Speeches

Mr President, I regret that my last intervention in the European Parliament is on the rule of law in Greece, as well as the provocative attitude of the New Democracy government, which avoided meeting the Committee on Civil Liberties, insulting above all the Greek people. That is why I pledge to fight with all my might so that illegal wiretapping, human rights abuses, attacks on independent authorities and the instrumentalisation of justice will soon be a bad memory. I believe that the rule of law is the first and foremost condition for the well-being of citizens. Finally, by saying goodbye to you, I would like to thank the colleagues with whom we worked for a union of solidarity and perspective, for a democratic and self-sufficient Europe, which is at the forefront of the protection of human rights and the environment. We all have a duty to fight for the Europe of the peoples, in order to overcome any obstacle of strong economic and geopolitical interests that want Europe weak and manageable.

Mr President, democracy cannot exist without a strong and credible rule of law for the citizen, which guarantees the protection of his rights against state arbitrariness. In recent years, the institutions have suffered severe blows. But the answer to this slippage cannot be the set-offs between this and the previous government. The Greek people deserve much more than an ongoing downhill. I am here not only as a colleague and victim of a blatant violation of human rights, but also as the president of a faction that created independent authorities in Greece and fought over time for democracy, transparency and social justice. But what have we learned in the last six months, since the European Parliament services revealed the attempt to trap the mobile phone with Predator? A close cell in the Maximos Mansion, starring the prime minister's nephew, instrumentalizing the EYP, watched on the grounds of the alleged national danger, beyond me, journalists, MEPs, even a serving minister, but also leading members of the armed forces. After the revelation, they publicly said they were seeking to bring everything to light, but all we saw was darkness and an attempt to incriminate the victims. They undermined the work of the committee of inquiry in the Greek Parliament, ruling out the calling of critical witnesses and enlisting secrecy. Twice Mr. Mitsotakis changed the legislation to prevent the legitimate updating of the targets. Government officials even proceeded to the abhorrent assassination of the character of the president of the competent independent authority, Mr. Christos Rammos, because he continued the investigations. Of course, some years ago, when as a judge he defended the freedom of the press from the arbitrariness of the previous government, then he was good for New Democracy and bad for SYRIZA. But when you walk without principles and values, it quickly turns out that you don't want to face the monster, but to imitate it. Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, nowadays the press, instead of controlling, is becoming more and more subordinate to the power in question. Even the request I have made since autumn, along with reputable constitutionalists, to find out whether the Greek government, when it followed me in 2021, was violating national and European rules on my immunity, is now being slandered. It is portrayed by intertwined media as an attempt by me to protect myself from an alleged scandal involving third countries. No matter how much they try, with sci-fi scenarios reminiscent of QAnon and Trump, to bend my resolve, rest assured that they will achieve nothing. From the beginning of this case, I took all the institutional initiatives utilizing every possibility that Greek and European justice gives me, because we have a duty above all to get in the way of the forces that led our country to economic divergence, putting the Greek people on a ten-year painful adventure. And now, with their practices, the same forces are leading the country to an institutional divergence. Greek justice has a duty to reveal the protagonists and those who attempted the cover-up, insulting both the Constitution and the intelligence of Greek citizens. Today, the challenge is to address the risks to liberal democracy across Europe. The biggest of them is the addiction and compromise of citizens with the idea that they are defenseless against the malicious use of technology. That they are at the mercy of any state or private agency that has the ability to violate the confidentiality of communications and personal data. That it is utopian to claim respect for the Constitution, the laws and the personality of the people. We have left the field free in the onslaught of fake news and the teratologies of the internet. Let us as a Union do something drastic and institutional to prevent the concept of the rule of law from being completely trivialised. Unless, of course, we believe that there can be a united Europe without the guarantees of the rule of law.

Mr President, in 2022 it appeared that the appeasement policy did not work against revisionist leaders who did not respect international law. Europe must immediately take the necessary steps towards a defence union so that it can adequately protect its citizens. While we are experiencing the consequences of Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine, the European leadership remains apathetic to Turkey's continued and escalating provocations towards Greece and Cyprus. Following the threats that soon Greece will be within the range of the new Turkish missile and the questioning of Greek sovereignty over the islands, the Turkish leadership not only reiterated, but even expanded the casus belli to Greece, in case we exercise our sovereign rights in the Aegean and Crete. Greece will continue to unwaveringly defend its national sovereignty. But the policy of equal distances, especially from NATO, gives Erdogan an alibi. Not a single bullet, let alone fighter jets and aircraft carriers, should be sold to a country that threatens peace in the Southeast Mediterranean.

