey, some of which was counterfeit. The measures we took were not efficient because the text we imposed for the imports was only 17.3%. This did not limit the imports from Ukraine. So we think it is both necessary. And welcome to identify new measures in order to protect pollinators and bees. Also, we need to support and protect European producers who are threatened by illegal imports, who might also be a risk for consumers health. Thank you.”
Agricultural trade: Ukraine imports
- “Thank you very much. Madam Commissioner. President. Colleagues. Romania understands the need for the general objective to reduce pesticides and their associated risks. However, we believe that alternative avenues, viable alternative avenues should be explored in order to avoid a serious impact on the [00:13:30] EU's production and food security. We believe that the survey accompanying the proposal and assessing its impact on the availability of food and feed in the EU is not satisfactory, as it does not provide quantifiable data on how agricultural production would be affected as a result of reducing the use of PCBs. We would like. We would like [00:14:00] to reiterate the fact that Romania is one of the member states that uses one of the lowest quantities of active substance per hectare by comparison to the European average. The reduction of this quantity as a uniformly implemented percentage without taking heed of each member state's specificities, would raise major questions, both in terms of the viability of our farms and the competitiveness [00:14:30] of our farmers. And also in terms of ensuring food security for the EU as a whole. These are enough reasons and easy to understand reasons due to which we cannot agree with the mandatory targets set at national level based on a number of measures adapted to our agricultural production sector. We are in favour of certain actions at national level which would converge towards the EU's general objective. [00:15:00] However, implementing a common methodology would be hard to put into practice and difficult to calibrate based on the agro environmental conditions of each member State. An integrated approach on the impact of this proposal against the backdrop of the crisis generated by war, the increased input prices, the inflation of food prices would have been useful to identify the real problems, [00:15:30] including the socio economic issues that we have to deal with and would have been an appropriate basis for political decisions to be made on Sur. The Commission's additional assessment, unfortunately, does not provide a useful response to help us make responsible decisions and to validate the proposal for a regulation. The ramifications of the actions proposed for agricultural production remain unclear, which makes it impossible [00:16:00] at this time to set the parameters for a rational reduction of the use of pesticides. Moreover, the additional study by the Commission does not help us understand to what extent Sur could correct the very problem which led to this proposal. Whether it would really have the expected result or whether there are many other factors to be taken into account. For all of these reasons, it is important to examine this document more closely at technical level. [00:16:30] Thank you very much.”
Reduction targets for pesticides
- “Thank you. President. Madam. Commissioner. Colleagues. Romania takes the view that it is important. To take due account of the impact of other sectors when it comes to the European Union's CO2 emissions in these broader discussions. In 2022, the agriculture part of the total GHG emissions, according to the European Environmental Agency, amounted to 10.8%, which is well below that of other sectors where emissions are more than twice as high. For instance, the energy sector 27%. Transport. Residential housing, commercial property, agriculture can contribute to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but only through a unified and balanced approach between different sectors, which is not destabilizing to food production. An analysis of how the Cap can finance this, and the role of technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector, should also take into account the levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector. From member state. Thank you.”
Climate efforts
- “We need to have better working and, uh, life conditions in the EU. And this pillar should guide us when coordinating our social and employment policies in the EU. And we believe that the EU semester can already maximise the potential of existing mechanism. It can limit new reporting instruments and reduce the national administrative burden. So consequently, we believe that permanently introducing in the European Semester an analysis on the implementation of the pilot stage of the convergence framework should be based on a very thorough analysis. And, uh, I have to say that this analysis was made shortly after the pilot phase, so we don't really have a full, complete understanding of this framework. We don't really understand its, uh, real added value and the, the administrative burden. We cannot really have a bird's eye view on the needs for adjustments. So this is why we agree with Imco and SPC. They said that the valuation, the assessment should be made after a longer period of implementation of this instrument. And we agree. Thank you.”
European Semester (social dimension)
- “Thank you, chair. We salute this discussion, and we thank the presidency for the very clear framework, which is excellently and very well structured for reflections.
We believe that the work program has shown fully its utility, and it contributes to a better correlation between European priorities and national cultural policies.
For the next cycle, it is vital to have better priorities and to have a better orientation towards palpable results to avoid fragmentation and have real impact.
Romania believes that the added value of the action at European level is evident more than evident as far as access to culture is concerned, also for vulnerable groups.
The role of culture in education and in developing good competencies.
Thirdly, contribution of culture to territorial and cultural consolidation and unity.
As far as the open method of coordination is concerned, we believe that these impacts can be consolidated to better use results, including practical hands on instruments and easily applicable instructions, which can then help national policy drafting public policy drafting.
Digital transformation must take first stage place in the work plan. And in Romania, the digitalization of the cultural heritage is a priority, which are then upheld by national programs and European financing.
We believe that it is essential that this plan should explicitly address AI, both what chances are concerned, creation, access, but also the challenges. They have to be very clear. Copyright transparency, the protection of cultural diversity are all priorities.
And then correlation with the cultural compass, it is very important that the guidance should be transposable into operational goals which are clear and the results should be measurable.
At the same time, it is utmost import of it's utmost important to be flexible in challenge in face of all these challenges.
It is essential to better connect to other policies, to other instruments of the union, including cohesion policy and national, partnerships for resilient regional resilience at national level. Thank you very much.”
EU and national cultural identities
- “Avoiding additional burden. Avoiding the doubling of efforts or the doubling of activity with other instruments. So Romania pleads to uphold the balance between ecological ambitions of the union and the feasibility, the economic realities of the farms. Real simplification, but also respecting the competences of member States as to establishing their own assistance mechanisms which reflect the national characteristics. As to the second question, Romania holds that in the absence of an explicit obligation to reserve different allocations for the eco measure, the green measures within the cap ensuring fair competition between farmers is quite a provocation, and if there will not be a minimal shared standard, then difficulties will ensure and there will be big gaps between the ecological Surgical performance of the Member States. There will be a difference in the competitivity of farmers across the EU, and this is why we believe that fair competition can be ensured only if there is a minimum standard framework and a very clear coordination of the ambitions of the Member States, which will then be combined with flexibility in the application implementation, but also adequate financing for those farmers who are within the transition period. Thank you for your kind attention.”
Agriculture (green)
- “Thank you. The European Steel and Metals Action Plan represents an important step towards strengthening European industrial resilience. However, from Romania's perspective on that of the steel industry, the current framework is not yet sufficiently comprehensive to fully address global competitive pressures. The Romanian steel industry remains a strategic pillar for European value chains, from construction and the automotive sector to energy and defence, yet it is still simultaneously facing high energy costs, demand volatility and competition from imports produced under different, less stringent standards. However, its implementation needs to be accelerated and financial instruments must become more accessible for member states with emerging industrial capacity. Thus, Romania supports firm implementation of Cbam to prevent carbon leakage and ensure fair competition for European industry, including the steel sector, reform of the ETS and support for energy intensive industries, including extended compensation for indirect energy costs. Secure and affordable access to raw materials aligned with circular economy principles, in order to reduce external dependencies and support sustainable production. Competitive energy prices reducing disparities between EU member states and limiting market volatility. Investments in energy infrastructure interconnectivity and securing security of supply. A European label for green steel based on the actual climate performance of production, with a clear methodology and strict emissions criteria, while rejecting a sliding scale approach that could dilute standards and undermine fair competition. On the second question, to prevent deindustrialization and production relocation and to strengthen strategic autonomy, the EU must act urgently through reducing the energy cost gap and ensuring a level playing field regarding carbon costs, reducing internal market fragmentation by establishing a coherent and predictable legislative framework with simplified permitting procedures, avoiding overlaps between horizontal and sectoral initiatives, and eliminating major differences in authorization, classification and labelling requirements.”
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
- “Thank you very much, President. Romania has taken note of the information from the four delegations on the impact of adverse climate events on the agricultural sector and we support their initiative. Romania is also confronted with the impact of prolonged drought, which has been lasting for almost two years now and is a regular phenomenon, is a regularly occurring phenomenon once every 2 to 3 years. Our agricultural producers have been seriously affected. Aridity has spread, covering an additional area of over 10,000km², with an increase of 35 to... 39 to 43% of the total surface of Romania and which has affected the south and east of the country. For this reason, we agree with the proposal of the four member States on the possibility to use the agricultural reserve for those member states that are confronted with serious adverse climate and weather events, in addition to the soil problems which are the result of last years acute drought, Romania has had to face more adverse weather events and we can provide the Commission with all the required supporting documents. The situation is all the more serious for farmers as they have been affected by the consequences of the war in Ukraine. To top it all, the new cap is in its first year of implementation, and we would like to reiterate the need to support farmers from the European fund rather than the national aid, which creates discrimination between farmers from various member states as support capacity differs greatly between Member states. Thank you.”
