Romanian victory in the European Parliament: overwhelming vote against illegal logging. There is a clear demand for the European Green Prosecutor With 317 votes in favour, 248 against and 20 abstentions, MEPs today adopted the toughest text in years on illegal logging. The amendment tabled by USR MEP Vlad Gheorghe setting a European Green Prosecutor [...]
Environmental crimes contribute to armed conflicts Recent Interpol data estimates that illegal exploitation of natural resources, be it poaching, logging or mining, finances 38% of international armed conflicts. Furthermore, waste trafficking and wildlife crimes are identified by Europol as among the most significant threats to the security of the European Union, which loses up to [...]
Corruption - the main reason for Romanians leaving A recent survey shows that 86% of Romanians see corruption as the main reason for leaving the country. Similarly, 91% Romanians believe that corruption is the reason why Romania doesn't have new hospitals and highways. 87% believe that our country is not accessing more European funds also [...]
COMOROVA Forest - Constanţa County is removed from the forest regime by a decision of the Mangalia Local Council and then alienated and deforested. In order to understand how all this happened and if anything can be saved, I sent a series of interpellations to the responsible authorities. The information and answers received are detailed [...]
European Parliament study on illegal logging in Romania: attacks on environmental activists must be stopped, Green Prosecutor - recommended At the request of USR MEP Vlad Gheorghe, the European Parliament has carried out a study on illegal logging in Romania. Presented to the Petitions Committee today, the study is over 130 pages long. It analyses [...]
Brussels: Committee on Petitions - EP study on illegal deforestation in Romania - Renew Vlad Gheorghe's European Parliament speech (09.11.2021). I thank the Committee and Dr. Kindji for this study which confirms the harmful effects of illegal logging. Illegal logging is not just an environmental crime, but simply a crime. It destroys habitat and biodiversity. [...]
Brussels: Committee on Petitions - Petition no. 1056/2021 of Daniel Bodnar on the protection of whistleblowers and journalists reporting forestry crimes in Romania (in the presence of the petitioner via remote connection) - Renew Vlad Gheorghe MEP (08.11.2021). Thank you for accepting my request for an urgency procedure on the petition on violence against journalists, [...]
Working visit to SatCen - Satellites that can help us in the fight against environmental crimes On October 29, 2021, a working visit to SatCen by MEP Vlad Gheorghe took place. He was greeted by Sorin Ducaru, Director of SatCen together with a team of specialized staff. They gave the deputy an overview of the [...]
How do we make sure that the Romanian State does its job. Politicians need to be part of the solution to the problems that citizens face - whether we are talking about justice, the environment or financing the development of local communities. Moreover, within the limits of their legal powers, they have a duty to [...]
The impact of natural disasters in Europe In July, devastating floods hit several regions in Belgium and Germany hard, while less intensively in some regions in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Italy, France and Romania. Many people died and many were displaced, damage to property was severe, and the images of landslides, devastated villages and cities, [...]