Mr President, Turkey is once again bombing the Kurds in northern Syria, whose struggle has intercepted the Islamic State, the terrorist organisation that has left hundreds dead in Europe and thousands dead in Syria. It seems, however, that we forget too easily, as we remain observers of the challenges and constant violations of international law. But that's not all. Turkey is the only NATO country that has not imposed sanctions on Russia. Turkey is the country that blackmails Sweden and Finland, refusing to ratify their entry into NATO, violates the sovereign rights of Greece and Cyprus and even had the audacity Mr. Erdogan to threaten our country, saying that if we do not sit prudently, soon Athens will be within the range of the new missile it is building. Is this the behaviour of a country that the European Council and the European Commission consider to be allied? What else does he have to do to take action? The minimum you need to do is impose an arms embargo immediately and sanctions that will directly hit the Erdogan regime.

Mr President, first of all, congratulations to the Belgian authorities for having revealed this scandal, as opposed to others covering up the scandals. No one has the right to discredit the European Parliament. We have a duty to be guardians of transparency and democracy, not examples to avoid. That is why, from the very first moment I learned about this shocking case, I immediately removed Ms Kaili from our party. It is not enough to say that we are all the same. We have to prove it by our actions. It is time for action. That is why I propose, firstly, to prohibit any European official after the end of his term of office from becoming a lobbyist. Secondly, as we set up the Special Mobile Control Service of MEPs and collaborators against malware to protect our Republic, tomorrow morning, we set up a special body to scrutinise all the assets of MEPs and the way in which they were acquired. These are two moves that will help to bring light and remove all shadows from this democratic assembly. We owe it to the citizens we represent, we owe it to the vision of a United Europe.

Mr President, I would like to thank the services of the European Parliament from the bottom of my heart, because it is thanks to them that the attempt to trap my mobile phone with the Predator software has become known. As subsequently revealed by the investigations of the Hellenic Authority for Communications Privacy Assurance, an independent authority established thanks to our faction, on the very same days the National Intelligence Service began to officially monitor my mobile phone. A monitoring that – by diabolical coincidence – lasted as long as the electoral process for the leadership of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement; from September when I ran, until December 2021 when I was elected president. Their goal was the autonomy of PASOK. The Prime Minister also invited me yesterday to go and get information from the EYP on the formal – of course – reasons that followed me. But he's calling on me to do something that was made illegal by his government's law. In fact, as we learn, my file was destroyed on the same day that the independent authority was informed of my complaint. Why is it? The Greek people, Mr. Mitsotakis, must know the truth. In a legal and transparent manner. So the prime minister, as the political head of the secret services, according to Law 3649 of 2008, can lift the secrecy and make known the reason for my surveillance, instead of continuing to poison the public opinion by dividing the Greek people with conspiracy theories. All persons who – on the basis of journalistic research – are related to the use of these software must also be invited to the Committee of Inquiry, both in Greece and in the PEGA Committee. We tried it already last week in Greece, but the government majority rejected it. From the very beginning, I have made it clear that this case is not a personal matter, it is a matter of transparency and democracy. Secret services must operate within a democratic framework and protect the political system from illegal software and not cover their use. In democracies no state agency can operate in complete darkness. Privacy stops where the need for transparency and accountability begins. A new normal cannot be tolerated where surveillance of politicians, parties, journalists, judges, but also of every ordinary citizen is considered legal in advance. This is what Big Brother is all about: the cult of privacy and individual rights in the name of a vague and secret national need. Ladies and gentlemen, we are in a very difficult period for Europe. Authoritarian leaders are directly undermining, like Putin and Erdogan, our common future and liberal democracy. And yet some, unfortunately, while condemning them, at the same time imitate some of their practices. The control of the media, the trapping of political opponents and the instrumentalisation of justice have no place in the European Union. This is not a European way of life. This is not the rule of law. We need a new institutional framework that shields all European citizens both from the arbitrariness of governments and from oligarchs who can use these software at the expense of the public interest in the future. I therefore call on the European Parliament and all colleagues to fight, to be pioneers, to safeguard the rights and dignity of every European citizen.

