Gabriela FIREA

What Gabriela FIREA has said (11)

• 2025-11-06 “E-004398/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission The protection of minors, as well as the safeguarding of consumers online, are key priorities for the Commission. Regarding the recent detection of child-like sex dolls on e-commerce platforms in France, the Commission supports the French authorities’ criminal investigation and remains in contact with them. On 26 November 2025, the Commission sent a request for information to Shein on how it ensures that minors are not exposed to age-inappropriate content on its services, as well as how it prevents the circulation of illegal products on its platform. Through the European Board for Digital Services, Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) regularly meet to ensure consistent enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA) 1 . The Board’s working group on the protection of minors has agreed to coordinate actions to ensure compliance by smaller platforms with the DSA 2 . On 11 May 2022, the Commission proposed a Regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse 3 . Under this proposal, certain online service providers would be required to regularly assess and reduce the risk that child sexual abuse material is shared on their platforms. If preventive measures are insufficient, providers could be required to detect such material when ordered by a court or an independent administrative authority. The proposal also requires providers to immediately report any suspected child sexual abuse material to a new EU agency, the EU Centre to prevent and combat child sexual abuse, which the Regulation would establish. In addition, courts or independent administrative authorities could order providers to remove or block access to child sexual abuse material across all Member States. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/digital-services-act.html. 2 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-takes-further-action-promote-safe-environmentminors. 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52022PC0209.”
  Privacy & detection of online child abuse · Safety features & content control for child protection online
• 2025-10-17 “E-004108/2025 Answer given by Ms Lahbib on behalf of the European Commission Equality and non-discrimination are founding values and fundamental rights enshrined in the EU Treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU 1 and the European Pillar of Social Rights. The new lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) equality strategy is about ensuring that all people, including LGBTIQ+ people, are treated equally and not discriminated against in Europe. It builds on the current Strategy 2 which has been in place since 2020. The Commission firmly believes there is no contradiction between protecting the fundamental rights of children and those of LGBTIQ+ people and remains fully committed to both. The Commission fully respects the competences of Member States, and it is for them to determine the conditions under which legal gender recognition is granted. The protection and promotion of the rights of the child is a core EU objective. Article 24 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU 3 provides that the child’s best interests must be a primary consideration in all matters concerning them, where children have the right to express their views freely and those views are taken into account in accordance with their age and maturity. The EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child 4 promotes a rights-based, participatory approach, ensuring that every child enjoys the same rights and can live free of discrimination, recrimination or intimidation of any kind. The Commission Recommendation on integrated child protection systems 5 calls on Member States to take measures so that children are treated without discrimination and in a manner which protects their dignity, considering their personality, interests, and special needs, and involving all actors, including children and families. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/treaty/char_2012/oj/eng. 2 https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/5100c375-87e8-40e3-85b51adc5f556d6d_en?filename=lgbtiq_strategy_2020-2025_en.pdf. 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/treaty/char_2012/oj/eng. 4 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0142. 5 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reco/2024/1238/oj/eng.”