Agricultural funding
- “Commissioner. [00:01:30] President. Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the huge challenges faced by Romanian farmers as a result of the war in Ukraine, as well as of extreme weather conditions and inflation, which led to a hard to bear soaring import prices. I would also like to propose the adoption of measures aimed at lowering [00:02:00] the negative effects of all these risk factors to avoid the bankruptcy of many farms. As you know, the intervention possibilities are very low and the losses undergone by farmers are significant. Many farmers are faced with the danger of being unable to continue business, which is a major risk for the food security of the EU and beyond. For instance, in Romania, farmers have been faced with [00:02:30] a major water deficit after two years of drought. This year, although in most areas the amount of rainfall has been satisfactory, yields are still below the expected level. In some areas, production losses are possible and even for the autumn crops, such losses may drop by 50, may may rise to 50% as compared to the average of the last five years. This is a major challenge [00:03:00] for our farmers who will not be able to cover their production costs, which continue to be very high. You also know that imports from Ukraine have caused a drop in grain and oilseed prices, thus causing large losses to Romanian farmers who found themselves in the very difficult situation of selling their products at prices lower than production costs.
[00:03:27] We welcome the intervention of the European [00:03:30] Commission, which adopted certain measures aimed at supporting the impacted farmers. However, unfortunately the support granted continues to be low when compared to the losses incurred by the producers and only partially solves the difficult situation in which they find themselves. Unfortunately, the national budgets were also unable to lower the farmers losses, which is why we believe that [00:04:00] solutions and derogations continue to be necessary if we want to help farmers to avoid bankruptcy. To that effect, we propose a derogation from the implementation of the seven and eight requirements in 2024 two in order to allow farmers to compensate at least partially their large losses and to take away from the pressure to which they are subjected. We [00:04:30] believe that continuing these derogations is a matter of consequence since the war in Ukraine too, unfortunately continues. Moreover, the environmental impact of such a derogation is only minimal. As a matter of fact, Romania has already made and is making huge efforts for biodiversity. We have a million hectares of field which is no longer used for agriculture to which [00:05:00] more areas in amount of 850,000 hectares is used for irrigations. Moreover, Commissioner and Dear colleagues, Romania believes that we need the Commission to be permanently concerned with identifying innovative solutions in support of farmers outside of the budget of the Cap. Considering the fact that the challenges that [00:05:30] we are faced with are largely from outside the agricultural sector. Thank you.”
Agricultural trade: Ukraine imports
- “Thank you very much indeed, and many thanks for putting this very important topic on today's agenda. Given the complex geopolitical, geopolitical and economic situation, it's clear that the future framework for 2040 should reflect the lessons learned from the implementation of the fit for 55 package, and should also answer current and future challenges. Fulfilling 2030 objectives is crucial when it comes to this, the implementation of this future framework. Now, the success of this whole process will depend on achieving certain milestones. A clear and equitable framework, especially from a financial point of view. It's important to define objectives which are both consistent and realistic by looking at the climate objective of reaching climate neutrality by 2050, as well as the current exceptional circumstances. The negative effect generated by Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine obliges us to take this into account when it comes to the various implications of this conflict in a number of strategic areas such as energy, manufacturing, industries, agriculture and transport. The contribution of these sectors, which have been profoundly affected by the current international context, should be very balanced. We need solid financial mechanisms which should underpin innovation and implementation of clean technologies across the different member states. Now, additional support should be given to certain regions which would need to deploy greater efforts, as well as member states which are geographically near conflict areas. Net technological neutrality and adaptability there's no one size fits all approach. Each country, each member state, each industry has specific characteristics.”
Energy (green transition)
- “Good morning. First, I would like to thank you for the messages of solidarity regarding the drone attack. This incident represents a new breach of Romania's sovereign air space and a serious and irresponsible escalation by the Russian Federation putting endangered civilian lives and property. The Russian Federation bears direct responsibility for this grave and irresponsible actions. The President of Romania, Mr. Sheridan, convened a meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense Meeting to discuss the implications of this incident and establish proportionate measures in relation to the Russian Federation. The ambassador of the Russian Federation was called at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest to be informed about the consequences of Russia's irresponsible behavior on the matter at hand. We consider the European partnerships as being sufficiently mature, with possible clarifications from the implementation perspective for the centralized financial management. Romania supports the proposal for the bottom up collaborative research and innovation, and the compromise text for the strategic priority setting, including the alignment between Horizon Europe and the European Competitiveness Fund. The critical point for Romania is widening. Widening doesn't mean less excellence, but fair access to funding. The interim evaluation report of Horizon Europe taught us that five widening member states now have success rates similar to the European Union average, so these results demonstrate the effectiveness of the widening measures.”
EU-Russia relations (from March 2022)
- “And in that perspective, they really need our clear and concrete support, not only in the speech but in a very pragmatic way. We have millions of people in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, which are sitting in cold during this winter. I met them, I met my counterpart, Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian minister of Energy. I was in Ukraine, and I see the whole drama of that people which are innocent. And the only support and the only hope for them are. European Union and all of us. So to support another, we should be very tough and very powerful inside of our economies and inside of our countries and inside of our European Union. So I, I fully support that integration with less bureaucracy, with less procedure, with less time of getting a lot of approvals and in a manner of very, very clear leadership of the European Commission with all of our countries to get that things done. We wouldn't have enough time to wait for the for the greatest and the perfect scenario. We are in a scenario which are debating the next at least ten years of our countries. And in that perspective, we should really support that investment in grids and to decrease the bureaucracy level of what you could make in that perspective. You could count on Romania as acting and strong supporter of democratization and strong investment in the grid in the European Union. Thank you very much. Count on us.”
EU-Ukraine relations
- “09:27 – 17:10:34): Thank you, minister. We support the need for a predictable application of the European enhanced response system for military mobility, which prevents regional fragmentation and allows for early activation, which is essential to avoid exceeding member states capacities in the face of a rapid crisis. It is also imperative to maintain a clear balance between the requirements of military mobility and the normal functioning of civilian transport, while cybersecurity and digitalization must be integrated into all logistics flow management systems from the start. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the transport infrastructure in Romania has operated under real crisis pressure, making a concrete contribution to the support effort. In the current geopolitical conditions marked by new crisis having an impact on the EU, this reality constitutes a solid argument for Romania to request dedicated financial allocation, prioritization in the context of European investment programs, and an active role in the governance of the union's new military mobility framework. Thank you.”
EU-Ukraine relations
- “Thank you chair. Dear colleagues for Romania, European competitiveness and the reduction of administrative burdens are an urgent matter, but they must be done intelligently. We support the objective of simplification, but at a pace that takes into account the impact on the entire value chain, including access to energy for households and industry. From discussion with the business community, we receive a clear message. Has this simplification without serious assessments can lead to real supply risk and the closure of industrial capacities in the EU. Therefore, to us, simplification is only part of the solution. It is equally important that legislation is simple by design, with clear, stable and predictable rules for the companies. We consider it essential to carry out robust impact assessments for each initiative, testing the degree of impact on SMEs and competitiveness, as well as an analysis of the cumulative impact of several regulations on the same sectors. We need continuous feedback mechanism from the business community, review and sunset clauses for reporting requirements, and the efficient, effective application of the principle of digital by default and once only. In addition, we need to protect micro and small and medium sized enterprises throughout clear thresholds and examination exemptions, and avoid overregulation when transposed into national law. In conclusion, we support the pursuit of the principle of good regulation and simplification across the border and all legislative initiatives with concrete monitoring tools, not just political commitments. Thank you.”
