Siegfried Mureșan

In March 2014, Mureșan joined the People's Movement Party (PMP), and took part in the European Parliament elections which were held on 25 May 2014. He was the second candidate on the list and was elected for a five-year term in the European Parliament. Later on, Mureșan was elected as vice-president of the Committee on Budgets,[4] substitute member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs[4] and member of the Delegation to the EU - Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee.[4]

In July 2014, Mureșan was appointed President of the Youth of PMP. On 22 January 2015, the President of the European People’s Party (EPP), Joseph Daul, announced Mureșan as the newly appointed spokesperson of the EPP.[8] On 7 May 2018 he joined the National Liberal Party (PNL), the largest member party of the EPP in Romania.[3]

The European Parliament approved Mureșan’s report on redundancies from Câmpia Turzii in September 2014, allocating EUR 3.57 million in European Globalisation Adjustment Fund that were needed in order to offer support to redundant workers from Mechel Steel Plant from Câmpia Turzii.[9]

In July 2015, the Parliament approved financial aid worth EUR 66.5 million in order to compensate the damage caused by the floods of 2014 in Romania, Italy and Bulgaria in response to a report coordinated by Mureșan.[10]

In 2016, Mureșan was appointed as main negotiator of the EPP Group for the 2017 EU Budget.[11]

On 24 November 2016, the Committee on Budgets designated Mureșan as the European Parliament’s rapporteur for the EU Budget 2018, the first Romanian to take on this role.[12]

MEP and EPP Vice-president Siegfried Mureșan with current Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in 2019 at the European People's Party (EPP) Summit in Brussels, Belgium.

As Chief Negotiator of the European Parliament for the EU Budget 2018, one of Mureșan’s main priorities for the negotiations was the increase of the budget allocations for the Eastern Neighbourhood countries, including the Republic of Moldova.[13]

Mureșan participated as a European Parliament representative at the 2016 World Bank-IMF annual meeting in Washington DC.[14] He participated as an international observer in the Election Observation Mission of the European Parliament during the two rounds of the 2016 presidential election in Moldova.[15]

During his first mandate as a member of the European Parliament, Siegfried Vasile Mureșan was also EPP Group rapporteur on the 2016 annual report on the financial activities of the European Investment Bank and EPP Group rapporteur on the report on the 2016 annual report of the European Central Bank.[16]

Mureșan criticised the measures taken by the Romanian Government and Romanian Parliament in 2017 and 2018 to amend judicial legislation. He took part in protests against the Romanian Government organised between January 2017 and February 2018 in Bucharest.[17]

On 7 February 2018, during the debate of the European Parliament on "Threats to the Rule of Law Caused by the Judicial Reform in Romania" Mureșan emphasized his support for the protesters, saying “the reality in Romania is as follows: there is a major discrepancy between what people want and what the ruling coalition wants. People want justice and rule of law. They want European values, while the politicians from the Government want to weaken state institutions and put justice under their control.”[18]

Siegfried Mureșan in the European Parliament in 2021

On 24 September 2018, Mureșan submitted to the National Liberal Party (PNL) his application file as candidate for a new mandate in the European Parliament.[19] In his application file, he defined as his most important objectives for the upcoming parliamentary term the protection of Romania's interests throughout his activity in the Committee on Budgets of the European Parliament and the securing of the highest level of financial allocations for Romania. At the same time, he emphasized his commitment to obtain sufficient financial allocations from the EU Budget for "Erasmus” scholarships and researchers, as well as for farmers and cohesion policy.

Mureșan also outlined his plans to actively take part in the debates on the future of the Eurozone, so that the decisions adopted at EU level would not affect in a negative way the economy of Romania. Moreover, he clearly committed to protecting the rights and interests of the non-euro area Member States that have expressed their will to join the euro.

On 14 March 2019, the enlarged presidency of the National Liberal Party (PNL) approved the list of candidates for the European Parliament elections taking place on 26 May 2019. Mureşan was placed on the third position on the National Liberal Party candidates’ list.[20]

On 27 March 2019, the National Liberal Party officially submitted to the Central Electoral Bureau the list of candidates and the necessary support signatures for the European Parliament elections, taking place on 26 May 2019. Mureșan thus became an official candidate for a new mandate in the European Parliament.[21] The National Liberal Party won the elections of 26 May 2019 by obtaining 27% of the votes cast and Mureșan was elected for a new term in the European Parliament.[22]

Shortly after the elections, on 5 June 2019, Mureșan became Vice-Chair of the EPP Group in the European Parliament (the largest political group of the European Parliament). He was elected by 141 out of 158 votes cast. On 19 September 2019, the EPP Group in the European Parliament decided that Siegfried Mureșan, in his capacity as Vice-Chair of the EPP Group, will coordinate the Group’s activity in the areas relating to the EU budget, regional development, agriculture and budgetary control.[23] He was re-elected as Vice-Chair of the EPP Group in October 2021, with the highest number of votes among the 10 Vice-Chairs elected.[2]

On 12 November 2019 Mureșan was elected as Vice-President of the European People's Party (EPP).[1] One of the main priorities during his mandate will be to advocate for EPP to be the European party that contributes decisively to strengthening Romania’s position as part of the European Union.[24]

On 1 June 2022, he was re-elected as Vice-President during the EPP Congress in Rotterdam. [25]

In January 2020, Mureșan was appointed as the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the financing of the European Green Deal.[26] The report on the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan (the Green Deal), coordinated by Mureşan, was adopted in October 2020 in a joint session of the European Parliament’s Budgets and Economic and Monetary Affairs Committees. In the Report, the European Parliament requests an adequate financing of the Green Deal to help reduce the gaps between Eastern and Western European countries in the transition to an emission-neutral economy.[27]

Since 2021, he has been part of the Parliament's delegation to the Conference on the Future of Europe.[28]

In July 2020, Mureșan was elected co-rapporteur of the European Parliament for the European Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), a tool designed to help EU member states finance their national economic recovery plans in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.[29] In February 2021, following a report coordinated by Mureșan as co-rapporteur, the European Parliament adopted the RRF legislation.[30] According to the report, Member States would receive EUR 672.5 billion to finance their recovery plans. The investments and reforms financed by RRF must be started by December 31, 2023. Romania would benefit from approximately EUR 30 billion from the Facility.[30]

In December 2021, Mureșan was also appointed co-rapporteur of the European Parliament for the report on the implementation of the European Recovery and Resilience Facility.[31]

The first Report on the implementation of the European Recovery and Resilience Facility was adopted in the European Parliament Plenary on 23 June 2022. The Report recommends the use of unspent funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, about EUR 200 billion, for investments in cross-border energy projects.[32]

Siegfried Mureșan in the European Parliament in June 2022

Siegfried Mureșan was the rapporteur on the opinion of the European Parliament for the accession of Croatia to the Euro area. Mureșan's report, which supports Croatia's accession to the Eurozone, was adopted by the European Parliament's plenary in July 2022.[33]

In addition to his committee work, Mureșan has been chairing the European Parliament’s delegation to the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee since 26 September 2019.[34]