What Costas spoke about.

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EN Written Statement

110th anniversary of the Armenian genocide

The Armenian genocide, perpetrated with an organised and systematic plan by the Ottoman Empire, is one of the most heinous atrocities in human history, with 1.5 million ethnic Armenians, among them young, old, women and children, being exterminated in various and repugnant ways. It's not the only genocide in human history, but the persistent denial of the Armenian genocide by Turkey, particularly …

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EL Written Statement

Presentation of the programme of activities of the Slovenian Presidency (debate)

The EU Programme of Financial Assistance to the Turkish Cypriot community was based on the decision of the European Council of 2004 and was implemented by Regulation 389/2006 in order to facilitate negotiations for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem on the basis of a functioning and reunited state within the EU. This presupposes the commitment and corresponding response of the Turkis…

7

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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The impact of the 1974 Turkish invasion on Cypriot women and girls, and the crimes committed by Turkish forces and consequences on gender equality (debate)

Madam President, thank you for allowing me to raise a point of order. I think that the wording being used by some of my colleagues, and also, perhaps in good faith, by the translation, was wrong. In Cyprus, there is no conflict between Greece and Türkiye. It is an invasion by Türkiye against the Republic of Cyprus. And I wanted to make sure that there is no such conflict in Cyprus between the two …

6

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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Order of business

Madam President, I wish to draw your attention to the event organised on 24 June 2026 at the European Parliament by our colleague MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk, during which representatives of the illegal secessionist entity in the occupied territory of the Republic of Cyprus participated as so-called mayors and addressed so. This constitutes a clear violation of EU and international law and undermines the U…

16

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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An EU future for the Western Balkans (joint debate)

Madam President, EU enlargement is a geopolitical necessity, while the accession progress depends only on the candidate countries' fulfilment of the Copenhagen political criteria that ensure their commitment to EU values and the rule of law. Montenegro remains the most advanced candidate country in accession to the EU, and we fully support its steady progress to join the EU. The establishment of t…

16

Jun

2026

EL Speech

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2025 Commission report on Türkiye (debate)

15

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, in the eastern Mediterranean, the neo‑Ottoman Erdoğan regime talks and acts as an enemy of EU and international law. It occupies EU territory of the Republic of Cyprus, keeps a (inaudible) threat against Greece over the exercise of sovereign rights, and now plans to impose its neo‑Ottoman dogma of blue fantasy in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The value of a common …

20

May

2026

EN Speech

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High time to deliver on the Single Market, providing certainty and predictability for EU businesses and quality jobs (continuation of debate)

Madam President, a single market, accessible for people and businesses, is essential for becoming an autonomous and competitive EU. In this process, public services are the backbone of Europe's social market economy. Access to affordable, high‑quality and essential goods and services, such as housing, energy, water and health, for everyone and in every region is non-negotiable. Today, with the geo…

18

May

2026

EL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, the Erdogan regime in Turkey plans to give institutional status to the so-called doctrine of the blue homeland and this will be the beginning of a new invasion of the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean. Let me remind you that this doctrine is a blatant violation of the law of the sea of the UN, which we have already ratified as the European Union, and is essentially directed agains…

30

Apr

2026

EL Speech

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How to secure a sustainable future for the EU livestock sector in light of the need to ensure food security, farmers’ resilience and the challenges posed by animal diseases? (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, we have a report with many expectations and proposed measures for the future of livestock farming in the European Union. But as we speak, there is an ongoing animal health crisis with foot-and-mouth disease in Cyprus, which has evolved into a political crisis. In particular, farmers in the free areas apply your instructions and protocols by killing thousands of anima…

28

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Supporting democratic resilience in Armenia (debate)

Madam President, the value of the EU to support democratic resilience in Armenia is critical, but we need to stress that such engagement must be conducted in strict adherence to the principle of political neutrality. Any form of external involvement would undermine the credibility of the electoral process. As far as Azerbaijan, it must show its commitment through concrete, confidence‑building meas…

28

Apr

2026

EL Speech

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Situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2024 and 2025 (debate)

Mr President, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union is our most important document, because it records our non-negotiable values one by one. These are fundamental human rights and freedoms that bind all Member States to all citizens, without exception. The report rightly finds that in some Member States in the European Union there is a decline in the rule of law and a lack of pro…

11

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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EUCO and situation in the Middle East (joint debate)