Energy (green transition)
- “Also, the public procurement agreement and free trade agreements. Romania supports maintaining open markets and avoiding excessively protectionist or discriminatory approaches when it comes to trusted partners. We also need a better correlation between all framework documents addressing the European industry, net zero industry and Critical Raw Materials Act, ETS, Cbam and the Future Industrial Decarbonisation Bank should ensure a fair access to all Member States and add to the existing tools, such as the modernisation fund and the cohesion policy. Any modernisation should bring simplification and not new legislation. Layers. The Industrial Accelerator Act should also contribute to industrial convergence within the Union. We. Investments should not only be concentrated in very few regions, we should have balanced benefits for all member States, and we need also financial steps in order to make sure that the strategic approach is a success in the whole of Europe. The Future Competitiveness European Competitiveness Fund will be especially relevant. Romania supports Czechia, Poland and what other colleagues have said on low carbon criteria, and also the fact that we need to make sure that no member states is excluded from the single market because because of unfair criteria related to carbon content. Thank you.”
EU industrial funding (mechanism level: EU-pooled vs nationally-financed)
- “39:15 – 17:40:10): You, minister. We support any steps that accelerate certain protection mechanisms or create premises for new ones, including dedicated funding for such actions. This approach is important from the perspective of its effects of increasing societal resilience as a whole, especially in the context of creating financing opportunities complementary to national security objectives such as those regarding dual use infrastructure in the field of military mobility.
The initiative highlights the need for an integrated and inter institutional approach to hybrid risks, strengthening coordination at European and regional level. Recent incidents in Romania with drones exploding have shown that it is necessary to increase the development of detection, warning, protection, and response capabilities, including in relation to critical infrastructure and population protection. Thank you.”
Cybersecurity investments for critical infrastructure
- “President. Commissioner Romania understands the difficult situation in Slovenia and Greece, and we stand together with the farmers which were seriously affected by these phenomena. In Romania, we are also confronted with the effects of extreme climate phenomena such as drought and which [00:20:00] affect our producers. We reiterate the need to support farmers from European funds. Romania also supports the requests by Slovenia and Greece and expresses its support for the farmers seriously affected by the flooding this year. Thank you.”
Agricultural funding
- “Thank you. Chairman. Commissioner. Dear colleagues. Romania welcomes [00:49:00] the approval of the strategy, a long term vision for the EU's rural areas, particularly in light of the diverse and multidimensional challenges facing these areas. One of the elements on which we should particularly focus on when it comes to the development of the rural and agrifood sector, is generational renewal. An objective of major importance in the European Union? At the same time, the development of infrastructure, creating job opportunities and access to [00:49:30] services can make rural areas attractive for employment and sustainable development. I would also like to stress the importance of extending the European Union's rural observatory. Drawing up strategic policies is an activity based primarily on data and how to interpret them. These policies can be applied in a timely manner according to the specific needs of Member States. Last but not least, I [00:50:00] would also like to bring to your attention the importance of encouraging digital innovation and agriculture based on efficient use of natural resources. Thank you.”
Cohesion and rural funding
- “Thank you very much, madam president. Agora is an essential instrument for supporting culture, the media sector, and democratic values. Its credibility will depend directly on the level and structure of its funding within the future MFF.
At this stage, allocations and the distribution of resources across the program's trends are not yet defined. We consider it essential that this distribution is clearly established and that it reflects in a balanced way the program's objectives, including by ensuring an adequate share for the cultural dimension in line with its economic and societal contribution.
At the same time, cohesion policy must remain the main investment tool of the union beyond 2027, including for culture, with a key role in financing infrastructure and reducing regional disparities. In this context, a clear distinction between centrally managed programs such as Agora and structural funding is necessary as well as avoiding fragmentation of instruments.
A simple and coherent financial architecture is essential for effective delivery. Finally, with thanks to the presidency, I confirm that we support the partial general approach on the regulation on Agora with a focus on clear allocations, a balanced distribution across trends, and strong alignment with cohesion policy.”
EU and national cultural identities
- “Thank you very much. I would like to welcome and congratulate the European Commission for the revised pink. As you know, Romania intends to further develop its nuclear program as a pillar of decarbonisation and security of supply. We are investing in new build two reactors, lifetime extension of the existing ones, SMS, medical isotope production, development of the fuel cycle and supply chain in order to increase localisation. We are still assessing the content of the report, but as a preliminary mark, we appreciate the positive signal sent to markets about the benefits and crucial role of nuclear projects in our energy system. We thank you for performing a solid, fact based analysis of all relevant aspects, including the value chain. The fuel cycle. The Non-power application. The skills needed. The responsibility to deliver on the project rests with industry and Member States, but a supportive environment at EU level is needed, and a level playing field between all clean technologies should be the norm going forward. We hope that the pink estimates and conclusions will be adequately reflected in the upcoming energy, climate and financing policies, and we need a coordinated and consistent approach across all policy elements in the future. Thank you so much.”
Energy (green transition)
- “Thank you. Chair. Romania considers that strengthening customer protection and ensuring fair competition in e-commerce must be prioritized at EU level. First, digital platforms need higher transparency, including clear information on recommendation algorithms and a ban on manipulative practices. We also support stronger but smarter control of products sold online, especially those imported from outside of EU. Second, online subscription requires stricter rules. Rules rules. Simple cancellation mechanism and the elimination of abusive automatic renewals. Fair competition also depends on harmonising tax rules, including consistent VAT application and action against evasion. Evasion. Uh by non-EU traders. Third, customer education is essential. Eu wide campaign of identifying fake reviews, misleading offers and checking product authenticity can significantly reduce the risk. Marketplaces EU and non-EU must also be held accountable when they fail to meet their legal obligation. Finally, we need a stronger cooperation between member states, faster information exchange, coordinated controls and harmonised sanctions. Only through a unified approach can we prevent Unsafe product removal in one member state from remaining available in others. Thank you.”
Liability for online marketplaces
- “Madam president, allow me to briefly refer to what we see as the main priorities at this stage. Strengthening health promotion activities. Improving and completing existing systems for monitoring consumption behaviours and applying them more frequently. Also assessing the needs for research interventions. Resources and capacity building and strengthening in public health systems, then developing a plan to address those needs based on a resource allocation for 3 to 5 years. And last but not least, institutionalizing the evidence based decision making process in the field of public health. Basically, to talk about public health informed decision making regarding the activities that could be carried out at EU level. We would highlight the following. Reviewing the EU legislation on tobacco and new tobacco and nicotine products. Reviewing the EU legislation on alcohol as a priority for the Commission to include consumption, labelling. Taxation, advertising. Coordinating research activities in the field of behavioural determinants of health, and creating a surveillance system for behavioural risk factors at EU level. Integration of public health activities, with all other activities at the level of EU health in all policies, um, research, innovation, digitalization, environment, social etc. and coordination of all that. Finally, the evolution of addictions in contemporary life is very dynamic to classic addictions. One could also add screens, gambling or social networks regarding concrete measures within the EU. We believe that reducing the share of those affected and avoiding initiation should be priorities for all health systems. The response to these problems also requires coordinated interventions at international level, to allow for the implementation of existing examples of good practices at European level, the creation of a service to coordinate interventions on behavioral determinants could increase the effectiveness of the interventions. Another direction could be the continued funding of joint health promotion interventions in the field of health determinants. We also see the need for setting up European networks for relevant public health institutions at member state level to include ministries of health, public health institutes, insurance institutions, um, as well as a formal framework for collaboration on various priority public health topics. Thank you very much.”
EU measures on lifestyle-related behaviours (smoking, drinking, eating, etc.)
- “Thank you. Luis. Commissioner. President. Dear colleagues, Romania welcomes this proposal and appreciates that any measures meant to consolidate and make more efficient the efforts to fight and reduce food waste are timely and necessary. Romania is among the first EU member states that has regulated the specific legal framework needed for fighting and reducing food waste. In agreement with the objectives and priorities of the Farm to Fork strategy and the commitment of Member States to reach the 50% reduction of wood waste by 2030. We think that we need a European legal framework to instate measures dedicated to reducing food waste. This needs to be done on the whole agro agri food chain, not only at the consumer level. We think that it is important to analyze measures to safeguard food waste in the reduction of food waste for certain categories of products, where consumption is covered from internal production in practice. We see that for vegetables, particularly where there is a high degree of perishability, there [00:22:30] is a high level of waste because of the imports from outside the European Union. Regulation could also help the joint efforts of the member States to prevent food waste and achieve transition to sustainable food systems by a rational use of national natural resources. Let me also say that some of the [00:23:00] food waste prevention programmes proposed by the Commission are already regulated in Romania, and they include measures addressing the whole agri food chain, such as education and information campaign to increase awareness on the importance and necessity of preventing food waste, or the regulation and implementation of a food donation mechanism, as well as granting fiscal relief to compensate [00:23:30] the costs generated by food donations, thus supporting the actors of the social economy. Thank you.”
