What Georgios spoke about.

15

Jun

2023

EL Speech

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Investigation of the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (Recommendation) (B9-0664/2022, B9-0260/2023)

Mr President, I consider today's vote in favour of the recommendation to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware to be of great importance, with 411 votes in favour, 97 against. Based on the rationale of the PEGA report, the illegal use of spyware by Member State governments or members of governments is explicitly condemned. Please note that there is evidence of various …

15

Jun

2023

EN Speech

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Ukraine’s accession to the Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (debate)

Madam President, the European institutions are united in accepting Ukraine’s accession to the Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil or commercial matters (the Judgments Convention). We have to make the appropriate statements for three main reasons. First, by recognising and enforcing each other’s judgments in civil and commercial matters, the ties between the …

14

Jun

2023

EN Speech

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Deterioration of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, notably the case of Jimmy Lai

Mr President, the Hong Kong authorities and the Chinese regime must understand that the European Parliament will make the case of publisher and press freedom symbol Jimmy Lai a basic criterion for the evolution of our relations and cooperation. 75 years old, Jimmy Lai, the founder of the now defunct pro-democracy media outlet Apple Daily, in 2020 the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Prize l…

13

Jun

2023

EL Speech

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This is Europe - Debate with the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides (debate)

Mr President, I also welcome you to the European Parliament on behalf of Renew Europe. You are a politician who moves outside a narrow party framework. The composition of your government shows that you are open to political collaborations and independent personalities. In today's speech, you confirmed that you are a strong supporter of European integration and that you want an enhanced role for th…

13

Jun

2023

EL Speech

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Humanitarian and environmental consequences of the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam - Sustainable reconstruction and integration of Ukraine into the Euro-Atlantic community (debate)

Mr President, European aid to Ukraine must be immediate, huge and prospective. We have decided a lot and well. We need to be faster and more consistent. By strengthening the reconstruction of Ukraine, we are sending three messages. The millions of Ukrainians who fled their homeland in search of safety will be able to return more quickly to a country that has gained seven million more poor in a yea…

12

Jun

2023

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, European sanctions against Russia must be made stricter and more effective. In 2022, Ukraine lost 29 % of its GDP due to Russia’s aggression. Russia's GDP fell only by 2.1 % in 2022. There has been, of course, a qualitative degradation of the Russian economy, but the effects of the sanctions that are applied are mostly medium and long-term. Our immediate objective must be to thwar…

12

Jun

2023

EL Speech

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Large transport infrastructure projects in the EU (debate)

Madam President, there is an urgent need to promote the development of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). This is the system of automatic train protection, management and control. The process of adapting to European standards has been dragging on in some Member States for more than 20 years. Member States with interconnected rail systems should explain delays and submit plans to …

10

May

2023

EN Speech

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Media freedom and freedom of expression in Algeria, the case of journalist Ihsane El-Kadi

Mr President, Algeria has a long way to go as far as media freedom and freedom of expression are concerned. Our aim is not to antagonise the Algerian Government, or other governments in the region, but to encourage them to improve the situation and create an environment that will help develop European-Algerian understanding and cooperation. We therefore believe that the Algerian authorities should…

9

May

2023

EN Speech

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Revision of the Stability and Growth Pact (debate)

Mr President, we have to improve our policy on three major issues. First, we have to put an end to the continuous increase in public expenditure in absolute numbers and as a percentage of the GDP. The growth in public debt has been spectacular: higher debt unavoidably leads to higher tax burden. Second, we have to improve the quality of public expenditure in favour of investment. Certain European …

8

May

2023

EL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, for the second year in a row, Greece came last in the European Union of 27, in terms of media freedom, on the basis of the Reporters Without Borders report. The problem is becoming systemic. The distance between Greece and the European Union is growing. Eight European Union countries are in the top nine in the world when it comes to media freedom, while Greece ranks 107. Greece lags …

19

Apr

2023

EN Speech

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The risk of death penalty and execution of singer Yahaya Sharif Aminu for blasphemy in Nigeria

Madam President, Nigeria deserves a better future. It has a population of 215 million. Half of its population are less than 18 years old. It also has immense mineral wealth, like oil, and human and economic potential. Nevertheless, three major problems hinder Nigeria’s development: widespread corruption, a ruling party that has extensive control over public life and manipulated the recent presiden…

18

Apr

2023

EN Speech

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EU Rapid Deployment Capacity, EU Battlegroups and Article 44 TEU: the way forward (debate)

Madam President, in 2008, we increased the reductions in defence expenditure due to the international financial crisis. We also reduced our commitment to common European defence efforts. In 2008, Putin dismembered Georgia. In 2014, he incorporated Crimea into Russia while we kept avoiding our defence obligations. After the shock of the full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine, we started moving in t…

18

Apr

2023

EN Speech

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The need for European solidarity in saving lives in the Mediterranean, in particular in Italy (debate)

