Speeches

I am in favour of the recommendation adopted by the European Parliament on Investigating the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware, as is the case with the majority of colleagues in the EPP Group. Unfortunately, due to force majeure, I cannot be present at this vote.

One out of three women has encountered physical or sexual violence. Domestic violence claims the lives of approximately 50 women every week. Within professional environments, 75 % of women have faced sexual harassment, and it is estimated that 1 in 2 young women has experienced gender-based cyber violence. Ιt is unacceptable for women to feel unsafe in any aspect of their life: in public, online, their workplace, in their own home. Victims must not be re-traumatised during the legal process. The persistent and extensive impunity for those who commit acts of violence against women and domestic violence is unacceptable. Every woman should be granted the protection she is legally entitled to. Essential is also the recognition of children who have witnessed violence against women and domestic violence as victims. Due consideration ought to be given to the best interests of the child. Community-led initiatives within my home country, Cyprus, like the ‘Insavior’ free application providing practical and immediate assistance to women in danger, are commendable. However, they also serve as a reminder that threats to women’s safety are on the rise. The directive tackling violence against women and domestic violence is a much anticipated and very welcome response to a long-standing call from the European Parliament.

Mr President, Commissioner, North-East Syria is bleeding again and every time we talk about geopolitical balances, we are actually talking about human lives. We are talking about women, children, families living under the terror of violence again, without electricity, without water. It was the Kurds in the region who stood at the forefront against ISIS. They fought the jihadists, sacrificed themselves, protected not only their land, but also international security. With them are the Christians of Syria, historical communities that today are threatened with extinction. The forces that fought ISIS cannot be abandoned by us today. A purge is taking place in the region, starring Damascus and Ankara. In this tragic reality, Turkey has a grave responsibility. Let those who truly believe that Turkey can be a reliable strategic partner for Europe listen well to this. We'll put the snake in our house and it'll eat us, remember us. The European Union must demand effective protection for national and religious minorities. Our silence today will be complicity tomorrow.

Madam President, High Representative, Mr Costa, you have said that you will not accept the violation of international law in Venezuela, Gaza, Iran, Greenland and even Africa. Why did you forget about Cyprus? But today I want to say something else. A stronger and more sovereign Europe is not only built on defence and geopolitical strategy. It is built with knowledge, with young people, with equal opportunities in education. Today I want to focus on a very specific but serious political issue, because we are talking about relations with other countries. It is about the exorbitant tuition that European students have to pay at British universities after Brexit. Education cannot be turned into a tool of exclusion, nor into a collateral loss of geopolitical tensions. On 17 February I will go to London as a member of the Education Committee with a clear goal: to work towards reducing these fees. And here I am addressing the European institutions. If the United Kingdom wishes to re-examine its relationship with the European Union, then that relationship cannot be one-sided. It must give something back, and an essential step of goodwill is to reduce tuition fees for European students.

Madam President, Commissioner, Mr President, welcome to Parliament. For me, for all of us, Cyprus is above all. And we will do everything we can to make it work. The Republic of Cyprus took over the presidency of the Council at a crucial moment for Europe. But I want to say clearly to everyone that Cyprus can: can respond, can unite, can stand up to the circumstances. The challenges are huge. We know them, we heard them. Cyprus can be the bridge between Europe and the Middle East. Cyprus can and should stress that the right to veto is non-negotiable. We demand that. Cyprus can remind everyone that what unites us are common principles and values, even if these principles and values have not been applied for 52 years. They have never been applied in my country, which remains occupied. We are proud that our country is taking the reins of our great family and I assure you that for us Cypriots here in Parliament, during the presidency our party is Cyprus. That is why, ladies and gentlemen, I urge you all to join us. Mr. President, welcome. You can count on our support and we call on you to become the guardian of the principles and values that we all have to serve, even if in our case, I repeat, they were never applied.

Mr President, today we are preparing another European Council, talking about Ukraine, transatlantic relations and the European Union's strategic autonomy. But let me say that the Union is showing a dangerous selective sensitivity. The truth is awkward: Our European family does not face the same situations in the same way. Because at the same time we are defending the territorial integrity of Ukraine – and we do well to do so – we are forgetting one of our Member States, Cyprus, which has remained under Turkish occupation for almost five decades. We forget that Turkey has been illegally holding Greek Cypriots in the occupied territories for five months in retaliation for the sentencing of our usurper properties. We forget that last September, here in this Parliament, we demanded in a resolution the immediate release of these people. No compliance from Turkey. Listen to something else: Last July and August alone, Turkey committed 328 aerial and 16 naval violations in Cyprus. And what do we do? We continue the positive agendas with Erdoğan. Turkey says it will have no cooperation with Europe over the next six months in the Cyprus presidency. How do you comment on that?