Food waste
- “Thank [00:24:00] you. Chairman. Commissioner. Colleagues. Artificial intelligence can bring about significant benefits in our day to day lives, especially when it comes to access to culture and knowledge. Algorithms for recommendations may expand people's cultural horizons by promoting less well-known works of art. Also, AI can be used in order to preserve and to translate important cultural and literary works, therefore [00:24:30] contributing to the worldwide dissemination of culture. Romania has given a great deal of importance to the impact of AI on the cultural and creative sectors. We are aware of current opportunities and challenges, especially on cultural expression and diversity. We have made serious efforts to stimulate the cooperation between cultural and creative professionals and technology, so that they co-design AI solutions [00:25:00] and therefore encourage them to harness the potential of AI and to create internal capacities. We have supported a horizontal cooperation and exchange of good practices. I would also like to mention that in Romania, we already have an AI strategy in the field of communications, and we are looking into the opportunity to have a specific strategy for culture. Another aim we should be, uh, looking at is [00:25:30] to acquire appropriate skills so that cultural professionals are able to understand and to tap into the AI potential in their fields. The skills gap often stems from a limited awareness of AI's capabilities within the cultural and creative sectors and in related education institutions, thus leading to fewer applications of AI in creative settings. Romania therefore supports [00:26:00] formal academic education that is also beneficial to AI strategies. At national level. We are also organizing a series of workshops, training programs, upskilling programs, information campaigns, internships, and exchange of good practices in order to develop advanced skills in this field. And last but not least, wisely and ethically, we can use AI as an instrument in order to [00:26:30] enrich and diversify people's cultural and literal literary experience, thus creating a brighter and more sustainable future for all. Thank you.”
EU and national cultural identities
- “Thank you. Chairman. We would also like to thank the European Commission for adopting the SME relief package, which also includes the revision of this directive. We are in favour of the general objective to improve the payment discipline on the internal market and [00:30:30] to protect enterprises, particularly SMEs, from the negative effects of late payments in commercial transactions. We believe a directive is the appropriate choice of legal instrument. Using the directive would allow us to implement necessary developments in the national internal civil law. And also, uh, there are there is an impact on the national regime of obligations which would, uh, plead [00:31:00] in favour of choosing a directive. As for the maximum payment period of 30 days. We believe that this would be a disproportionate limitation on contractual freedom, and we need a much more flexible mechanism. According to Romanian civil law, freedom of contract is a central element of the obligations regime. The parties are free to enter into a contract and to determine their content, including the payment deadlines. As [00:31:30] for the dispute resolution mechanism, our national authorities are still looking at this, taking into account the effects on the civil courts as well as the efforts, including financial efforts that would, uh, come together with such a mechanism. Thank you.”
EU rules on late commercial payments
- “Thank [00:04:00] you. President. Commissioner. Dear colleagues. We are currently facing major challenges relating to climate change, and the European Environment Agency's report and the Commission Communication on Managing climate Risk reflect these this reality. We should take everything into account, especially [00:04:30] when we talk about the future 2040 climate target. On this climate target. We would like to thank the Commission for presenting the lines of action to take in order to reach climate neutrality in the EU. Every member state has its own development model, and as such, some steps that at EU level may seem [00:05:00] positive, might also be negative in their impact at a national level. So this is a complex analysis that we need to carry out. And member States need their time to reflect and to discuss. For Romania, a critical aspect is represented by social acceptability in a current context, which is complicated and with purchasing power declining. It's important [00:05:30] to ensure that transition towards a climate neutrality is just and inclusive, and takes into account the social, social and economic impact. There are other important principles as well, such as cost efficiency, industry competitiveness, affordable prices for energy and the flexible approach to take into account different national circumstances. Strengthening industrial competitiveness within the transition to [00:06:00] climate neutrality continues to be a critical point for Romania. In order to support the industry. We need a coherent and predictable framework, facilitating also access to the necessary financial resources and. As such, most of our industry, especially energy intensive industry, but also for other sectors, we will need to identify adequate and sufficient financial tools in [00:06:30] order to mitigate the impact of the transition on to vulnerable households, and also in order to reap economic benefits of the transition. It is vital that these financial instruments ensure a fair regional distribution. Given the limited time that have available, and the fact that we are also still discussing at the national level, I will only underline some sensitive aspects identified [00:07:00] in the sectors that are challenging for Romania. For agriculture, especially rural areas are often dependent on agriculture, and changes in this sector might have important consequences on on to the communities there. So it's essential that we develop and implement adequate measures supporting these communities in their transition. It's important to learn from the experience so far, and to see how we can improve the way in [00:07:30] which European agriculture can remain competitive at an international level, and to see how the population in agriculture can have can lead a better life. Agriculture is a vital sector for our food security. Any measure we take needs careful assessment then for transport. The analysis we've made for the National Long Tum strategy have identified the sector as a, um, hard to abate sector. [00:08:00] And we still have an old car fleet. That's a problem. And that's due to a low purchasing power of people. And electric cars continue to be too expensive for average income households. Transport is one of those sectors where, at the national level, we will need to invest massively in the future, in the next period, especially in the railway sector. We will need to find specific financial tools [00:08:30] for that. On energy decarbonising energy is crucial in the transition towards climate neutrality. But even more important, we need to respect the decision of every member state on their energy mix. And from this point of view, it will be very important for Romania to have a neutral approach from the point of view of the technologies that will be used, and I will end by underlining the importance and the necessity [00:09:00] of having dialogue with all interested stakeholders. Thank you very much.”
Climate efforts
- “Thank you. We recently had the visit of the commissioner and we had extensive discussions, and we thank her for her involvement and, uh, A team that put into this project. We also would like to express the support and engagement of the Cypriot presidency. Romania strongly supports advancing the Savings and Investments Union, recognising its key role in mobilising private capital and channelling investments towards productive investments, including the support of the green and digital transitions. We consider that deeper capital markets integration needs to go hand in hand with maintaining financial stability, strengthening investor protections and enhancing the global competitiveness of the EU market. In this context, we support the strengthening of the supervisory framework at the union level, including by reinforcing the role of the European Securities and Markets Authority with a view to ensuring consistent and effective application of EU legislation across Member states. Romania considers that Esma's governance framework should be further enhanced to be efficient, agile and market oriented while maintaining strong technical expertise and adapting the emerging trends, including digitalisation. An executive board can support faster, more coherent decision, while the Board of Supervisors preserve a strong role to ensure adequate involvement of the level of the national authorities. The ESMA national authorities relations could follow a mixed model with a clearly defined and complementary responsibilities, supported by a strong operational cooperation mechanism, efficient information sharing procedures and a clear allocation of responsibilities, including during transitions. Romania supports strengthening cooperation between asthma and the national authorities, and the avoidance of overlaps and excessive administrative burdens that remains essential. The supervisory reforms should minimise the costs and avoid duplications, and we should not create the burdens of additional costs for market participants and should include effective cost control mechanisms, monitoring and transparency of supervisory expenses. Thank you.”
Financial regulation
- “Romania believes that the extension of the scope of the Directive and [00:16:00] the introduction of complex mutual assistance procedures could additionally consolidate road safety. Nevertheless, in the case of this initiative, the objective we are trying to achieve by implementing the provisions in the Directive and our final objective. There are. Well, these are highly disproportionate if we extend the scope to also include offences that are less dangerous for society, such as [00:16:30] unlawful stopping or stationing of vehicle, we would create a situation where the competent national authorities would have to shoulder a very heavy workload to identify drivers liable of sanctions. Such tasks in the context where an extremely high number of Romanian citizens live abroad. An estimated 4 to 6 million, out of which 2 million hold driving licences issued by the Romanian authorities. Well, [00:17:00] in such circumstances, the Romanian authorities would be highly burdened. Also, we believe it will be very difficult to prove beyond doubt that a person in a video recording is actually the offender. In such a situation, Member States with a high number of drivers travelling all over Europe will have as their main task the enforcement [00:17:30] of sanctions imposed by Member States on the territory of which the offences were perpetrated. Thus, given the administrative costs entailed, we must find a way to compensate such costs. We need to take into account the burden. We need to take into account the costs and the potentially very high number of automatic detections on the territory of Member States. Because [00:18:00] of these reasons, Romania's position concerning the proposals under Article four A and five, a third paragraph. We cannot support these provisions. Thank you.”