  LGBTIQ+ · Support for families
• 2025-06-18 “P-002466/2025 Answer given by Ms Lahbib on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is committed to fighting domestic violence across the EU. Directive (EU) 2024/1385 on combating violence against women and domestic violence requires that an individual assessment of the victim’s protection needs is carried out at the time of first contact with competent authorities or as soon as possible thereafter. The assessment is based on the risk emanating from the offender, including the risk of repeated violence or of bodily harm, as well as the victim’s individual circumstances, such as a pregnancy. Competent authorities must be granted the power to take adequate protection measures such as emergency barring, restraining and protection orders. 24/7 state-wide helplines are required to be in place, including possibly through online applications. The full transposition of Directive (EU) 2024/1385 by all Member States is expected by June 2027. The 2025 call for proposals 1 under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme (Daphne strand) featured a priority on actions for the protection and support for victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence. This specifically included the development of tools to help Member States authorities in making the individual risk assessment and put in place protection and support measures at the earliest possible stage. The Commission is currently evaluating the proposals received. The Commission is supporting Member States to exchange good practices in this area through the EU Network on the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence 2 which the Commission set up in November 2023, as well as through the Mutual Learning Programme 3 . 1 Call document for the ‘Call for proposals to prevent and combat gender-based violence and violence against children’, see priority 2, page 11, https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/20212027/cerv/wp-call/2025/call-fiche_cerv-2025-daphne_en.pdf. 2 See https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/genderequality/gender-equalitystrategy_en#:~:text=In%20Autumn%202023%2C%20the%20Commission,of%20knowledge%20and%20good% 20practice and https://preventiongbv.eu/. 3 https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/gender-equality/whowe-work-gender-equality/mutual-learning-programme-gender-equality_en.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• 2025-05-30 “E-002179/2025 Answer given by Ms Lahbib on behalf of the European Commission The Commission supports coordinated efforts to ensure progress on gender equality across the EU and in its Member States via various actions and measures set in the Gender Equality Strategy 1 . Furthermore, the Commission assists Member States and facilitates the correct and uniform implementation of EU acquis, including that related to gender equality, into national laws. The EU has recently made historic progress on gender equality legislation, by adopting the directives on work-life balance 2 , gender balance among directors of listed companies 3 , pay transparency 4 , and combating violence against women 5 , as well by acceding to the Istanbul Convention. These steer reforms in all Member States. The Commission facilitates the dissemination of good practices through the Mutual Learning Programme in gender equality 6 reinforcing best policy development among the EU countries. The Commission supports the coordination of economic and social policies in Member States through the European Semester process. In this context, the Commission has recommended that Romania strengthens labour market participation of women 7 . The Commission is also investing in a gender equal future through considerable funding. Gender equality-related projects are supported and funded through several EU programmes, such as the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme 8 , EU cohesion funding programmes, and the Recovery and Resilience Facility 9 . 1 https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/genderequality/gender-equality-strategy_en. 2 http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/1158/oj. 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2022/2381/oj. 4 http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/970/oj. 5 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1385. 6 https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/gender-equality/whowe-work-gender-equality/mutual-learning-programme-genderequality_en#mutuallearningprogrammeingenderequality. 7 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52025DC0223. 8 https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/citizens-equality-rightsand-values-programme/citizens-equality-rights-and-values-programme-overview_en. 9 https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/funding/available-budget_en.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• 2025-01-15 “E-000130/2025 Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission The Commission recognises that cardiovascular diseases have a significant impact on many people, communities and health systems and is also aware of their burden in the EU. As announced by the President in her political guidelines, the Commission will significantly step up work on preventive health, focusing on improving cardiovascular health in the EU through coordinated efforts, and entrusted the Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare with leading this work 1 . As announced by the Commissioner, the Commission is developing an ambitious Plan for European Cardiovascular Health, putting cardiovascular front and centre and taking bold actions, while building on the success of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. The Commission is also closely working with Member States in the Expert Group on Public Health 2 on concrete actions to support national actions. Significant funding is already available through the EU4Health Programme for Member States to address cardiovascular diseases 3 and health determinants 4 . All countries are encouraged to participate in collaborative efforts, knowledge sharing and exchange of best practices. Stakeholder-led projects 5 complement national efforts. Horizon Europe 6 supports research and innovation on non-communicable diseases including on cardiovascular diseases. The call topics are coordinated with the Member States and countries associated to the programme. Funding opportunities are published on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal 7 . Additionally, the Community Research and Development Information Service 8 is an EU portal to disseminate information on EU-funded research projects, including their results and links to open-access publications. 