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The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, in Bucharest to attend the EPP Congress, on Wednesday urged young people in Romania to vote in the European Parliament elections and not to "underestimate" their power to send "ambassadors" to the EP, because, said she, there are actors in the world who "don't like the existence" of the European Parliament or the European Union project, "a project of peace, of prosperity".
You have to make sure that the 33 members of the Parliament, from Romania, who will be elected in June, will defend you, will say: 'this is not good for Romania, we must fight back' or they will say 'actually it is perfect for Romania'. (...) We are talking here about peace, about values. Don't underestimate your power to send ambassadors to the European Parliament and, then, one step further: hold them accountable, if you don't like what they do, tell them, because they are responsible for every decision they make and they have to explain it to you, describe it to you. If you don't like what they did, they have to learn from what you tell them, Roberta Metsola said, in the framework of a dialogue with young people from Romania, held at the National Opera of Bucharest, told Agerpres.
She emphasized that "the next five years will not be easy", in the context of the "huge repercussions" that the COVID pandemic still has, as well as the war in Ukraine.
On the other hand, she highlighted the EU's contribution in providing vaccines and medical equipment, as well as in terms of financial support for the recovery of member states' economies.
Everyone who has the right to vote must vote and choose their leader. They are different citizens, with different cultures, with different political options, but we are happy to be together around the same table. (...) Go vote. My most serious concern is the young people, facing these elections. The young people are not one hundred percent convinced that they should go to vote and for me that is a problem, a reason for concern, because if you don't vote someone else will decide for you and you will not get what you want. There are many people who cannot choose their leaders, but you are not in that situation. Do not give up your right to vote, because if you do not vote, then someone else will in your place, she emphasized.
Metsola added that social networks have "completely" changed the way electoral campaigns are conducted, yet she drew attention to the fact that "online hostility has reached unprecedented levels".
The motto should be to never give up. I appeal to you to do the same. The information that comes to your screen, as you scroll, is the information that you have worked for, you have done everything to ensure that you pass the filter of less important things. But we must also have the help of platforms. And at the moment we are involved in concluding some agreements with the platforms to support the European elections. Why? Because, if an information feed is full of misinformation, propaganda, bots, trolls, then how can you get past all this?" Roberta Metsola asked rhetorically.
