What Elissavet spoke about.

15

Jan

2024

EL Speech

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Order of business

Madam President, in every plenary session lately, for many months, this demand for the rule of law in Greece and for matters that are before the Greek judiciary comes and goes back. The Greek judiciary is an independent authority, completely independent and proven, and this obsessive repetition of an issue is directed against the Greek government, which only in the recent national elections was el…

23

Nov

2023

EL Speech

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International day for the elimination of violence against women (debate)

Mr President, today we are discussing gender-based violence in the shadow of wars taking place in Europe's wider neighbourhood, leaving behind hundreds of thousands of women, brutally abused, sunk and murdered, and mothers with babies in their arms uprooted, hopeless. We must be haunted by these images of shame. But across the world and on our continent, of course, in times of peace, women are bei…

22

Nov

2023

EL Speech

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The lack of legislative follow-up by the Commission to the PEGA resolution (debate)

Mr President, once again in this Chamber, we ask the Commission to take a legislative initiative on the basis of the PEGA Committee's findings. Our work was completed with painstaking effort and after visits to Member States and contacts with the relevant bodies. I would remind you that my country, Greece, but also Cyprus, unlike other countries, cooperated directly with the members of the committ…

17

Oct

2023

EL Speech

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Urgent need for a coordinated European response and legislative framework on intrusive spyware, based on the PEGA inquiry committee recommendations (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, a year ago the use of illegal software by Member States was the subject of an investigation by our Pega Committee, which reached its conclusion. We call today on the Commission to look responsibly into a legislative framework that guarantees the safety of citizens while respecting their rights, the confidentiality of communications and personal data. My country,…

4

Oct

2023

EL Speech

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Need for a speedy adoption of the asylum and migration package (debate)

Mr President, Mr Vice-President, you know that in 2023 alone over 2 500 people were lost or missing in the Central Mediterranean. Correspondingly, in the eastern corridor, and specifically in the Aegean, the criminal networks that exploit people continue their action unceasingly. The Greek government for the past four years has effectively guarded Europe's external borders and brought hundreds of …

2

Oct

2023

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, ten years have passed since the first tragic shipwreck with 368 dead in Lampedusa and we have failed in the management of migration. Those who have instructed us to deal with it holistically in Europe are rightly disappointed. Member States are moving with different policies, legislation is delayed and illegal immigration remains threatening and uncontrolled. At the recent MED9 me…

11

Sep

2023

EL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, this summer my country, Greece, has been put to the test. Deadly fires and unprecedented floods that occur every three hundred years have shaken my homeland. From the extreme phenomena people died, whole villages were buried, forest-lungs disappeared, while houses, businesses and crops were completely destroyed. The Prime Minister of Greece, Mr. Mitsotakis, will inform the Presidents…

12

Jul

2023

EL Speech

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The need for EU action on search and rescue in the Mediterranean (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, once again we are discussing borders, an issue which needs a European and holistic approach. Commissioner, we find it unacceptable to accuse a country of first reception without arguments and evidence, to accuse Greece of having responsibility for the loss of human lives, without testimonies, without evidence, without data. Do you want to hear what the data i…

11

Jul

2023

EL Speech

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2023 Annual Rule of law report (debate)

Madam President, throughout the past period, in every plenary session, specific colleagues, serving political expediencies, have brought up for discussion as a topic "Corruption of the rule of law in Greece", accusing my country with fake news of opacity and corruption. The annual report we are debating today is the resounding and evidence-based response that is restoring reality. Among other posi…

14

Jun

2023

EL Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 29-30 June 2023, in particular in the light of recent steps towards concluding the Migration Pact (debate)

Mr President, in view of the Council it is now necessary to decide, among other things, that the first host states rightly demand solidarity in practice, which in times of crisis can be expressed in terms of compulsory relocation. That countries such as Greece, which effectively guard Europe's borders, must be treated fairly, that everyone must be involved in every way in the ways of guarding, and…

30

Mar

2023

EL 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, Commissioner, once again specific MEPs are deliberately targeting Greece, with reference this time to the murder of journalist Karaivaz. Do they mean that the unsolved crimes that exist in all, I repeat, all countries threaten the rule of law? Are we serious? Greece has climbed nine places in the Democracy Index and sixteen in the Transparency Index over the past four years, accordin…

15

Feb

2023

EL Speech

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

Mr President, Commissioner, for several months now, in every plenary session of the European Parliament, specific political groups have been obsessively and deliberately targeting Greece. Seriously, colleagues, do you think there is an erosion of the rule of law in Greece? Let's talk data. The wiretapping case is pending before the Greek courts, which alone have jurisdiction. Besides, the governme…

14

Feb

2023

EL Speech

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Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence: EU accession (continuation of debate)