1 https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/e6cd4328-673c-4e7a-8683f63ffb2cf648_en?filename=Political%20Guidelines%202024-2029_EN.pdf 2 https://health.ec.europa.eu/non-communicable-diseases/expert-group-public-health_en 3 JACARDI https://jacardi.eu/ 4 (EUR 129 million). JA PreventNCD - Reducing Europe's cancer and NCD burden through coordinated strategies on health determinants. Focusing on effective policies, societal and personal risk factors. https://www.preventncd.eu/ 5 (EUR 8.4 million under the EU4Health Programme) World Heart Day: EU4Health projects supporting heart health: https://hadea.ec.europa.eu/news/world-heart-day-eu4health-projects-supporting-heart-health-2024-0929_en 6 The European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027): https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-opencalls/horizon-europe_en 7 https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home 8 https://cordis.europa.eu/”
  EU measures on lifestyle-related behaviours (smoking, drinking, eating, etc.) · EU competences on health
• 2024-10-23 “E-002231/2024 Answer given by Mr Brunner on behalf of the European Commission The collection of accurate and coherent data is fundamental to ensure full knowledge on the scope of trafficking in human beings. Since 2013, Member States provide data to EUROSTAT on a voluntary basis according to agreed guidelines, indicators and templates. Since 2021, the data is collected annually, and the statistics are published on EUROSTAT website 1 . The new amended Anti-trafficking Directive 2 , to be transposed by 15 July 2026, introduces a requirement for Member States to collect and report to the Commission statistical data every year in a harmonised way to enhance the general understanding of the phenomenon and to ensure the adoption of data-informed EU and national policies, strategies and actions. With the support of the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, the Commission is continuously working with Member States, in particular with the national statistical offices and the National Anti-Trafficking Coordinators and Rapporteurs to improve the quality of the data and coherence in combatting human trafficking. Information campaigns on trafficking in human beings are important means to prevent and detect the crime. In line with the EU Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings 3 , the Commission launched a campaign in October 2023 to raise awareness on the fight against trafficking in human beings, including for sexual and labour exploitation. The objective was to inform citizens, victims and potential victims of the risks of this crime. Member States and civil society organisations have been encouraged to use at national level the visual material which is available in the Europa website 4 . A second phase of the campaign is under preparation. 1 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main/home 2 Directive (EU) 2024/1712 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 amending Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims (OJ L, 2024/1712, 24.6.2024, ELI). 3 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the EU Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings 2021- 2025, COM/2021/171 final. 4 https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/whats-new/communication-campaigns/end-human-trafficking-breakinvisible-chain_en”
  EU policy on criminal justice · Legal migration
• 2024-10-08 “E-001980/2024 Answer given by Mr Dombrovskis on behalf of the European Commission The EU reference source for social inclusion at the European level is the survey-based data collection on income and living conditions (EU-SILC)) 1 . Persons living in collective households, in institutions or not having a registered address are excluded from the target population as the sampling frames are drawn from the permanent address registers of population. To address this data gap, in 2023 the European Statistical System included a set of questions to the EU-SILC on housing difficulties 2 experienced by individuals, which will be repeated every six years. The questions shed light on respondents’ past experience of homelessness and housing difficulties (reasons for difficulties, duration of the most recent experience, how individuals overcame these challenges, and renting difficulties). Respondents were considered as having experienced homelessness if during their lifetime they had no place of their own (owned or rented) and were forced to stay with friends or family, use emergency or temporary accommodation, live in a place not intended as a permanent home, or sleep in a public space. The main findings of this data collection are summarised in a statistic explained article 3 and results are published in Eurostat’s online database 4 for the EU and individual Members States by main socio-economic breakdowns. 1 Information on data - Eurostat 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R0029 3 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Living_conditions_in_Europe__housing_and_renting_difficulties 4 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/explore/all/popul?lang=en&subtheme=livcon.ilc.ilc_ip.ilc_pn&display =list&sort=category&extractionId=ilc_lvhd”
  EU housing policy