Madam President, over the last decade, Europe has been confronted with a series of crises that have exacerbated inequalities to an extreme degree. The impossibility of understanding, synthesis and comprehensive responses to these challenges made the era of convergence seem a distant past. The fewer opportunities for a better life for millions of European citizens, the more they feel outside the walls of a society of equal opportunities, the greater the threats to liberal democracy. The stagnation imposed on the project of political unification by the conservative forces of Europe allowed the deniers of the European vision to exploit it to their advantage. This is the duet responsible for us remaining, Prime Minister, a slow-moving ship, as you said a few weeks ago. One speaks in the name of Europe, doing nothing – and I speak of conservative forces – and the other stones it with Manichean arguments at every opportunity. Elitism and populism are equally disastrous for the European vision. But the world is changing and we must rise to the occasion. We have a duty to do more and do it now. To defend, through a progressive political project, social justice, solidarity, human rights, environmental protection. We must make citizens feel safe again in the face of the geopolitical, climate and economic challenges of our time. Positive steps, such as the Recovery and Resilience Fund, must acquire permanent features, especially for the Greek people who have experienced harsh economic policies. It should be used as a tool for social cohesion and strengthening the resilience of our society and economy. I want to make a parenthesis. It is good to remember the humiliating referendum of 2015, but let us be fair. And remember very well the humiliating time of 2009 when you led the country to a 15.6% external deficit and to bankruptcy, as the European Parliament's resolution attests, because it was these conservative choices that opened Pandora's box in Greece. So we need to talk about young people and create new opportunities to reduce migration, to strengthen the purchasing power of Greeks who are the second lowest in Europe. According to Eurostat data, Greek citizens are burdened proportionally much more than other Europeans. There is no provision in the Recovery Fund for the construction of social housing for rent at a low price, as other European countries with similar problems have done. In the health sector, the fact that Greeks are third in Europe in private spending reveals the real needs that exist and the National Health System and primary care need to be further strengthened. In response to the climate crisis, the Recovery Fund could be the main driver for the diffusion of renewable energy sources through residential photovoltaics and energy communities. We have the strange originality, while throughout the European Union the goal is the total decarbonisation of the economy, you are limited only to delignification, as shown in the recent climate law that you voted for, making the country vulnerable to expensive and imported natural gas. The European Commission is giving the possibility to revise the national plans to include investments now, such as upgrading the country's electricity grid through storage and all the necessary to strengthen energy autonomy and just transition. But I also want to mention the need for geopolitical security. Putin's illegal and destructive invasion of Ukraine is a tragic event for the Ukrainian people and a very expensive lesson for European elites on how to deal with authoritarian revisionist leaders. The appeasement, as it turned out, does not bring results. Strong deterrence measures are needed. There is no other path to a strong and self-sustaining Europe that will not be a follow-up to the foreign policy of the United States. That's why I'm calling on you to take a stand. The Greek people through ten years of continuous crises have lost almost 25% of their GDP and are forced to pay billions to shield the sovereignty of our country in armament programs, while at the same time European states continue to arm the one who threatens our sovereign rights. Here, therefore, a decision must be taken on an arms embargo on Turkey and on anyone who does not respect international law. And I am very glad that Mr. Weber, in a recent interview, said that he supports it. Now you support it. But when the amendment came from the socialists, you personally voted against it. It is also inconceivable for European heads of state to adopt Erdogan's narrative on terrorism, when in Turkey anyone who disagrees with his authoritarian practices, such as Kavala and Demirtaş, is automatically considered a terrorist and an enemy of the nation. Dear colleagues, dealing with leaders who blatantly violate international law is not a matter for one or two countries, but it is a matter for all of us. We have a duty for all citizens of the European Union to feel, wherever they live, equally safe, from Sweden and Finland to Greece and Cyprus. We therefore need to make the necessary institutional changes to finally have a common foreign and security policy. At a crucial moment in history, when nightmarish scenarios reveal our limits and the wrong choices of everyone's past, we must breathe new life into the European vision, making it once again charming and hopeful for all European peoples.

Mr President, only in recent months has Mr Erdogan called for the demilitarisation of the Greek islands of the Eastern Aegean, directly challenging Greece's sovereignty. It continues the provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean and the illegal actions in the enclosed area of Varosha, disregarding UN resolutions. It blackmails Europe over the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO, while it is the only country that has not imposed sanctions on Russia. He continues to violate human rights inside Turkey, with anyone questioning his authority turning directly into an enemy of the state or a terrorist, as seen in the case of Kavala and Demirtaş. He is also trying to outlaw the pro-Kurdish HDP party. Ladies and gentlemen, the Union must not repeat with Erdogan the mistakes it made with Putin. Anyone who challenges international law, anyone who is a reviewer, must be treated in the same way. Targeted economic sanctions on persons supporting the Erdogan government, as well as a pan-European arms embargo, as we have requested as a Parliament since September 2020. (Applause)

