Siegfried Mureşan
Member of the European Parliament · PPE · RO
“Doamnă președintă, stimați colegi, doamnă comisar, în ultimul an, Republica Moldova este statul candidat pentru aderarea la Uniunea Europeană, care a înregistrat cele mai semnificative progrese pe calea integrării europene. Cetățenii Republicii Moldova încep să simtă beneficiile concrete ale integrării în Uniunea Europeană.”
“Madam President, Prime Minister, Taoiseach, colleagues, welcome to the European Parliament. Look, a very vast majority of the Members of the European Parliament agree that the priorities of the Union for the upcoming months are, firstly, defending European values, protecting our democracy, our freedoms.”
“We as a Parliament, at the end of April, have adopted our common position on the EU budget for the next seven years, identifying security and competitiveness as the new priorities of the budget, but not neglecting what has proven its viability in time: protecting fisheries, protecting farmers, protecting our regions.”
“Prin raportul Parlamentului European, pe care îl vom adopta mâine. Solicităm trei lucruri. În primul rând, deschiderea negocierilor pe toate clasele de negociere la nivel politic, cât mai curând posibil, nu mai târziu de finalul acestui an. Unu la mână.”
“Supporting and strengthening our neighbouring countries, which are also EU candidate countries is good for the candidate countries, but it is good for the Union as well. The stronger, the more stable the candidate countries are, the better also for the security of the 27 Member States.”
“Noi trebuie să fim mai puternici, să fim solidari cu oamenii din Republica Moldova, astfel încât Republica Moldova să continue să avanseze rapid pe calea integrării europene. O Republică Moldovă puternică, stabilă, reformată este bună pentru cetățenii Republicii Moldova, dar este o veste bună și pentru Uniunea Europeană în ansamblu.”
The complete record
Every one of 66 lines we hold for Siegfried Mureşan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 2.
“Mr President, dear colleagues, Mr Jungbluth, our duty here in the European Parliament is to protect the citizens of Europe. And I am afraid that your speech here does not provide any additional protection, any additional certainty and any additional security to the people of Europe. This is the difference between pro-Europeans and between sceptics, extremists and anti-Europeans. We want to solve problems here. We want to strengthen Europe. You want to weaken Europe and just want to create problems. What is our approach for next year? Under the leadership of Andrzej Halicki, the European Parliament's rapporteur for the budget 2026, we are putting forward clear priorities for the budget of the European Union for next year. Security, strategic autonomy, food security and economic resilience should be our priorities.”
“And all of this, we are ready, as the European People's Party, to do, together with the pro-European groups here in the House, together with everyone who is ready to build Europe and to bring it forward in the next month. 3-0192-0000”
“We mean protecting food security, strengthening our agriculture – and this can only work with the farmers, not not against the farmers. When we want more security for the people of Europe and a stronger economy, of course, one of the key tools that we have as the European Union is the budget of the European Union. We are seeing the first developments in the European Commission on the next Multiannual Financial Framework. We, in the European Parliament, are ready to start working with the Commission and with the Member States on the Multiannual Financial Framework to make sure that it will become more flexible, simpler for the beneficiaries, in line with our priorities, not ignoring the traditional priorities. Agriculture and cohesion remain priorities remain important, but, of course, security and defence has to be properly financed.”
“Vice-President, Minister, colleagues, my appeal today is the following: we have seen in the first 100 days of the European Commission that many unexpected developments occurred – unexpected developments will continue to occur also in the next months – but my appeal is let us focus on what we have agreed together at the beginning of this mandate and let us implement it. We have together said that security and defence on the one side and improving the competitiveness of our economy should be the priorities for the next years, and I believe we have to we have to implement this methodically, as we have agreed at the beginning of the term. When we say 'improve security and defence', of course, we mean protecting external borders as well.”
“Mr President, dear colleagues, in the past 20 years, the European Union was good and the European Commission played an important role in reacting to crises: the economic/financial crisis, the migration/refugee crisis, Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and then the illegal and illegitimate invasion of Russian armed forces into Ukraine. But very often the European Commission has ignored topics which were important but never urgent: completing the single market (particularly the digital single market), reducing bureaucracy and improving competitiveness were never urgent, but 20 years later we see that we have lost competitiveness in comparison to other regions of the world – in comparison to China and the United States of America.”
“The first and most important thing that we have to provide to every investor is long-term predictability. Commissioner Tzitzikostas, I think you did very well in giving certain flexibilities to this important industry over the course of the next three years, solving an urgent problem that we have. But the most important thing that investors need is long-term predictability. We have a target in place, which is rigid, regarding 2035. The most important thing that we have to do right now is look at that target, and see if and how we can achieve it with the industry, not against it, and give employers that sense of long-term predictability. 3-0088-0000”
“Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, the automotive industry accounts for millions of jobs in Europe, much of the taxes and also a big part of our exports. It is in our fundamental interest that it does well here in Europe. Every car manufacturer that you meet and visit will proudly report to you how they reduce CO2 emissions and how they invest more in renewable energies. I think, today, car manufacturers can be a partner in protecting the environment, in reducing CO2 emissions, in improving energy efficiency. This is why we need to do the transition to the green economy with them, not against them. We cannot establish rules here which endanger production in Europe, because that would mean more unemployment, fewer taxes, fewer jobs here in Europe.”