• 2024-10-08 “E-001979/2024 Answer given by Mr Tzitzikostas on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is committed to enhancing Europe's profile as a cultural tourism destination, in line with the Transition pathway for tourism 1 and European Agenda for Tourism 2030 2 . 1. Strengthening Partnerships: The Commission values its longstanding collaboration with the Council of Europe. Through programmes and initiatives such as Creative Europe 3 , the European Heritage Days 4 and the European Heritage Label 5 , the Commission gives financial support to the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe 6 . This paves the way for more inclusive tourism, bringing visibility to Europe’s territories and lesser-known destinations and making cultural heritage more accessible to all. Within the remits of its competences 7 , Creative Europe can encourage cooperation between Member States and support and supplement their action in the conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage. 2. Raising Awareness: The Commission uses digital tools such as the EU Tourism Platform 8 and EU Tourism Dashboard 9 to highlight Europe's cultural assets. Furthermore, initiatives such as the European Tourism Day (organised every two years) and other outreach events 10 bring together a variety of stakeholders and help raise awareness of Europe’s cultural heritage and traditions. The EU, through its European External Action Service, also stands ready to promote the Cultural Routes in the framework of its public and cultural diplomacy efforts, for example during EXPO 2025 in Osaka. By collaborating with stakeholders and Member States, the Commission seeks to keep Europe a top tourism destination while preserving its rich heritage for future generations. 1 https://op.europa.eu/s/vNbN 2 https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-15441-2022-INIT/en/pdf 3 https://culture.ec.europa.eu/creative-europe 4 https://www.europeanheritagedays.com/ 5 https://culture.ec.europa.eu/cultural-heritage/initiatives-and-success-stories/european-heritage-label 6 https://www.coe.int/en/web/cultural-routes 7 Article 167 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 8 https://transition-pathways.europa.eu/tourism 9 https://tourism-dashboard.ec.europa.eu/?lng=en&ctx=tourism 10 https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/tourism/event-recordings-and-presentations_en”
  EU strategy for tourism development
• “Thank you very much, chair. I will speak in my language in Romania. This is an extremely important topic for our country as well, like for many other European countries. That is why I thank you very much for giving me the floor. I want to highlight how concerned we are, how deeply worried we are about disinformation, and about the access of young people to social media. Just a few days ago. A tragic accident incident happened in Romania and I will give you a brief presentation of what happened. The mayor of a municipality. In our country tried to have sexual relationship with a teenage girl. We are talking about a girl who is now 13. And this started when she was 12. And I will repeat, this is someone that works for the administration. It's a mayor elected by the citizens who should serve as a role model for the community, especially for families, for children, for women. He created fake nudes of this girl, and the community was up in arms and they tried to take measures. Everyone wondered. What would have happened if the little girl in question would not have had access to social media, where she was approached by this man, by the mayor? Could this very unfortunate situation be avoided? So Romania, like many other countries, has intense debates regarding when should underage people have access to social media, which we know also carries a high risk of disinformation. Shouldn't the internet be used mostly for educational purposes? Under the guidance of teachers and parents? I want to highlight that one country alone cannot win this fight. We have to work together. We have to bring very concrete ideas to the table in order to help children, girls, teenage girls and women to protect them from deepfakes, from disinformation and online disinformation, and also from assaults that take place online. There are many to be said on this subject, many things to be said, but I will stop here for now. Thank you very much.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Thank you. Chair. Commissioner. President. Colleagues. 1 in 6 European teenagers experienced cyberbullying in Romania. The data from police showed that 21% of children are harassed online. We are talking about long term trauma. We are living a reality in which a woman or a child can be humiliated, blackmailed or destroyed by one click. And for who does not believe in this worrying phenomenon? Phenomenon still. Commission has seven inquiries against indecent images on certain social platforms. I welcome the Commission's plan, but I would also like to insist on the digital legal age. After 16 and parental control until 16 years of age, then responsible platforms who enforce the rules and who rapidly eliminate harmful content in hours, not weeks. Children need to be supported at home in schools. We need to have a media literacy, digital literacy, and we need to support them beyond the screens because their emotions need to be developed by families, not by a traumatising environment.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Thank you chair. Commissioner. Colleagues, the success in the North Sea is laudable. However, we cannot ignore the social reality in the east in Romania. Over 70% of our citizens have started this year with a deep fear regarding the cost of life and the volatile prices of energy. The Romanian government had to come up with a new emergency ordinance to keep the ceilings for the gas prices until January 2027. Romania can be a guarantor for Europe's energy stability, but it might also benefit from the cheap energy produced in the Black Sea. Neptune Neptune Dip is making progress. The first extraction is programmed for 2027. We shall thus become the union's largest producer. Now we need products and projects that focus on household production. First, we need preparation because all prices are going up. We need ceilings everywhere because this is no time for speculation. It is not necessary to look at how people get richer.”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices