Without precedent. Diana Iovanovici‑Șoșoacă, the only MEP who was tear‑gassed, in the street, alongside Europe’s farmers!
Romanian MEP and president of the S.O.S. Romania party, Diana Iovanovici‑Șoșoacă, chose the street over institutional comfort, fully assuming her role as a representative of those who work the land and feed Europe. For more than three hours, the Romanian MEP stood among the thousands of European and Romanian farmers protesting against the EU–Mercosur Agreement, which was on the agenda of the European Parliament.
Hundreds of Romanian farmers were also present at the protest, together with thousands of agricultural workers from across Europe — including Italy, Spain, Poland, Germany, and the Netherlands — confirming that the discontent is not marginal but deep and widespread. While other MEPs chose to remain in the air‑conditioned halls of the institution, Diana Iovanovici‑Șoșoacă opted for direct confrontation, knowing that this gesture could bring administrative sanctions and even the loss of today’s daily allowance because she was “in the street, not in Parliament.”
In an act of courage, responsibility, and genuine solidarity with the farmers, Diana Iovanovici‑Șoșoacă took the stage and delivered a speech in English, unequivocally opposing an agreement she described as a sentence condemning European agriculture to extinction. Her message was radical, direct, and fully assumed: the betrayal of farmers, the loss of sovereignty, and the destruction of the independence of member states cannot be accepted in the name of obscure commercial interests.
Other MEPs who support the Mercosur agreement also took the stage, but their interventions were met with boos and strong reactions from the protesters — a clear sign of the rift between the European political class and those it claims to represent.
Diana Iovanovici‑Șoșoacă’s gesture was not symbolic but profoundly political: she demonstrated that a parliamentary mandate does not mean blind obedience, but courage, responsibility, and the ability to say “no” even when the price is personal. In a Europe of silent compromises, her presence in the street was an act of resistance and a declaration of independence.
An extremely serious incident marked the protest. Authorities resorted to the use of tear gas against demonstrators, violating the law and the fundamental principles of the freedom of peaceful assembly. Among those exposed to these interventions was the sitting MEP Diana Iovanovici‑Șoșoacă — an unprecedented situation that raises serious questions about respect for fundamental rights and the status of elected European officials in the very heart of the European Union.
At the end of the protest, MEPs Victor Negrescu and Luis Lazarus also appeared in the area for a few minutes — a late and strictly formal presence, perceived by protesters as an empty image‑building exercise. Their lack of involvement during the demonstration and the absence of any real commitment show that this appearance aimed solely at electoral gain among the Social Democratic Party’s electorate, not genuine support for the farmers and their demands.
The message sent today from Strasbourg is clear: European agriculture is not for sale, sovereignty is not negotiable, and farmers cannot be sacrificed on the altar of agreements that serve other interests. Diana Iovanovici‑Șoșoacă has shown once again that Romania’s voice can be heard in Europe only when someone has the courage to speak without fear about people’s concerns.
Press Office
S.O.S. Romania Party