Madam President, the Summit today must decide on immediate measures that will shield citizens and the whole of the European economy, such as joint gas purchases and the creation of strategic reserves, financial tools such as the Eurobond and the financing of support instruments, investments to end our dependence on fossil fuels in a socially just and sustainable way. Finally, the Recovery Fund should be geared towards investments that upgrade grids, making renewable energy production feasible for all citizens, not just the few. But also at the national level: the reduction of VAT on essential necessities, the imposition of exceptional taxation on energy companies' super-profits for the entire period of the crisis and the cap on the retail price, in the indexation clause. All these proposals are a framework of solidarity between European peoples. In this way we can tackle inequalities but also ensure Europe's geopolitical security.

Madam President, spring this year has not come for the children of Ukraine. Putin's invasion is an illegal and barbaric act, plunging an entire people into destruction and despair. Unfortunately, we are facing challenges that we considered a very ugly and distant past. The blind adherence of European governments to their economic interests underestimated the dangerous imperial revisionist ideas of Putin and Erdogan. In a tragic way, a new era is opening up. The Union must acquire the means and defend its values against horrific tyrannical despotism. A single foreign policy and defence, energy autonomy, are priorities. The Euro-army, joint armament programmes, strong economic sanctions and an arms embargo are tools that can safeguard our prosperity and our borders, from Estonia and Finland to Greece and Cyprus. I am not in any way asking for Europe to return to militarism, but we must do everything in our power not to allow it to return.

Madam President, safeguarding the sovereign rights of our country is our top priority. For this reason, today the Greek parliament approved a high-cost armament program with the French government. In 2022, Greece has the highest defence spending in the Union. It is, however, inconceivable that at a time when the Greek people are funding these programs with hardships and sacrifices, there will be European states that continue to arm Turkey, strengthening its claims. It is a matter of solidarity that the Council decides to impose an arms embargo on Turkey, as we voted on it a year ago in Parliament. The absence of a truly European common defence and security policy places an unimaginable burden on Greece with responsibilities that we should all assume together, resulting in the spending of resources that we could save and use in other sectors of the economy and especially in the improvement of our social state. The protection of Greek borders is not only a Greek matter, it is also a European matter; and initiatives such as PESCO and the European Defence Fund must go ahead immediately if we are to have stability in the wider region.

Madam President, energy prices have risen dramatically in recent months. There are several causes, but the main one is the rally of fossil fuels and natural gas. In Greece, energy poverty affects more than 20% of Greeks, with the corresponding European average being only 7%. The current crisis risks leaving even more households without heating. Some Member States have taken some temporary measures, most notably subsidising the accounts. However, if the increases continue, I doubt that these measures will be enough. The subsidy is necessary in the short term, but it does not reduce our dependence on imports, leaving Europe vulnerable to price changes and the economy vulnerable to geopolitical games from third countries. Structural changes are needed before winter comes. Common policies are needed to empower citizens in need, measures for the functioning of the electricity market and also a common strategy for Europe-wide gas supply, so that we can negotiate better prices, as was the case with vaccines.

Mr President, last summer was marked by deadly floods in Central Europe but also by devastating forest fires in the Mediterranean countries. In Greece it was at least nine times the area destroyed compared to last year. The burnt acres exceeded by far one million and the entire area of Northern Evia is at risk of abandonment. This requires a comprehensive rehabilitation plan with development projects, such as a modern road axis to facilitate access to the area. Due to climate change, dangerous weather events will be stronger and more frequent, with natural disasters now permanently threatening us. The mobilisation of the European Civil Protection Mechanism has helped to reduce the consequences. Thousands of firefighters mobilized from many countries in Europe, giving meaningful content to the word "solidarity", which we so much need at this time. Let us look to the future; There has been so much going on in recent years, but we have to fight for more. Firstly, we need to proceed immediately with the joint ordering of Canadair firefighting planes in order to start the production line and substantially strengthen the means at our disposal at European and national level. Secondly, we should place greater emphasis on prevention, so that Member States are better prepared, using of course the possibility and funding available to upgrade national civil protection plans. Thirdly, given that the limitations of the Solidarity Fund in terms of the conditions for its activation, the amount of support, but also the type of disasters covered reduce its effectiveness, it is necessary to proceed with the creation of a new fund tasked with restoring the effects of climate change.