Madam President, violence against women is a global phenomenon, which knows no borders and is a disgrace to humanity. At European Union level, one in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence, with 17 million victims each year. Findings and statistics are useful, but progress is lagging behind. Have we exhausted all available European tools, as we owe it to combat gender-based violen…

13

Feb

2023

EL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, yesterday Sunday an interview was hosted in a newspaper supporting the main opposition in Greece by the rapporteur of the PEGA Committee entitled "We have serious concerns about the rule of law in Greece". In another interview, a colleague, also a member of PEGA, mentions Greece as a country heading towards autocracy and states that the opposition may request an observer from the …

18

Jan

2023

EL Answer

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Criminalisation of humanitarian assistance, including search and rescue (debate)

Mr President, Mrs Strik, first of all there are two different things. Indeed, Greece is protesting against Turkey because it does not accept those it must accept back when it is a safe country. This is completely different from the signing of the EU-Turkey Joint Declaration. Turkey has never cooperated in the fight against smugglers. On the contrary, there are strong indications that it promotes a…

18

Jan

2023

EL Speech

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Criminalisation of humanitarian assistance, including search and rescue (debate)

Mr President, once again, a particular political group is insistently bringing up an issue that neither exists nor characterises the Member States in their management of the migration problem. With regard to my country, Greece, it is a given and proven – among other things – that Greece effectively protects the external borders of the European Union, with a commitment to international law and the …

16

Jan

2023

EL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, the intensity of Turkey's aggression against my country, Greece, has increased sharply. Ten days ago, a Turkish coast guard harassed a Coast Guard vessel attempting to identify three Turkish vessels fishing illegally in Greek territorial waters on the island of Farmakonisi. The Turks are deliberately seeking to inflict an accident with a view to instrumentalisation in the run-up to t…

23

Nov

2022

EL Speech

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Eliminating violence against Women (debate)

Madam President, every year, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we look at the image of the phenomenon in the European Union and around the world. Gender-based violence online and offline is deeply rooted in society’s structural inequalities and remains silent, constituting a brutal violation of human rights. In today's digital age, citizens' co…

23

Nov

2022

EL Speech

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The need for a European solution on asylum and migration including search and rescue (debate)

Mr President, Vice-President, Commissioner, today's debate is a good opportunity to see where we stand in relation to migration. In 2022, there was again an increase in illegal entries into the Union after the pandemic. Among other things, we are called upon to manage Turkey's hybrid threats by instrumentalising desperate souls as a means of pressure on the European Union. As a Greek woman, I focu…

21

Nov

2022

EL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, according to official European surveys, three out of four children up to the age of four regularly suffer punishment and psychological violence from parents or carers. 3% of children aged two to four do not feel safe at home, 9% at school and 8% online. It goes without saying that these rates rise dramatically in teenagers with many hours of daily activity on…

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, ladies and gentlemen, the report lacks a legal basis and does not lead to clear and concrete conclusions. Any discussion of immigration must be serious and responsible. Let's talk with the truth: The report coincides with the surge in Turkish aggression against Greece and the instrumentalisation of desperate people. Just the day before yesterday, the Turks led 92 people to Evros, abu…

12

Sep

2022

EL Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, Turkey has recently intensified its aggression against Greece and Cyprus, with the instrumentalisation of migrants, daily serious threats and propaganda with fake news. President Erdogan and top officials directly threaten military intervention against Greece, remind us of the Asia Minor disaster with reference to Smyrna, question the sovereignty of our islands, and - just today - Mr…

12

Sep

2022

EL Speech

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Surveillance and predator spyware systems in Greece (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the subject we are debating today is European and global. Let's talk honestly. The legal surveillance of the phone of our colleague, Mr. Androulakis, was carried out by the secret services of Greece, while the Prime Minister, Mr. Mitsotakis, when he was informed of it, reacted immediately. He ordered full light to be shed on the case by the Justice and Inquiry C…

4

Jul

2022

EL Speech

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Loss of life, violence and inhumane treatment against people seeking international protection at the Spanish-Moroccan border (debate)

Madam President, a further twenty-three of our fellow human beings have recently died in tragic circumstances, which calls on us to rise to the occasion. Migration does not lend itself to political exploitation or to quantifying humanism – human life is of paramount value to all – nor does it lend itself to separating the countries of the European Union on the basis of geographical location. Above…

4

Jul

2022

EL Speech

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US Supreme Court decision to overturn abortion rights in the United States and the need to safeguard abortion rights and Women’s health in the EU (debate)

Madam President, the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States of America to abolish the right of women to a conditional abortion after 50 years is a huge blow to the protection of human rights on a global scale, because this right, together with contraception (1965) and the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships (2003), have been enshrined in the same article of the Constitution of …