What Georgios spoke about.

14

Dec

2022

EL Speech

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Defending democracy from foreign interference (debate)

Mr President, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, European defence against foreign infiltration aimed at destabilising has become even more important. Aggressive foreign infiltration of the internet and public opinion is part of hybrid warfare and in the case of Russia prepared the invasion of Ukraine. Putin's brutality has annihilated the credibility of his propaganda apparatus. But we are fa…

13

Dec

2022

EL Speech

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Suspicions of corruption from Qatar and the broader need for transparency and accountability in the European institutions (debate) (debate)

Mr President, Kaili, whom we deposed as Vice-President, has been helped in her political rise by powerful interests in Greece that control the media and by the lobbies that are developing in the field of European institutions. Its course and fall are a lesson and an incentive to enforce rules. Major business interests must be limited to the benefit of competition, consumers and, above all, politic…

13

Dec

2022

EN Speech

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Implementation of the New European Agenda for Culture and the EU Strategy for International Cultural Relations (debate)

Mr President, it is a very good report of Salima Yenbou, it highlights the last couple of years have been full of crisis and challenges. The EU is going through a period of uncertainty and instability. Illiberal and authoritarian regimes attempt to redefine international rules and values while violating artistic and academic freedom. There is a competition between cultures in order to influence pu…

22

Nov

2022

EL Speech

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Situation in Libya (debate)

Madam President, in Libya we have a strategic failure of the European Union. We contributed to Gaddafi's downfall without taking the next day seriously. The result is very negative and dangerous. I propose two steps in the right direction, without of course being an overall solution. First, to put pressure on Turkey to stop arming the Tripoli government and withdraw mercenaries and drones from Lib…

22

Nov

2022

EL Speech

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EU-China relations (debate)

Madam President, I wanted to say that I like Mr Borrell's approach because - okay, we all condemn the regime and its features in China, but that does not solve the problem for us - China is a very strong competitor, it has a strategy to prevail globally by 2049 and we do not, of course, have the luxury of being closed down, of having a crisis of introversion - that is, not in trade, not in investm…

19

Oct

2022

EL Speech

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EU-Western Balkans relations in light of the new enlargement package (continuation of debate)

Madam President, if the enlargement process in the Western Balkans is to succeed, there must also be an improvement in media freedom. According to the Reporters Without Borders report, the situation in Albania deteriorated and the country moved from 83 to 103 out of 180 countries. Bosnia and Herzegovina also dropped from position 58 to position 67, while Serbia is in position 79. Unfortunately, Gr…

19

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 20-21 October 2022 (debate)

Madam President, we pay a high price in economic and energy terms for Putin’s aggression against Ukraine. But make no mistake: energy prices and inflation had risen even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There are also structural deficiencies in the European Union that are bringing about the present crisis. Extreme conditions hinder the functioning of the supposedly free market. It is obvious t…

18

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Impact of Russian invasion of Ukraine on migration flows to the EU (debate)

Mr President, Putin tries to destroy and depopulate Ukraine. His objective is to create millions of refugees and destabilise the European Union. He already tried it in 2021 through Lukashenko. Since the Russian invasion in Ukraine, he developed this kind of hybrid war at an unprecedented scale. Nevertheless, his effort to destabilise EU Member States had exactly the opposite effect. European citiz…

18

Oct

2022

EL Speech

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Keep the bills down: social and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and the introduction of a windfall tax (debate)

Mr President, we talk a lot, but the result, in my view, is negative for the economy and society. If we want to get out of the impasse, we must first change the way the energy market operates in relation to gas, which is our weakest point because of Putin. Secondly, we need to decouple the wholesale price of electricity from gas. Thirdly, we must limit – as has been said – super-profits and tax th…

17

Oct

2022

EL Speech

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FRONTEX's responsibility for fundamental rights violations at EU's external borders in light of the OLAF report (debate)

Mr President, I understand the criticism of Frontex and I am also in favour of changes. But whatever the changes, we need to find a way to make the Agency stronger. Let me remind you that under the Juncker Presidency we promised a Frontex with 10,000 workers, which of course does not yet exist. Especially in Greece we need an effective Frontex for two reasons. The first is not to give Erdoğan a st…

17

Oct

2022

EL Speech

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The Rule of Law in Malta, five years after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia (debate)

Mr President, first of all I would like to congratulate the Commissioner on his efforts. It has, together with the pressure we are putting on it, produced some results – not, of course, what we want. But let me tell you that the problems are not only in Malta – because the Commissioner spoke of golden passports, a ‘golden visa’. Right now in Greece there is a gold passport industry and every time …

5

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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The Media freedom crackdown in Myanmar, notably the cases of Htet Htet Khine, Sithu Aung Myint and Nyein Nyein Aye

Mr President, I took the initiative for a joint motion for a resolution on the media freedom crackdown in Myanmar for three reasons. First, there is a constant degradation of the situation in Myanmar, with the military dictatorship taking extreme measures against the population, its political adversaries and journalists and media workers. Second, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there has be…