“Commissioner Kubilius, we very much welcome the work that you're doing, and we're very much looking forward to the white paper that you're going to propose. Our expectation is to see projects in there which we at European level can do better that than Member States can do alone. And then we should also find the funds, the resources, to support the projects which the European Commission puts forward. We should show to the people of Europe that spending money at European level on defence is worth it, and that it is better spent than at national level. 2-0385-0000”
“Mr President, it looks like Mr De Masi's only concern is that we stop helping Ukraine. You cannot make up your mind whether Putin is strong or whether he is weak. The only thing that you care is that we stop helping Ukraine, which is, in fact, exactly what Mr Putin wants. This is exactly why we should continue to support Ukraine, because that is in the fundamental interest of European citizens. And whoever says we should stop helping Ukraine betrays the interest of European citizens and acts against the security of Europe. If we are weak, we are a target. If we are strong, we are safe. This is the principle that needs to guide us. This is why I say invest more in defence, to keep our citizens safe and invest more in common European projects in defence.”
“We should do the Common European Air Defence Shield and other European projects, invest in European research, produce more oil in bigger quantities and at smaller unit prices. Same equipment for the militaries of all EU Member States. Europe can do a lot to make sure that our militaries are well equipped with this European project. And of course, if European money is spent, the European Parliament has to be involved. Let me say, in the end, that investing in investing in our defence means keeping Europe safe. If we are weak, we are a target. If we are strong, we are safe. 2-0040-0000”
“And I believe we have to do two things. Firstly, continuing to support Ukraine. Stopping military support to Ukraine is not a way to peace, it is a way to help Russia. We should not do that. Keeping Ukraine safe means keeping Europe safe. Secondly, we have to invest in defence. And I believe the EUR 150 billion common European project put forward by the European Commission is correct. But we have to do it right. When we spend European money, we have to support European projects. What projects we are going to finance matters a lot. We should use this European fund to do projects which none of the Member States can do alone, so that the citizens of Europe see the added value of Europe.”
“Madam President, President of the European Council, dear colleagues, unfortunately, our long standing partner the United States of America is disengaging from Europe. It is disengaging in terms of security and defence, it is disengaging in terms of trade and economy, and it is disengaging in terms of defending democracy, rule of law and human rights. We do not want this to happen. We regret this. We will never turn our backs on the United States of America. But we need to recognise the new reality where the United States administration has other priorities. When Russia is challenging us from the East, and the current Trump administration is questioning the defence of Europe from the West. The conclusion for us, Europe, is simple we have to defend ourselves. What matters most now is what we are going to do ourselves at European level.”
“This is why safety and security have to be one of the top priorities of the Union. As someone responsible for the budget of the European Union, I say they should be a priority for our budget in the future. My second point is the following: autocrats around Europe want to weaken Europe, they want us to believe ourselves as weak. We are not. We shall not believe what autocrats want us to believe about Europe. We should have our own beliefs, and we should tell the people of Europe that autocracy means hate, division, poverty and Europe means democracy, freedom, prosperity. 3-0083-0000”
“Madam President, I welcome Prime Minister Tusk back to the European Parliament. It is our common task to provide certainty to the people of Europe. It is our first and common obligation to provide safety, security and prosperity to the people of Europe. This is what they expect from us. My main message to you today is that security and prosperity in Europe are connected. These have to be our priorities and we have to work on it together. We can only prosper if we are safe. We can only be safe and secure in Europe if our economy is strong, and if we are safe, we can generate investments, we can generate jobs, we can transition to the digital economy, we can protect the environment, farmers, industries, and we will have security. Without safety, we have none of these.”
“Because of the importance of the partnership with the United States of America to us, let me say clearly that we will never turn our back on our American friends and our American allies. Let us monitor closely what is happening in the United States of America. Let us be in dialogue with this administration. There are opinions reaching from very good to very bad, but let us monitor what happens, let us see what decisions are being made and be in dialogue with the new administration, defending the values that we stand for, and trying to make sure that we will be stronger on security, on defence and on the economy as a European Union, also through partnerships with the United States. 2-0222-0000”
“Mr President, dear colleagues, for many decades, the United States of America has been by far our most important partner: our most important political partner in defending the multilateral world order and our most important economic partner – together, we represent more than 30 % of global trade and our economies represent more than 40 % of the global economy. The United States of America has been for many decades our most important partner in security and defence – together, we have launched NATO, which is by far the strongest military alliance in history – and together we have defended human rights, together we have defended democracy. We have defended freedom of speech, freedom of the press.”