Daciana Sârbu

Daciana has a longtime involvement in environmental issues[8] and co-authored an important resolution,[9] adopted in 2010 by a large majority of the European Parliament, concerning the general ban on the use of cyanide mining technologies in the EU.

She is a promoter of the Danube Delta, working with several NGOs to bring the EU authorities' attention to this area that needs special funding for protection and development.[10]

Agriculture is one of her main areas of involvement and she supports the promotion of organic and traditional products,[11] as well as calling for a strategic shift in EU agriculture towards supporting small farms and organic farming.[12] In 2011, as member of the Agriculture Committee, she was the author of a report[13] on the recognition of agriculture as a strategic sector in the context of food security.

One of her main priorities lies with children's nutrition. She has asked the European Commission to design a Child Health Strategy,[14] consisting of integrated policies regarding prevention and nutrition. Besides her initiatives in the European Parliament, she has also founded an association – School for Health[15] – which aims to support parents to learn about healthy food for the benefit of their children, bringing them together with nutrition specialists, physicians and cooks.

In spring 2015, she was a nominee[16] at the MEP Awards in Brussels, being shortlisted for her activity related to Health issues. She has a strong involvement in patients' rights support and in February 2014 she had co-hosted[17] in Strasbourg the launch of the European Cancer Patient’s Bill of Rights, stating that "Launching the Bill of Rights in the European Parliament on World Cancer Day underlines our will and the commitment of the European Parliament to abolish disparities in cancer care across for the European citizen. In the current socio-economic circumstances in Southern, Eastern and Central Europe, where the public health systems are under constant pressure from austerity measures, cancer patients and their families are the first to feel the impact on their health, finances and quality of life".[18]

She is co-chair of the MEP Interest Group on Brain, Mind and Pain,[19] an initiative of the European Federation of Neurological Associations [EFNA][20] and Pain Alliance Europe, whose aim is to explore issues of common interest to those affected by neurological and chronic pain disorders, including stigma, quality of life, research and patient involvement.[21]

She is Parliament's S&D group shadow rapporteur on the cloning of animals for farming purposes and has repeatedly stated that EU rules on cloning animals for food must reflect citizens' concerns.[22]

Politically, she has been very active in supporting Romanian workers’ rights in Europe, in the context of the rising extremist voices in the EU and especially around the deadline for lifting temporary restrictions on Romanian and Bulgarian workers in the United Kingdom. She published an article in The Parliament Magazine, where she stated: "The fueling of xenophobic fear, spiced up with apocalyptic terminology that conflates migration with conflict and disaster, isn't just factually inaccurate, it is irresponsible and dangerous. It fosters a deeply divisive, and, at times, hysterical debate which risks handing a victory to the extremist political parties which embody such rhetoric in their policies".[23]

In 2015, following a derogatory statement by Nigel Farage against foreign-born doctors working in the UK,[24] Daciana Sarbu has written a letter addressed to several UK medical organisations, asking for their cooperation in defending the image of immigrant doctors and nurses working in the UK: "As a Romanian citizen, I feel even more obliged to protest against such claims, since the insult is also directed at Romanian doctors and nurses who have left their families behind and work tirelessly every day in your country. I know that there is great appreciation in the UK for medical staff from my country, not only since they are the product of a highly regarded medical education system, but also for their consistently good work and integrity. Romanian doctors and nurses working abroad are honest, reliable and exceptionally well-trained".[25]