Speeches

Madam President, anti—Semitism is fundamentally incompatible with Europe’s core values. The EU has adopted a zero tolerance strategy dealing with it and has vowed to put an end to it. There is nothing more dangerous to the future than the poisoning of our children’s mind, which is why the anti-Semitism strategy covers education. Then how can it be that the Commission refuses to condition funding to the Palestinian Authority when the textbooks used in its schools contain anti-Semitic rhetoric and incitement to violence and hatred? Surely zero tolerance applies to the content of these textbooks, and surely conditionality of funding would incentivise removing it. The Commission’s decision not to condition the latest release of funding to the Palestinian Authority is a missed opportunity for the EU to purge this poisonous rhetoric. It’s a missed opportunity to combat anti-Semitism. It’s a missed opportunity to give Palestinian children an education. And it’s a missed opportunity for a more peaceful future.

Madam President, Commissioner, I am very pleased that as the European Union we have adopted and are implementing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, showing solidarity, unity and readiness in the post-pandemic economic recovery. I am proud that the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, pioneered the proposal of this mechanism and that Greece is one of the first countries to submit a comprehensive proposal and we have already received approval for our national recovery and resilience plan. The experience of the Recovery and Resilience Fund is a shining example and should be our guide on how to deal with other crises, such as the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, for which the Greek Prime Minister has already tabled a pan-European proposal for a common response. Ladies and gentlemen, the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility is the practical proof that when we want and when we are united we can. He should be our guide to the future.

Madam President, I stand before you today deeply insulted and frankly outraged by these slanderous allegations about lack of freedom of press in Greece. And I ask that instead of listening to these politically motivated accusations, which are fuelled by reports which claim that the press enjoys greater freedom in countries such as Burkina Faso and Chad, where there is military juntas, that you listen to the facts. And the fact is that Greece’s policy on freedom of the press is fully aligned with the Commission recommendations. The Mitsotakis government has fortified our legislative toolbox to protect journalists. It has created a special task force and a media registry, it’s providing financial support to local media – so we will not tolerate such slander! Greece will be a frontrunner in the European Media Freedom Act, and Greece – the cradle of democracy – will, on matters of freedom of the press, as always, lead by example.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, if we should learn one thing from Putin's invasion of Ukraine, it would certainly be zero tolerance, because some people unfortunately perceive tolerance as a weakness. Turkey continues a tactic at least dangerous, which we have pointed out many times. He is constantly stepping on two "boats", one in the East and one in the West, and should be asked to choose, without asterisks, without footnotes, without setbacks, in a clear and straightforward way. Turkey cannot continue to threaten, provoke and blackmail. We must show no more tolerance. Turkey cannot always be the "naughty child" that we tolerate, tolerate its actions and try to admonish. Ladies and gentlemen, my country, Greece, in the face of escalating Turkish provocations is doing its duty both towards Europe and towards its southern borders. It is the right time for Europe to do its duty towards Greece and say with actions "enough is enough". (Applause)

Madam President, following Putin's invasion of Ukraine, tectonic changes are taking place in the international diplomatic and geostrategic arena. New relationships, new challenges, in simple terms: We are in a new world. And we need a new transatlantic strategic partnership. The visit of the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to the United States, as well as his historic speech to the US Congress, highlighted in the best possible way the new demands and the new prospects of an enhanced transatlantic cooperation, showing the path that the whole of Europe must take. Further developing and strengthening our transatlantic relations is now a key strategic option. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our common duty and historical responsibility towards future generations to fight so that Democracy, which was born in Greece and is a link between Europe and the United States, prevails against forces of authoritarianism, revisionism and regression.

Mr President, events such as Putin's invasion of Ukraine do not come as a thunderbolt. There are always signs; Signs that we often do not want to see, even if they are obvious and clear. Great ideas and revisionist practices, threats and provocations, disregard of treaties and violation of rules of international law, disputes of national sovereignty, demands for demilitarization, hybrid threats to neighbors' borders, desecrations of monuments. These are all signs; Signs that existed before Putin's invasion and that many of you, honourable colleagues, had pointed out in time. Like us, Greek and Cypriot MEPs, we have often pointed out extremely worrying signs coming from Turkey. For example, last week we again had a barrage of overflights over the Aegean and in the middle of Holy Easter. We witnessed another episode of the desecration of Hagia Sophia. Ladies and gentlemen, the eyes of the whole world are on us. They want to see if we have learned our lesson, that is, if we are now paying attention to the signs. Let's not let them down.