Driving licences
- “Thank you very much. We would like to signal our support for the Belgian Non-paper and the pragmatic approach to underpin the decarbonization of Europe's energy intensive industries. Our companies face the same challenges in switching to green hydrogen. The slow growth of this sector, coupled with the high costs, become barriers which impact on competitiveness. We believe that a practical approach is needed with regard to the methodology used to classify green hydrogen. Also, we think that a more inclusive approach towards low carbon sources is needed. The potential offered by low carbon hydrogen produced by natural gas with carbon capture, utilisation and storage, as well as by nuclear energy should be further acknowledged and included in EU legislation. Varied and clean sources of hydrogen, in addition to green hydrogen, will contribute to the development of the hydrogen market in the EU, reducing import dependencies and making the price of hydrogen more affordable to industrial consumers. Thank you.”
Low-carbon hydrogen
- “Thank you. Dear colleagues, I would first of all, like to thank the Commission for the proposed regulation and I appreciate the initiative of [00:23:30] the Belgian presidency of organising a policy debate on this topic. Romania supports the objective of the proposed regulation, which will contribute to preventing the loss of plastic pellets and will reduce the negative effects they have on the environment and human health. As you know, economic activities involving plastic pellet losses, without taking proper account of the structure and productive and [00:24:00] support capacity of the natural capital, have led to the deterioration of natural environments and the loss of valuable ecosystem services in each stage of the plastic supply chain. Measures must be taken for the handling and transport of pellets, ensuring safety for the environment and human health. As far as stakeholder accountability [00:24:30] is involved. We believe that they need to be coordinated by a single authority, which should be supported by a committee, including representatives of the accountable authorities, for each stage in the flow of the plastic pellets from the operator to the final user. At the same time, we appreciate the fact that operators certification including certification according to EMAs, the EMAs regulation. This is [00:25:00] an advantage just like the setting up and maintaining of an operator register. As you know, the International Maritime Organisation has recently set up a working group that will, uh, update the action plan on the shipping of plastic pellets in order to reduce the environmental risk related to the shipping of plastic pellets. Establishing rules relating to maritime [00:25:30] transport at the level of EU. The EU alone will not have sufficient impact because most ships, um operate outside of the EU. Maritime transport is global by nature and is highly regulated, which is why we believe that rules in this field should be harmonised. Thank you.”
Microplastics
- “Thank you, Nadia. Romania welcomes the commission initiative regarding the customs reform. We are, of course, still analysing at technical level the different implications of this ambitious proposal. Nevertheless, I can mention at this point that we support the main objectives of the reform package and in particular, the establishment of the new European Customs Authority and the EU customs data centres. Thank you very much.”
EU policy on custom fee on non-EU imports
- “52:27 – 10:54:45): Thank you, chairman, colleagues. Romania would like to thank the Cyprus presidency for their efforts on this very important file, and we appreciate, their good intentions shown by today's debate. Romania continues to support the aim of the proposal to provide continuity of parenthood in cross border situations across the union and therefore to protect the best interest of the child. We believe that up until now, despite all efforts made by the presidencies on this file, some issues have not been settled. For instance, the regime of authentic instruments and applicable law and another issue, surrogacy. We would like to recall the debate organized by the Belgian presidency on surrogacy, which set out a series of options without, however, leading to a consensus. Against this background, we believe it's important to find solutions that strike a balance between the interests of member states that do not, recognize surrogacy and the best interest of the child, especially in terms of parental authority. We also seek clarifications on the status of the parent resulting from, surrogacy agreements, also evidentiary effect of authentic instruments originating in another member states, and the, parenthood certificate. Turning to the 2nd questions. The issues that have not yet been become stable are interlinked. We believe we need to tackle them horizontally and avoid treating them in silos. We believe that a decision on the way forward could become, apparent only when we have a compromised text that is consolidated and stabilizes solutions that benefit from the support of at least a majority of delegations. But by then, member states have to go through the essential steps of negotiations and debates in order to strengthen the legitimacy and balance of solutions. Thank you. Thank you very much, Theodora. Now Slovakia has the floor. Milan.”
Regulation of surrogate pregnancy
- “Thank you, chairman, colleagues. Romania would like to thank the Cyprus presidency for their efforts on this very important file, and we appreciate, their good intentions shown by today's debate. Romania continues to support the aim of the proposal to provide continuity of parenthood in cross border situations across the union and therefore to protect the best interest of the child. We believe that up until now, despite all efforts made by the presidencies on this file, some issues have not been settled. For instance, the regime of authentic instruments and applicable law and another issue, surrogacy. We would like to recall the debate organized by the Belgian presidency on surrogacy, which set out a series of options without, however, leading to a consensus. Against this background, we believe it's important to find solutions that strike a balance between the interests of member states that do not, recognize surrogacy and the best interest of the child, especially in terms of parental authority. We also seek clarifications on the status of the parent resulting from, surrogacy agreements, also evidentiary effect of authentic instruments originating in another member states, and the, parenthood certificate. Turning to the 2nd questions. The issues that have not yet been become stable are interlinked. We believe we need to tackle them horizontally and avoid treating them in silos. We believe that a decision on the way forward could become, apparent only when we have a compromised text that is consolidated and stabilizes solutions that benefit from the support of at least a majority of delegations. But by then, member states have to go through the essential steps of negotiations and debates in order to strengthen the legitimacy and balance of solutions. Thank you.”
Regulation of surrogate pregnancy
- “Thank you very much, Marie. I'll also switch to my mother tongue. We also welcome the publication of the Commission's work programme for 2026. We note and fully support the importance given to the unity in the EU and to the upholding and promotion of our values and the rule of law. We also welcome the attention given to simplification as a horizontal priority, and we welcome the initiatives meant to promote the EU competitiveness. This is a key objective from the point of view of strengthening the internal market, and it is a very important objective from the point of view of Romania. We would also like to mention how important it is to increase convergence and cohesion within the EU so as to avoid disparities. And we welcome the Commission's importance, important focus on the support given to Ukraine. And we welcome the fact that in the programme we refer to the Republic of Moldova. We need to increase resilience and promote transregional connectivity. And we welcome the focus on the Black Sea region. And we also want to say that Romania supports the Commission's initiatives in order to support the European Road for Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and our Western Balkan partners. Thank you.”
EU-Ukraine relations
- “Dear madam president, madam Executive Vice President, Dear colleagues, today's reality clearly shows that fragmented approaches no longer work. If we truly want to combat poverty and social exclusion, we must build services that put people at the center of the intervention. Because the fight against exclusion depends to a large extent on our ability to transform passive socialist systems into real support for activation and integration into the labour market. In Romania, an important element of this approach is the minimum inclusion income program. Through this mechanism, we are trying to combine financial support for vulnerable people with measures that encourage active participation in the labour market. Integrated community services play a key role through multidisciplinary teams, bringing together specialists from the social, educational and medical fields. We intervene directly in vulnerable communities. This allows us to address the multiple causes of poverty together and to bring support closer to people in the coming period. This model will be extended up to 2000 communities in Romania. At the same time, we must recognise that social and cultural barriers remain a real problem. Stigmatisation often discourages people from seeking help. That is why it is important to build services that people trust and to firmly fight discrimination, including the one that affects Roma communities. The situation of marginalised communities must be addressed openly. In many cases, segregation and ghettoization keep people trapped in a cycle of poverty and lack of opportunities. That is why the process of de ghettoisation is essential and must be supported by coordinated policies across the social, housing, education and employment sectors. Our experience also shows how important the housing dimension is in anti-poverty policies without access to adequate housing, it is very difficult to talk about real inclusion. For this reason, we believe that the European Plan for Affordable Housing and social housing development must also include this perspective if we really want to break the chain of poverty. Looking ahead, we believe that the future anti-European anti-poverty strategy must support this integrated approach and encourage investment in quality social services close to communities. European funds must support the development of social infrastructure and local services so that support reaches where it is most needed. Thank you.”
