Present in Bucharest, where she participated in the EPP Congress, Roberta Metsola mentioned that, in the world, there are actors who "do not like" the European Parliament or the European Union project, "a project of peace and prosperity".

"You must ensure that the 33 elected Parliament members from Romania in June will defend you, will say: this is not good for Romania, we must counteract or they will actually say it is perfect for Romania".

"I will have to fight those who try to stop this initiative: there are movements in the European Union that are determined to destroy it.

There are actors in the world who don't like the European Parliament, who don't like this European Union project, which is intended as a platform for peace and prosperity.

We're talking about peace, about values. Do not 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 need to explain it to you, describe it to you.

If you don't like what they've done, they need to learn from what you tell them", said Roberta Metsola, during a dialogue with young people from Romania, held at the National Opera.

She emphasized that "the next five years will not be easy", given 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.

"The next five years will not be easy. I came here in 2019, five years ago, when we were talking about what would happen in Europe. I remember discussing migration, climate change, the digital environment.

Who could have told us that we would have a pandemic that would shut down the whole world for almost two years, which still has huge repercussions on mental health, economic recovery, isolation, marginalization, discrimination, domestic violence - all having a direct impact on people who were confined at home. Europe has provided vaccines, ventilators for everyone.

It made sure that there is no difference, whether you are Romanian, Cypriot, Portuguese or German. Europe launched the largest economic recovery package, the NRRP.

Let's not underestimate the impact of such a financial package on the economic recovery of Romania", said the President of the EP.

Roberta Metsola added that one of her concerns is that young people are "not 100% convinced" that they need to express their choice in the European Parliament elections.

"Everyone who has the right to vote must vote and choose their leader. There are different citizens, with different cultures, with different political options, but we are happy to be together around the same table. (...) Go out and vote.

My most serious concern is young people, regarding these elections.

Young people are not 100% convinced that they need to vote and for me, that's a problem, a reason for concern, because if you don't vote, someone else will decide for you and you won't get what you want.

There are many people who cannot choose their leaders, but you are not in this situation. Don't give up your right to vote, because if you don't vote, then someone else will vote for you", she emphasized.

Metsola mentioned that social networks have "completely" changed the way electoral campaigns are conducted. At the same time, she drew attention to the fact that "online hostility has reached unprecedented levels".

"I sense that we've reached a point where we may mistakenly believe that online engagement suffices. However, it doesn't. Speaking to you face-to-face here feels distinct from addressing you via a screen in Brussels. Secondly, online hostility has reached unprecedented levels. It is difficult to do politics, it is much more difficult to do politics if you are a woman.

We have to answer questions about how we look. (...) The motto should be "never give up". I call on you to do the same. I have talked to legislators. We encounter a particular challenge within the EU...in fact, everywhere, especially if we look now at the elections in the USA.

The information that appears on your screen as you scroll is the information you've sought out, having taken all measures to ensure it filters out less pertinent content.

But we also need the help of platforms. And right now we are involved in concluding agreements with platforms to support European elections. Why? Because if a newsfeed is full of misinformation, propaganda, bots, trolls, then how can you get past all of that?", Roberta Metsola stated.