Mr President, Commissioner, we are not just talking about an illegal proclamation, we are talking about 42 years of a pseudo-state of shame set up on the occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus, a Member State of the European Union. We are talking about 51 years of Turkish occupation, with Turkey continuing to provoke, threaten, talk about two states, talk about partition. Where did you find the progress? Let's see ours too. What is the European Union doing? I heard you. You said the obvious again as a poem. You did not say a word about the condemnation of the Turkish invasion. Instead of imposing sanctions, the European Union distributes roles and rewards. Instead of drawing red lines, he bows to Ankara's blackmail. Instead of standing next to the victim, he rewards the perpetrator. Yes or no? I invite you to think of something. In a country which by force of arms occupies European territory, do you, our European partners, our family, sell arms to it? Are you delivering fighter jets and submarines to her? You're making her a security partner? This, ladies and gentlemen, is called moral bankruptcy. It's called complicity. We don't ask for favors. And if you ask me, we're full of words and verbal support. We call for equal treatment and justice. And I want from this step to assure you that we will neither forget nor surrender.

Madam President, Commissioner, as Chair of the Delegation to the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee, I want to speak with absolute sincerity today. Next Monday I am going to Belgrade as part of my duties and I want to be clear to everyone. Let's talk honestly. Do we want Serbia in the European Union or not? Today, Serbia is facing two roads: The European one, with reforms and perspective, and the one that leads it to other choices, which would be wrong for the European Union itself. I want to assure you that I personally do not want Europe's door to be closed for Serbia, because the European Union needs Serbia if it really wants stability, security and a strong presence in the Western Balkans. At the same time, however, Belgrade must understand that in order to keep the door open, it must take responsibility for its obligations through incisions and reforms. Dialogue, not exclusion. Here some insist on giving a European perspective to Turkey, which occupies European territory, not talking to Serbia? So let's leave the selective sensitivities. Our door to Serbia must remain open and it is now up to Belgrade to prove whether it wants the same.

Madam President, Commissioner, my country, Cyprus, is only 200 nautical miles from Gaza and from our homes we see the missiles at night. We are the closest European territory to the battlefield and our responsibility, especially in the humanitarian field, is enormous. We have done and continue to do everything we can to alleviate the human suffering that has been going on outside our doorstep for two years. We condemn Hamas' terrorism and have defended Israel's right to self-defence from the outset. At the same time, however, we cannot close our eyes to the explosion of violence and the tens of thousands of civilian deaths. An immediate ceasefire and the return of all hostages to their homes and families is imperative. It is imperative to provide safe access to the humanitarian aid that the region so desperately needs. At the same time, however, I do not hide my concern, because other players are determining developments in our region, with the European Union not playing a leading role. There needs to be decisive action by the European Union. We must lead, not follow.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I am speaking to you with outrage and indignation because five Greek Cypriots, five European citizens have been illegally arrested and detained by the Turkish occupation army for two months. It is an act of piracy, a kidnapping in retaliation against the legitimate Republic of Cyprus that has arrested usurpers, those who sell our property in the occupied areas, the houses where we were born and raised. Every illegal arrest is a blow to democracy, every act of retaliation is an insult to the European Union. All tolerance towards Turkey is complicity. Enough is enough. We can't be silent. We can't close our eyes. Solidarity cannot be selective. When citizens of a Member State are dragged into illegal courts of occupation, Europe must react. I ask you unequivocally and unequivocally to condemn this unacceptable act. Demand the immediate release of the five Greek Cypriot European citizens. To send a strong message to Turkey that we will not tolerate another blackmail. I wonder: Is this our strategic partner, this pirate, the kidnapper, the audacious violator of international law and human rights? I heard what the President of the Commission said about Russia's war in Ukraine, about the dramatic situation in Gaza. Not a word about Cyprus. For Cyprus, which has been occupied for 51 years. Apathetic, like these things don't happen. As if it is normal for a Member State of the European Union to be half free and half occupied. This is not the Europe we envision, this is the Europe of interests. We want Europe to stand by us as a family stands by its children. Cyprus is Europe.

Madam President, Serbia is a country that is on the European road, a road that requires dialogue, respect and democratic maturity. Violence has no place and is absolutely reprehensible wherever it comes from, whether by the police or by the citizens. Violence only brings violence, it does not solve problems, it sharpens them. Governments have a duty to listen, to listen to society, to give space to the voice of the citizen. Citizens, on the other hand, have a responsibility to express their protest with respect to the Constitution, the institutions and their own country. The road to Europe passes through trust and trust is built through dialogue. Serbia and its citizens deserve the future they dream of. Europe is here, not as a judge and a punisher, but as a partner, as a companion in this effort. The solution is always dialogue. The responsibility is all of us and the hope is the greatest force, for a Serbia that is peaceful, for a Serbia that is European. That is what I will continue to support.