Engagement of Romani communities in Europe · Minimum income harmonisation at EU level · EU housing policy
- “Thank you, Maria. Thank you, Lithuania, for reporting on this situation. We understand the difficult situation. Romania is one of the countries most affected by the current unfavorable economic situation.
Compared to the same period last year, in Romania, the raw cow's milk average price has decreased by 8.5%. In April, the situation has deteriorated even more, and the desperate actions of our farmers also in neighboring countries don't do anything but aggravate the situation.
And this is why in the context of collapsing farm gate prices, rising production costs, including costs for fuels, fertilizers, and falling domestic consumption, Romanian farmers are forced to sell under disadvantageous conditions below production costs, which leads to financial difficulty or even bankruptcy and that quickly.
Therefore, we call on the commission for concrete solutions and the immediate mobilization of the agricultural reserve also to support Romanian farmers. Thank you.”
Use of fertilisers
- “45:05 – 11:45:47): Thank you, minister. I'm taking the floor to underline our strong support for the acceleration of the deployment of interoperable railway technologies as an essential element of a resilient, competitive, and sustainable European transport system. We believe that it is essential to strengthen the capacity and coordination role of the European Railways Agency to ensure the optimization of rail capacity management and increased predictability for large projects. We support a more structured prior dialogue between project promoters, the European Railways Agency, and national authorities, as well as clearer guidelines and the harmonized interpretation of requirements. Thank you.”
EU support of rail transport
- “Thank you, Madam President. Romania is for the swift advancement of the proposal to amend the regulation so that it can enter into force by the end of 2026. We need a stable and predictable framework for the organic sector, including in trade with third countries. We are for strictly targeted changes. Specific clarifications and adjustments with the maintaining the standards of the union. Labeling and using the EU logo is very important for imported products. We need clearer rules to ensure proper consumer information and a level playing field between EU products and those from third countries. We also deem it necessary to exercise caution when extending recognitions of equivalence. Import controls must be strengthened to protect the integrity of EU organic system support. European producers and maintain consumer trust. We appreciate concrete measures to reduce administrative burden burden that's important for small operators and adapted production rules in livestock farming so that regulation the regulation can be easier to implement. Romanian. Romania is for controlling compliance. Key concepts. Flexible procedures, including for imports and clear criteria for situations not attributable to operators. Thank you.”
Import of agri-food products in the EU
- “41:41 – 16:45:08): When we talk about artificial intelligence for Romania the discussion is not theoretical it is profoundly practical and strategic Europe must step up the pace in innovation to remain globally competitive and for Romania the stakes are even higher because we can afford neither economic stagnation nor the deepening of inequalities.
Romania still has significant territorial disparities and underdeveloped regions persistent social vulnerabilities high levels of child poverty and a significant number of needs not in education employment or training people.
In this context artificial intelligence can must be integrated where it has real value for the economy and society in the automotive industry for example where Romania is part of the European production chains ai can increase productivity and competitiveness.
In construction specifically in the context of the green transition ai can support efficient planning occupational safety and upscaling.
In public administration ai assisted digitalization can cut red tape and can improve the quality of public services for smes ai can mean modern tools for analyzing and for optimizing processes with a direct impact on productivity.
At the same time we must be aware of the risks risks related to algorithmic management when algorithms allocate tasks assess performance or influence working hours risks may arise such as over supervision nontransparent decision making or indirect discrimination.
Without a clear framework and without safeguards such practices can lead to polarization of the labor market and to a greater precariousness of some categories of workers.
This is why ai integration must be accompanied by sound public policies investments in digital skills and ai literacy in consolidating or strengthening workers' protection and adapting industrial relations to new digital realities so that automated decisions remain under human control and so that technology is used transparently and equitably.
Social dialogue must play a central role if ai at work is to ensure a balance between innovation productivity and workers' rights.
It is important for us to strengthen the role of the European labor authority and cooperation with the commission and with the member states because artificial intelligence must become a tool for modernizing the labor market and for economic development provided that it is used strategically.
Ai can help increase productivity can create quality jobs and can reduce gaps if it is used without proper policies it can generate new forms of inequality.”
Artificial Intelligence
- “Thank you very much, Luis. Commissioner. President. Dear colleagues. [00:36:00] This against the current background of various crises and the need to adapt to those difficulties to reach the objectives of climate, environment and sustainable development of the agriculture. Romania can support this proposal that will allow farmers to have access to the most recent technologies, but by imposing excessively strict demands to genomic [00:36:30] techniques used in breeding plants, approaching them to the genetically modified organisms and difficulties to apply effectively, the EU risks failing in introducing the new technologies and innovation. Supporting the development and using the technology should be accompanied by incentives to improve the infrastructure of research, testing, detection and demonstration that they [00:37:00] fulfil the equivalence criteria and implicitly safety of the plants obtained by NTE and products derived thereof that are for human and animal consumption. Given that sustainability and resilience of agro food systems are also based upon the increased confidence of consumers in the products supplied to them, it is necessary to have a solid legal framework regarding the safety of using [00:37:30] NT plants won by consolidating the equivalence principle with conventional plants obtained along the years. For the second question, Romania can support the purpose of amending the regulation of the EU 6 to 5 of 2017 to maintain a high level. Take protection for public health and animal health and the environment. [00:38:00] Since it deals create new varieties of plants with features obtained by genomic operations, the assessment of modifications should be performed at the member state level about the agricultural value, the technological value and how distinctive they are, how uniform they are in order to take into account the specificities of the Member states[00:38:24] it is important that the new varieties should be re-evaluated by the specialized authorities [00:38:30] of the Member States in the market of whom they are intended to be used and marketed. Discussions should focus on the criteria regarding their belonging to the two categories of plants, intersections and dependency on requirements on the reproductive or breeding material of the plants. The role of the Member States in establishing measures for the coexistence detection techniques, intentional release of NT plants [00:39:00] that are not authorised. We can accept to establish two categories, but we have a reservation about the characterization of NT one bodies by a numerical restriction of 20 genetic modifications. We do not understand the reason why NT one cannot be used in the sector of organic agriculture. I propose to have a financial support from the EU. For [00:39:30] the member states when they establish official laboratories specializing and with a European accreditation for specific testing for nDt that should operate the assessment based upon specific procedures that should be identical for all authorities in the Member States. Thank you.”
New Genomic Techniques
- “Thank you very much. President. Commissioner. Dear colleagues. [00:17:00] Developing new standards and the timetable of implementing the new measures should be realistic and sustainable. Microphone for the speaker. The implementation of these high standards will generate additional costs, mainly because of the investments necessary in facilities, equipment and technologies. These costs will reflect in the price of foodstuffs with an [00:17:30] impact upon the consumers. Against the background, it is essential to have a balanced approach and each measure should be accompanied by the appropriate financial support, taking into account the economic impact upon the farmers, producers and transporters. Furthermore, a sufficiently long period of transition is necessary in order to facilitate an economically viable transition in parallel, some mirroring [00:18:00] measures so that it will not affect the competition position of European farmers and producers. Thank you.”
Agriculture (green)
- “Dear colleagues, it's also my first Epsco, so I hope we will work very, very good together and we will succeed in our missions. Dear Commissioner, Dear colleagues. The process of digitalization [00:44:30] and the new ways of organizing work and production activities will have a major influence on all labor markets and will lead to the emergence of new forms of work. We have seen that technological evolutions can also create vast opportunities. For example, inactive people or creative workers can more easily access the labor market thanks to the [00:45:00] emergence of the platform or the mixing of technology and art. Nevertheless, national policies need to facilitate a smooth and fair transition of workers towards new quality jobs. It it is also imperative that our measures help workers adapt to new working environments. I would like to mention how important the [00:45:30] involvement of social partners and civil society is in improving the representation and protection of persons in different forms of works resulting from technological change. From a social protection perspective, quality digital services are needed for citizens to simplify access to social benefits. In this regard, our National Recovery and [00:46:00] Resilience Plan sets out the priorities and reforms needed for recovery and sustainable growth correlated with the digital transition to European level. The investment and reforms foreseen in this strategic document will effectively address the challenges identified in the context of the European Semester, including supportive measures [00:46:30] for the digital transition and transformation in order to address the labour and skills shortages. We are currently implementing a wide ranging ESF funded project which develops and integrated mechanisms for anticipating, monitoring and evaluating the labour market and education. Thank you so much.”