Mr President, I had the impression that Ms Meloni was able to deal with the migration and the asylum issue. That was her promise to the Italian people. She was criticising pro-European political forces as being ineffective. The situation has worsened in Italy, thus proving that Meloni’s promises were baseless. At the beginning Meloni had a national solution, and now that this solution has been pro…

17

Apr

2023

EL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, the worst evidence that the rule of law is receding in Greece is what is happening with the murder of journalist Giorgos Karaivaz in two years. Greece is the only member state of the European Union in which a journalist was murdered without the culprits having been arrested. It is also the only Member State where the authorities do not inform about the progress of the investigation o…

30

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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2022 Rule of Law Report - The rule of law situation in the European Union - Rule of law in Greece - Rule of law in Spain - Rule of law in Malta (debate)

Mr President, there is a continuous degradation of the rule of law in Greece due to the policies of the Mitsotakis government. Colleagues, I have been a victim of systematic wiretapping after being characterised by the National Intelligence Service of Greece, directly controlled by the Prime Minister, as a threat to national security. This is an insult to me, an insult to you and an insult to the …

15

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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Tunisia: Recent attacks against freedom of expression and association and trade unions, in particular the case of journalist Noureddine Boutar

Mr President, only 11% of Tunisia’s voters participated in the recent legislative elections. This is a strong message addressed to the President of the Republic, Saied, who is in the process of imposing a dictatorial regime. People are aware of his intentions and methodology and refuse to offer him a democratic alibi. Tunisia passed, during a period of 12 years, from dictatorship to the Arab Sprin…

14

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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Situation in Georgia (debate)

Mr President, the release of former President Saakashvili from prison, given his fragile health, should become a prerequisite for developing our relations with Georgia. I wonder why the president of Georgia, Ms Salome Zourabichvili, who is also a French citizen that used to work as a diplomat in France, and the country’s powerbroker, pro-Russian oligarch Ivanishvili, also a French citizen who has …

14

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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Question Time (VPC/HR) - Strengthening the Trans-Atlantic ties in an ever challenging multilateral world

Mr Borrell, unfortunately you are obliged to have a global outlook and try to answer questions concerning different regions of the world. What about Latin America? It is of strategic importance to the United States of America and, of course, to the European Union. We have a lot of issues, developments in Mexico, in Brazil, in Argentina. So could you please summarise to us the points of convergence…

14

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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Question Time (Commission) - How to ensure energy security in the EU in 2023

In my view, in order to have energy security, we have to reduce our energy dependence on Russia and also reduce the financing of the offensive war. I don’t think we succeeded in 2022. For instance, in my country, Greece, we had to spend EUR 9 billion to import Russian oil and Russian natural gas in 2022, whereas in 2021 we spent EUR 5 billion. We increased the financing of the war by EUR 4 billion…

13

Mar

2023

EL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, today in the European Parliament we commemorated the 57 lost in the Tempi train accident. The chances of this tragedy would have been reduced if the governments in Greece had not reduced investments in the rail network after 2003, with more miserable years in 2014 and 2020. Tragedy would have been avoided, most likely, if there had been proper coordination of investments. Electrifica…

15

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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The erosion of the rule of law in Greece: the wiretapping scandal and media freedom (topical debate)

Madam President, the moment I criticized Mitsotakis, I was banished from Greek state television. When I objected to the restriction of media freedom I was expelled from the governing party. My phones have been wiretapped for 18 months by the National Intelligence Agency, after being designated a threat to national security. The president of the independent authority, which safeguards the privacy o…

13

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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EU response to the humanitarian situation following the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria (debate)

Madam President, the earthquake in Turkey and Syria created great devastation, also in regions inhabited by the very important Kurdish minority. We have to make sure that the assistance reaches the Kurds and is not used by the governments of Turkey and Syria to exert additional political pressure on them. We know, for example, that Erdogan would like the percentage of the very important pro-Kurdis…

2

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Preparation of the EU-Ukraine Summit (debate)

Madam President, Ukraine has already lost almost 20% of its territory to the Russian aggressor. That means we should increase the EU’s support to Kyiv in order to liberate the occupied territories. We should increase the financial and military assistance, at least to the level of the United States of America. After all, we are dealing with a European war. We all know that if the Russians are not s…

18

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Situation of journalists in Morocco, notably the case of Omar Radi

Madam President, we call upon the authorities of Morocco to free the independent investigative journalist Omar Radi and stop restricting media freedom. According to the annual report of Reporters Without Borders, the Moroccan authorities control most media outlets and suppress freedom of opinion and independent reporting. Morocco is ranked 135th out of a total of 180 countries, according to the Wo…

14

Dec

2022

EL Speech

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The Commission’s reports on the situation of journalists and the implications of the rule of law (debate)

Madam President, I would like the European Commission to become more assertive in its interventions in favour of media freedom in the Member States. Pressure on the media is usually the first symptom of a government's shift towards authoritarianism. Typical is the case of the Mitsotakis government, which, according to the assessment of Reporters Without Borders, has imposed the largest restriction…