Mr President, High Representative, in the Brussels bubble, as ‘masters of constructive ambiguity’, we characterise China simultaneously as a cooperation partner, an economic competitor and a systemic rival, and finding the balance in this often contradictory mix can be extremely challenging. Clearly, China cannot be labelled as a cooperation partner when it imposes sanctions on Members of this House. And dealing with China as an economic competitor requires the use of many tools, old and new, to deal with unfair practices with economic coercion, like the trade war against Lithuania. In the case of Putin’s unconscionable war in Ukraine, the EU has taken a very clear stance to support Ukraine, to stand up for our principles and values, and to impose very strong sanctions against Russia. China, meanwhile, continues to sit on the fence, to put it mildly. So, whilst China decides whether it is to act as a cooperation partner or a systemic rival when it comes to the war in Ukraine, the EU has to make its own decisions. Dialogue leading to diplomatic solutions is on the top of everybody’s wish list, but the EU must make it crystal clear to China that if it decides to act as a systemic rival towards the EU in the case of Ukraine, then secondary sanctions will be imposed on China. Anything less than that simply undermines the unity, the credibility and the strength of our Union.

Mr President, Greece, like everyone else, strongly condemned Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and sent humanitarian aid and defence material. Greece maintains with Ukraine religious ties, close ties of friendship, since in Mariupol, until before the war, more than 150,000 Greeks lived and worked there. Mariupol, today, is completely destroyed. It's a ghost town. The reconstruction of Ukraine, the return of the inhabitants and the restoration of the effects of the war must be an object of planning for us, as of today. The Mitsotakis government in Greece has pledged to restore the Mariupol maternity hospital. A common European approach is also necessary on this issue and, indeed, the creation of this Solidarity Trust Fund, agreed in the Council, is in the right direction. But it's not enough. Today, from the Chamber of the European Parliament, I invite you as an MEP from Greece – a country that has always been on the right side of history – to give priority to Mariupol.

Madam President, it took the European Union a full year to deal effectively with the crisis in the Eurozone in 2009 and four full months to deal effectively with the health and economic consequences of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. Today, therefore, more than ever, the European Union must react swiftly in order to effectively address the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine. The European Union has at its disposal both the policies and tools and, after the Recovery Fund, the experience it needs. We can't wait. We can't wait for the war to end, we can't wait for Putin's mood, we can't wait for China's decisions. What we all expect from Europe right now is for it to do what it needs to do to deal with the consequences of the energy crisis and war; Do it now, because we don't have time to waste. We have a new challenge ahead of us, a new race, which we will have to go through not with a notable step but with a trajectory. For Europe and its citizens.

Mr President, we support today, and rightly so, the European Commission's proposal to provide more funding to Moldova to counter the economic fallout of the war in Ukraine. But Putin's war has repercussions not only for Ukraine and Moldova, but for all the countries of Europe and beyond. Unfortunately, every day that the hostilities continue, more blood is shed, more human suffering is caused, we have more refugees and more consequences concerning the economy, energy, food security and many other sectors, consequences that we will all suffer. The European Union must and must do more to address these consequences. It must show more unity, more solidarity, but also allocate more funding. Ladies and gentlemen, the war in Ukraine has caused major problems of all kinds. Big problems require big decisions and big economic problems require big financial interventions.

Madam President, we’re all acutely aware of the pressures our democratic models face from the rise of populism and disinformation, and there’s certainly no shortage of actors on the world stage that stand ready to exploit and probe these pressure points. In this important report, we see the same states mentioned again and again, notably Russia, China and Turkey. In the case of Turkey, we’ve highlighted, first, attempts of the Turkish Government to influence its diaspora in order to relay Ankara’s position and to divide European societies; second, the targeting of journalists, such as Erk Acarer in Berlin; and, third, foreign interference and disinformation campaigns against EU accession countries in the Western Balkans. Turkey is a member of NATO and it’s still an EU candidate country, so it should be aligning its foreign policy with the EU’s. Yet, in the case of Ukraine, although Turkey did vote in favour of the United Nations General Assembly resolution, it’s unwilling to join the EU in imposing sanctions against Russia, it keeps its airspace open to Russia, and it could potentially become a backdoor to circumvent EU sanctions on trade. We must insist that Turkey not only ceases its interference in our democratic processes, but that it takes a clear stance in proactively defending Ukraine’s democracy.