European Semester (social dimension)
- “56:53 – 12:58:01): Thank you, minister. We welcome the road maps and support the commission's integrated approach to accelerating 0 emission heavy duty vehicle charging infrastructure. In order to achieve a fierce objectives, we consider it essential to coordinate 3 issues, access to electricity grids, simplification of authorizations, and cross border cooperation.
We call for the extension of the initiative to all 20 corridors insisting on the inclusion of the strategic axis that cross it, the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and GMC corridor and the Rhine Danube corridor. These routes are vital for freight flows to Central Europe and the EU's external border. Their integration into the commission's initiative would allow bottlenecks to be identified, investment needs to be estimated, as well as better cross border coordination.
We underline the need to maintain robust and predictable predictable EU financial support through the connecting Europe facility and the future mark annual financial framework in order to direct funds precisely to the critical points of the TNT framework network. Thank you.”
EV charging infrastructure
- “Thank you so much, Mr. Commissioner. Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, first of all, I would like to thank you for the trust you have given me by appointing me as a representative of the European Union within the Council. It is both an honor and a responsibility for me and assure you of my full commitment to promoting integrity of sport about mental health. The pressures are real fear or failure, performance anxiety, social media criticism, financial insecurity, abusive relationship with coach and identity problems after retirement of injury. These are not personal failures. They are system problems and system problems need system solution. So what can member states do? First, mental health must become part of sport policy. Romanian national sport strategy is a chance to include athletes well-being as a national goal. Not only sports results. Second, we must train the people closer to athletes. Coaches and team managers are often the first to notice emotional suffering, but many don't know how to respond. Mandatory mental health training for coaches already tested in Belgium and the Netherlands could become a good model for Romania as well. Third, athletes need safe and confidential support system outside the structure, the control day selection and funding. And fourth, we must protect young athletes. The pressure placed on children in elite academies, especially in gymnastics, football and tennis, can create long term psychological damage. Romania has a proud tradition In these sports, and protecting these transition traditions means protecting the young people behind it. The change that we need is not about making spotless ambition. We are asking sport to become more human. Resilience is still important, but resilience build on support, dignity and psychologically. Safety is stronger and less longer than resilience built on silence and suffering. Member states have both the responsibility and the tools to make this change possible. Romania has already opportunity to lead by example. Let us build support systems that truly respect to athletes who give everything for them. Thank you.
**ΠΡΟΕΔΡΕΥΟΥΣΑ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟΥ @Chair: Thank you, thank you. We continue with Germany and Helen, followed by Slovenia and Luxembourg.”
Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- “Thank you. Chair. Commissioner colleagues Romania supports improving environmental conditions and human health by reducing water pollution in urban areas. Significant efforts have been made and are still being made to improve urban wastewater collection and treatment in our country. The extension of the scope of this directive to agglomerations of under 2000 population equivalent will pose additional challenges to Romania. Almost 50% of our population live in rural areas, where in general we have low density and limited capacity for water and sanitation services. Moreover, the general trend of decreasing number of inhabitants makes our national context even more complex. Thus, we believe that we need more flexibility in order to avoid deploying infrastructure that will not be used at all or that will not be used effectively. We will also need to mention the fact that the 2030 target is almost impossible for us to reach, particularly because we will need to invest in existing facilities so as to reach the new benchmarks. As for the introduction of an additional treatment step for agglomerations of over 10,000 P, we think that this will mean additional retrofitting of treatment plants, which will lead to higher maintenance and operational costs, and this will have an impact on the price paid by people and on the sustainability of services for certain citizens.
This will mean higher subsidies that local authorities will have to A grant. In this regard, we support the introduction of the extended producer responsibility for products containing micropollutants, but we would like to see this mechanism, including calculating the contributions of relevant industries set up at EU level. We are aware that setting up and operating a large number of treatment plants, and this higher level of treatment of wastewater, will lead to a significant increase of the energy used. That is why we believe that we use we need to use renewables as much as possible. However, it is not clear how exactly we will reach energy neutrality and the proposed targets are far too ambitious since other economic sectors will also focus on renewable energy. To conclude with, Romania can support this draft directive provided that the objectives are feasible and that it allows for flexibility according to national International specificities. We should also consider realistic deadlines that would not lead to enormous financial efforts. Thank you.”
Water pollution
- “Thank you. Chair. As regards the conference organised by Cyprus on the theme of water, we completely agree that we need to guarantee water for the agriculture we are. Romania is faced with a third consecutive year of drought which creates great difficulties for farmers. Therefore, we feel it is necessary to identify appropriate solutions to support livestock breeders and crop farmers so that they can continue their activity. As for Bulgaria's point, we see a similar tendency in Romania of increased imports from the Ukraine. We have seen considerable imports from Ukraine, so we understand very well Bulgaria's position and its request. We ask the Commission to analyse the situation of these imports. And as for Belgium's point, we support it. Thank you.”
Agricultural trade: Ukraine imports
- “41:41 – 16:45:08): When we talk about artificial intelligence for Romania the discussion is not theoretical it is profoundly practical and strategic Europe must step up the pace in innovation to remain globally competitive and for Romania the stakes are even higher because we can afford neither economic stagnation nor the deepening of inequalities.
Romania still has significant territorial disparities and underdeveloped regions persistent social vulnerabilities high levels of child poverty and a significant number of needs not in education employment or training people.
In this context artificial intelligence can must be integrated where it has real value for the economy and society in the automotive industry for example where Romania is part of the European production chains ai can increase productivity and competitiveness.
In construction specifically in the context of the green transition ai can support efficient planning occupational safety and upscaling.
In public administration ai assisted digitalization can cut red tape and can improve the quality of public services for smes ai can mean modern tools for analyzing and for optimizing processes with a direct impact on productivity.
At the same time we must be aware of the risks risks related to algorithmic management when algorithms allocate tasks assess performance or influence working hours risks may arise such as over supervision nontransparent decision making or indirect discrimination.
Without a clear framework and without safeguards such practices can lead to polarization of the labor market and to a greater precariousness of some categories of workers.
This is why ai integration must be accompanied by sound public policies investments in digital skills and ai literacy in consolidating or strengthening workers' protection and adapting industrial relations to new digital realities so that automated decisions remain under human control and so that technology is used transparently and equitably.
Social dialogue must play a central role if ai at work is to ensure a balance between innovation productivity and workers' rights.
It is important for us to strengthen the role of the European labor authority and cooperation with the commission and with the member states because artificial intelligence must become a tool for modernizing the labor market and for economic development provided that it is used strategically.
Ai can help increase productivity can create quality jobs and can reduce gaps if it is used without proper policies it can generate new forms of inequality.”
Artificial Intelligence
- “Thank you very much. On your first question, one first example of a more pragmatic approach would be energy policy for Romania tackling the high energy prices and the discrepancies among member states is a priority. We would like to thank the Commission for the measures included in the Action Plan for Affordable Energy. It is important to tackle the missing links in the energy infrastructure. We need to facilitate a better integration of energy union. We would like to insist on the affordability, on interconnection and the security of supply, which are essential for a long term growth of the industry, along with an efficient use of indigenous energy resources. It is also important to implement cbam firmly and fairly, and to expand indirect energy cost compensation to cover sectors such as cement and chemical substances. We should also correlate, um, the critical access to critical raw materials with the objectives of circular economy. In order to ensure access to resources at affordable prices, while reducing external dependencies and supporting sustainable innovation. We believe that it is important to insist on capture and storage of CO2, and we would we would like to support clear rules for, um, electrical vehicles, including strengthening the European mechanisms for commercial defence in the face of unfair practices which affect the competitiveness of the automotive industry. On your second question, firstly, we need to develop a modern energy infrastructure allowing for the integration of renewable resources in the industrial energy mix. Secondly, the costs of technological transition are very high. Energy efficiency, digitalisation and clean technologies require major investments and without an adequate financial support, many companies may not be able to live up to the new environmental requirements. Then the volatility of energy prices, which directly affects competitiveness, may lead to relocation and industrial loss. Fourthly, the lack of fair competition conditions, especially because of imports at dumping prices from outside the EU, puts additional pressure on the European industry and undermines our efforts for a sustainable transition. Thank you.”