5

Oct

2022

EL Speech

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Countering the anti-European and anti-Ukrainian propaganda of Putin’s European cronies (topical debate)

Mr President, I consider the European counterattack against Putin on ideas and information to be a great success. Putin launched a hybrid war to divide European public opinion and prepare his aggressive actions. At first he was successful, but now the landscape has changed drastically at his expense. European citizens who have confidence in him have been reduced to single digits in almost all coun…

5

Oct

2022

EL Speech

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Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, the war that Russia is waging in Ukraine has entered a new phase and this imposes new obligations on us. Ukrainians are proving brave and effective, and we need to increase European military aid. They are overly dependent on U.S. military aid and this may affect their choices in the future. We are winning the battle of ideas and information against Putin, who for the first time has i…

14

Sep

2022

EL Speech

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Situation of fundamental rights in the EU in 2020 and 2021 (debate)

Mr President, I think that the issue of basic rights has become more important over time for a number of reasons. First, we are in conflict with Russia and to some extent with China. Therefore, we have an obligation to send the message that the advantage of democratic society is strengthened and not eroded. Secondly, we have difficult enlargements ahead of us and we need to set a good example: Ukr…

13

Sep

2022

EL Speech

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Question Time (VPC/HR) The state of play of the war in Ukraine

I wanted to ask a more specific question. For example, I read in the international press that North Korea supplies munitions to Russia on a large scale. It is a question of who else is supplying Russia, and – although I have not read anything about it – I hope that China, for example, has not entered into this logic of military support. If you can give us information.…

13

Sep

2022

EL Speech

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Question Time (VPC/HR) The state of play of the war in Ukraine

Mr President, I would also like to thank the Vice-President of the European Commission for his interest in these matters. My question is about weapons. We know that lately the Ukrainian army has been doing quite well, but it is a war full of surprises, positive or negative, which will go on in the long run, it seems. The question is: Are we consistent as the European Union in delivering weapons sy…

12

Sep

2022

EL Speech

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Surveillance and predator spyware systems in Greece (debate)

Mr President, what is happening in Greece, under the responsibility of Mitsotakis, is undermining democracy and the rule of law. I clashed with him on issues of restricting media freedom, covering up the Novartis scandal and prosecuting Touloupaki, Vaxevanis and Papadakou. But the situation is getting worse. Mitsotakis admitted that the National Intelligence Service was monitoring the president of…

5

Jul

2022

EL Speech

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2021 Report on Serbia (debate)

Madam President, we want Serbia in the European Union. We think we have a common European perspective. But it must be said that this is not the time for discounts on issues of principle and strategy. The Serbian leadership, unfortunately, winks at Russia at a time when there is an ongoing war in Ukraine under the responsibility of Putin, who is destabilizing the whole of Europe. Also, Russia's agg…

4

Jul

2022

EN Speech

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Adoption by Croatia of the euro on 1 January 2023 (debate)

Mr President, today is a good day for Europe because we are sending positive political messages. Croatia sends the message that it was able to move from war and destruction to European development within a few decades. A very good example – a perfect example – for all of the countries that aspire to join the European Union. The eurozone sends the message that it was able to deal, to cope with the …

9

Jun

2022

EL Speech

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The call for a Convention for the revision of the Treaties (debate)

Mr President, without changing the Treaties, we are going nowhere. We are still paying the French and Dutch no to the European Constitution 18 years ago. Today one says no because he is afraid of paying more, the other wants to keep his tax advantage, the third wants unanimity thinking that this protects national interests. We compare ourselves to our past and think we are progressing. In fact, we…

6

Jun

2022

EL Speech

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2021 Report on Turkey (debate)

Mr President, we must give priority to defending the rights of the Kurds. Erdoğan is attacking or has occupied areas of the Kurds, Syria and Iraq. It does not respect international legality and can be practiced for adventures against Greece and Cyprus. Erdogan calls the Kurds, like many of his political opponents, "terrorists." It uses this arbitrary designation to object to Finland and Sweden joi…

19

May

2022

EL Speech

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The REPowerEU Plan: European solidarity and energy security in face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including the recent cuts of gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria (debate)

Mr President, in my view the Commission is trying – and congratulations to the Commissioner. And in the European Parliament I think we are almost all trying together. But the key is the energy policy of governments. Take the example of the Greek government: in March following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it increased the value of imports from Russia by 69% to EUR 532 million. These are mainly …

18

May

2022

EL Speech

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Minimum level of taxation for multinational groups (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, we have an international compromise to ensure a basic minimum taxation of multinationals that is in the right direction. The European Commission and the European Parliament have undertaken their obligations; The European Council's turn is to overcome any blockages and bargains and move in the right direction. He has to do it to send the right message. The sharp rise …

14

Feb

2022

EL Speech

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European Central Bank – annual report 2021 (continuation of debate)

Madam President, the role of the European Central Bank in addressing the economic consequences of the pandemic crisis proved to be of strategic importance in 2021. Eurozone economies recovered quickly and dynamically, also building on the monetary policy implemented. Also, the news from the labour market is particularly encouraging to good. The ECB’s contribution is reflected in the 2021 annual re…