Mr President, in the shadow of the war, we must dedicate this year's Women's Day to Ukrainian women. To the women of Ukraine who, together with the men, took up arms and entered the battle to defend their homeland, their freedom and their lives, who, united like a fist, make homemade Molotov cocktails and enter in front of Russian tanks determined to resist. The women of Ukraine, who give birth in bombed warehouses, who comfort their children in shelters, who took the road of refugees with their children, leaving behind relatives and friends with fear to tighten their souls. The women of Ukraine, who saw the abominable face of the war over and over again and did not bend, like Valentina Romanova, who experienced the war in 1941, lost her Jewish relatives in Babi Yar and now stands up to Putin, demanding that he evacuate his troops. So let's dedicate this year's Women's Day to Ukrainian women, as a sign of solidarity and respect for their struggle. It's our minimum duty.

Madam President, in our resolution we again express our deep concern about the foreign policy of the Erdogan government. Last week we heard incredible accusations by Turkish officials about the status of the Greek islands in the Aegean, which not only do not comply with basic principles of international law, but move to the limit of the absurd. Obviously, Greece rejects them and obviously, the European Union condemns them. We also witnessed a new act of smearing and altering the religious character of another historic Orthodox church, the Monastery of Panagia Soumela. I read in the press that after the advertising spot in the courtyard of the Monastery, the Turkish authorities have now licensed the shooting of a Hollywood film, this time inside the Monastery. So I wonder, Mr Borrell, what is the 'red line'? What is the limit for the European Union to finally deal more bravely and effectively with Turkey's provocative actions against it, against Member States, international law and European principles and values?

Madam President, we are fighting a lot together to defend the principles and values of the European Union, European culture and democracy. Europe is a Greek word and the myth of Europe is a symbol of European culture. Democracy was born in Greece and the Acropolis monument is a universal symbol of democracy. I stand before you as a Greek and European citizen with the deepest consciousness that today's speech is my minimum duty in the timeless and long-lasting battle that my country is fighting for the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures. Greece's just request is gaining momentum in British and international public opinion following the return of the fragment of the Parthenon frieze from Italy. From the plenary session of the European Parliament, where the heart of European democracy beats, I ask you, dear colleagues, to fight with us in the fair battle for this top symbol of European culture and democracy.

Madam President, I confess that, when I was elected as a Member of the European Parliament, I was anxious to defend our common principles and values, but also our equality and anti-discrimination policies here in the European Parliament. Of course, I had not imagined that such a debate would take place today in plenary, let alone that I might have to defend my right to say 'Merry Christmas'. We do not need to deny our history, our traditions and the Christian heritage of Europe in order to combat discrimination. And unfortunately, the institutional and political misconduct of the Commissioner responsible, Mrs Dalli, divides Parliament and public opinion on an issue on which we should all be united. Such aberrations, instead of helping us to move forward, instead of encouraging truly progressive treatment of issues of equality and diversity, weaken our common struggle, lead to polarisation and ultimately to backsliding on our path towards the 'Union of Equality'. Ladies and gentlemen, Merry Christmas!

Mr President, as Vice-Chair of the Committee on International Trade (INTA), I support the Trade and Technology Council as a positive development in transatlantic relations, and Pittsburgh was a good starting point. The question is now what can we expect from the TTC? We know it will deal with trade and technology, so that takes care of the two Ts. But the essence of what we can expect can be described best by using words starting with the letter C, so we can expect that the TTC will be a forum where we can converse and collaborate, where we can minimise conflict, where we can compare and converge approaches, where we can reach compromises and aim for consensus – where we can find a way to deal with China, even though we avoid using the name. But if I were to choose one word starting with the letter C to describe what a successful overall outcome would be of the TTC for the transatlantic relationship, I would choose the word ‘compatibility’. After all, in trade and tech, as in life, compatibility is the essence of solid and long-lasting relationships.