Energy (green transition)
- “Dear madam chair. Commissioner. Dear colleagues, we consider that the energy transition in the fisheries and aquaculture sector must be addressed in an integrated manner, which ensures coherence between the regulatory framework, financing mechanisms and the evolution of business models from the perspective of the regulatory framework. It is necessary to establish a clear mechanism which is phased and predictable, to allow the sector to adapt without affecting competitiveness. The reform must remain compatible with the objective of preventing overcapacity of the fishing fleet, allowing for a level playing field and to involve adapting the compliance framework and facilitating access to innovative technologies, especially for operators in the Black Sea, where the structural contexts are quite significant. Transition finance must be based on a configuration of public investment targeted at infrastructure innovation and vulnerable operators, and private investment for smaller projects. As far as the future business models are concerned, European policies must reflect specificities of the Black Sea because the sector here is more vulnerable. It is necessary to have a differentiated approach, but also urgent measures at EU level to support the sector, including facilitating access to finance. Simplify the MF procedures and maintaining support schemes. Allow me to conclude by stating that Romania fully joins Italy's Italy's initiative on the need for adopting urgent measures to respond to the crisis in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors at EU level. Now, in the context of high energy prices, regional tensions and climate change, many Romanian fishing vessels operate at low profitability, but even at a loss at times. Thank you very much.”
Funding for fisheries and aquaculture
- “Thank you, Madam Chair. I would start by thanking both the Spanish Presidency [00:50:30] and the Commission for their work so far, and saying that we fully support the presidency to pursue its objectives for reaching a balanced agreement on the 2024 EU budget during the conciliation period, preferably today. But of course, at the latest Monday 13th of November. It would be an important positive signal for all our citizens in the current difficult economic and geopolitical context. I also believe that the potential agreement on the EU budget for 2024 with the European Parliament should be based exclusively on the current MFF provisions, so not to prejudge the decision on the MFF revision. Also, this agreement should be as close as possible to the council position, especially on heading seven administration. Regarding the flexibilities for 2024 budget, we would support resorting to special instruments only in strictly justified cases, preferably not for administrative expenditures. We [00:51:30] would like to thank the Commission for the first draft element for joint conclusion. For us, it is a good starting point in the negotiation as a positive element. We appreciate the inclusion of the Declaration on Payments as part of the package. This is a crucial element for us, especially in the current context. We consider the level of payments set in the council position as a starting point, in order to avoid accumulating further backlog in the future. We should assure sufficient funds for migration, southern and eastern neighbourhood [00:52:00] and humanitarian aid. This is why we appreciate the Commission proposal for a MDG, which is €100 million, from which €30 million from eastern neighbourhood, mainly for Republic of Moldova. I would add that also we could support some other proposal for reinforcement, such as those impact requested by Bulgaria, Bulgaria, a UAE requested by Italy and EPO by Luxembourg. Thank you.”
Size of EU budget
- “Provided that these mechanisms remain simple and genuinely cost effective, the product could become increasingly attractive for a growing number of mobile workers across several member states. Or as a side note, this is uh, is named pan-European. So it's both modern. And it also says something about the roots and origins of where we come from as a European Union. It's very interesting that we're also looking in the future, but also has a connection with the past where we have reserves. Serious concern. It's, uh, when it when we talk about the principles of tax treatment of no less favorable treatment that than the one applicable to the comparable national products, namely the article three because here we may see distortions between national and pan-European products. This approach may create tension between the objective of stimulating private retirement savings and the need of Member States to safeguard their tax bases. Thank you very much.”
EU competences on taxation
- “President, Commissioner. Dear colleagues, Romania supports Latvia's initiative and shows interest for the proposal of the Czech Republic regarding the UDR. As we've mentioned on previous occasions, member states need flexibility and simpler rules in order to efficiently implement the regulation. It's important that we be aware of all the stages we need to go through in order to make sure that the implementation is easy throughout the EU. We believe that an integral and uniform postponement of these provisions is the best solution to provide clarity to both authorities and operators. A differentiated postponement would confuse and create an attitude. Um, a shared um transition deadline would allow all the parties to adjust their logistics. This preparation stage is all the more needed as the regulation will directly impact the supply chains, especially in terms of imports of soybeans and animal feed. Raw materials with impacts on the EU's food security. Thank you.”
Import of agri-food products in the EU
- “Thank you. The European Steel and Metals Action Plan represents an important step towards strengthening European industrial resilience. However, from Romania's perspective on that of the steel industry, the current framework is not yet sufficiently comprehensive to fully address global competitive pressures. The Romanian steel industry remains a strategic pillar for European value chains, from construction and the automotive sector to energy and defence, yet it is still simultaneously facing high energy costs, demand volatility and competition from imports produced under different, less stringent standards. However, its implementation needs to be accelerated and financial instruments must become more accessible for member states with emerging industrial capacity. Thus, Romania supports firm implementation of Cbam to prevent carbon leakage and ensure fair competition for European industry, including the steel sector, reform of the ETS and support for energy intensive industries, including extended compensation for indirect energy costs. Secure and affordable access to raw materials aligned with circular economy principles, in order to reduce external dependencies and support sustainable production. Competitive energy prices reducing disparities between EU member states and limiting market volatility. Investments in energy infrastructure interconnectivity and securing security of supply. A European label for green steel based on the actual climate performance of production, with a clear methodology and strict emissions criteria, while rejecting a sliding scale approach that could dilute standards and undermine fair competition. On the second question, to prevent deindustrialization and production relocation and to strengthen strategic autonomy, the EU must act urgently through reducing the energy cost gap and ensuring a level playing field regarding carbon costs, reducing internal market fragmentation by establishing a coherent and predictable legislative framework with simplified permitting procedures, avoiding overlaps between horizontal and sectoral initiatives, and eliminating major differences in authorization, classification and labelling requirements.”
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
- “Thank you. We support the approach in the conclusions which responds to the main needs of the European tourism ecosystem. Although the system demonstrates a notable resilience. It is confronted with increasingly complex issues geopolitical tension, climate change, territorial imbalances, skills and labour shortages, and the need to accelerate green and digital transition. So we think in this context, we need to pay particular attention to consolidating small and medium enterprises in tourism that have been confronted with significant change lately.”
Climate efforts
- “27:51 – 17:28:26): Thank you, minister. We have consulted the Romanian air carriers and the Romanian Airports Association, so I am now able to express support for the initiative of the Dutch authorities. We consider that this approach will contribute to increasing the safety and security of air operations. Our national companies consider this initiative appropriate and are of the view that only to a strengthened collaboration at European level can be reduced to an acceptable level, the incidence of such behaviors, which increasingly affect aviation safety and security. Thank you.”
EU policy on aviation safety
- “Romania [00:20:30] appreciates the efforts made by by the Spanish and the Belgian presidency to ensure that farmers have access to the set of innovative tools and solutions that should support them against the background of the current challenges. Nevertheless, we express our reservations regarding the current wording of the proposal and reaffirm the need to consolidate it by continuing constructive dialogues. We reaffirm that the text does not offer sufficient guarantees regarding [00:21:00] certain concerns, such as avoiding monopoly situations and limiting the access of farmers and developers to, uh, plants and genetic material protected by patents, limiting the right of consumers to be informed and to have a choice protecting conventional crops and, um, uh, the need to have a risk assessment for plants for which the history and the safety in use cannot be demonstrated, an analysis that should allow their identification [00:21:30] in the labs. Thank you.”
New Genomic Techniques
- “Chair. Commissioner. Colleagues. Romania does not consider that the text is stable enough, but we believe it still requires important changes in order to avoid implementing measures which might lead to the bankruptcy of European farmers. Taking into account the additional expenses and red tape, which would be the effect of implementing the provisions of the regulation proposal for the sector of animal husbandry, for operators and for transporters, there needs to be enough time dedicated to debates, including on the viewpoints expressed by breeders associations and transporters associations. We need a balanced text of the proposal for a Regulation to guarantee a high level of animal welfare in the trade of live animals throughout the single market and in the exports to third countries, without imposing undue limitations, which would gravely impact work in the sector of animal husbandry in Europe. Animal husbandry for many European states is an essential sector for the development of their rural areas, and for avoiding the de-population of those areas. Moreover, we believe that along with the adoption of this piece of legislation by the European Parliament and the Council, we also need to identify and adopt appropriate support measures for farmers. Thank you.”
EU requirements on animal welfare for farmers