Mr President, due to the war in Iran, there was an attack against the British military bases in Cyprus and that made Cyprus a target as well. Thanks to the swift aerial and naval response of Greece, France, Italy, Spain, Holland and others, Cyprus is fully protected – fully protected. Reacting to this European solidarity, the Erdoğan regime transferred six F-16 fighter jets to the northern occupie…

10

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Tackling barriers to the single market for defence - Flagship European defence projects of common interest

Madam President, Robert Schuman, a key founding father of the EU, stated: 'Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.' EU defence is the most important project for deepening the EU over the last few decades. Fragmentation of the defence industry is a problem. Political fragmentation, t…

10

Mar

2026

EL Speech

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EU enlargement strategy (debate)

Mr President, enlargement is an important geopolitical tool. It promotes peace, security, democracy and prosperity in Europe. However, only merit-based criteria are needed: compliance with the Copenhagen criteria, respect for the rule of law, democracy, fundamental rights and alignment with our foreign policy and vital interests, international law and our values, without adjustments, so that we ca…

10

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Housing crisis in the European Union with the aim of proposing solutions for decent, sustainable and affordable housing (debate)

Madam President, it's not your fault, but this is not the first time. I follow the discussion from the very beginning. Many colleagues have the chance to make one, two and sometimes even more blue cards. That is unacceptable. Those of us who stay for all this time waiting until the end, we hope for a chance to have the catch-the-eye. We were denied. I repeat, it's not your fault. But we need to re…

9

Mar

2026

EL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

11

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Targeted expulsions of foreign journalists and foreign Christians in Türkiye under national security pretexts

Mr President, in Türkiye, to be a Christian may be considered a crime and a national security reason to be expelled. To be a journalist may be considered a crime and a national security reason to be expelled. To be a Kurdish politician is certainly a crime and you are considered a terrorist, sentenced to life in prison, just like Demirtaş. To be a democrat, criticising Erdoğan is a crime and you c…

11

Feb

2026

EL Speech

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Addressing subcontracting chains and the role of intermediaries in order to protect workers’ rights (debate)

Mr President, this report highlights the need for a comprehensive approach to labour exploitation, particularly by intermediaries in subcontracting. Labour exploitation is a violation of human rights and undermines fair competition between the economy. De facto, incidentally, the employee is the impossible vis-à-vis the employer. That is why it is not just a matter of legislation, but of practical…

10

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Situation in Northeast Syria, the violence against civilians and the need to maintain a sustainable ceasefire (debate)

Mr President, Rojava is under attack by an evil alliance: the al-Sharaa jihadist regime, the Islamic State and the Turkish state. The war crimes carried out by this evil alliance are well documented by information from the ground, testimonies and regional reports against specific population groups based on their ethnic and religious identities. War crimes such as targeting of civilian areas, destr…

22

Jan

2026

EL Speech

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Drones and new systems of warfare – the EU’s need to adapt to be fit for today’s security challenges (debate)

Mr President, congratulations to the rapporteur and to my fellow shadow rapporteurs. Geopolitical developments, technology and experience in Ukraine make the use of drones a decisive instrument in the modern war of hybrid attacks and conflicts. The recent hostile attacks against member states with drones, from Russia in Poland to occupation Turkey in Cyprus, proved our weakness, which requires imm…

20

Jan

2026

EN Answer

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CFSP and CSDP (Article 36 TEU) (joint debate)

I have a very good explanation. Some European officials think of using Türkiye or instrumentalising Türkiye against their own agendas. That could be the right thing to do as a foreign policy, if they were in charge of their own Member State. Now they are guardians of the EU Treaties, and they have a duty to protect the EU collectively, from Cyprus to Denmark, and, of course, like us, consistently …

20

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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CFSP and CSDP (Article 36 TEU) (joint debate)

Mr President, the strategic autonomy of the European Union, with European defence at its core, for which some of us advocated a long time ago, is a necessity for the Union. We are in a world marked by escalating geopolitical conflicts with the Russian invasion against Ukraine and with an unreliable Trump openly ignoring international law, rendering NATO non-operational. The future of EU depends on…

20

Jan

2026

EL Speech

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Presentation of the programme of activities of the Cyprus Presidency (debate)

Madam President, Mr President, on behalf of the S&amp?D political group, I welcome you to the European Parliament. Indeed, you are taking over the presidency in an environment of unprecedented security, economic and social challenges, to which you have already referred, and which are interlinked. This is why managing them requires a holistic approach, with the European Union in a geopolitical role…

16

Dec

2025

EL Speech

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Presentation of the European Affordable Housing Plan (continuation of debate)