Speeches

Madam President, colleagues, I hear the calls for peace from one of the colleagues and for negotiations. But the people we’re talking about do not listen to negotiations. And perhaps if we are a third-world country, it’s because we do not have a strong defence policy. Something happened recently and that is called Ukraine. Did we shake our paralysis? Did we wake up for a new voice? Are we changing, building a new Europe? Yes. In that distant and also close Ukraine, we show that when we want, we can support our ideals. However, the world still doubts us. They doubt us because of our response or absence of response to the destruction of Palestine, to the Kurds in Syria, to Armenia and Central Africa. And if Trump wins, as Javi López said, we need to have our own defence policy because the umbrella of protection will be full of holes. At some point, we have to give our citizens the sense that Europe can protect its own borders from aggressors.

Madam President, I would like to thank the Romanian President for his presentation today. Our two countries have similar histories, not just in Christian orthodoxy, but we had dictatorships – you had a totalitarian country run by the Kremlin, we had a dictatorship run by the Pentagon. Today we see clouds gathering over Europe. We have the European elections. I would like your wisdom and your experience. How do we convince the voter that the solution is not the extreme populists, but more democracy? That we need a new contract for the citizens of Europe? That’s what I would call it, a ‘contract’ to complete the European project, something that most of the Members here and the farmers in the streets feel has not been completed. So it’s our duty and your wisdom, perhaps, in the answer, will help us come up with the proper arguments to bring about the Europe of our dreams.

Madam President, some say that the Greek people have forgiven the government for bringing it back to power in the last election. Oh, that's wrong. Victory in elections does not absolve any government of such sins. The Greek people do not forget. We never understood why the President of PASOK and then MEP Nikos Androulakis, along with many others, were being watched. At the end of September there was an extremely controversial action. I'm talking about the hasty replacement of members of independent authorities. And that was the day before they announced the fines from the National Intelligence Service, the EYP, and all this with the cooperation of the far right. Yesterday, the report was published by the SDOE, i.e. the Financial Crime Unit, on grants to the mass media. The report says felonies were committed. The answer? SLAPPs are filed against journalists. Dear colleagues, where there is smoke in the public sphere, unfortunately, sometimes there is also fire. Europe, as we have heard today, is concerned about the rule of law in Greece and not only there. These issues must be clarified immediately and Greece must finally enforce and implement the PEGA proposals.

Mr President, we want the Belgian Presidency to continue on the same path as the admittedly successful Presidency of Pedro Sánchez, with climate change, economic recovery and enlargement as priorities. In relation to climate change, the European Union must act swiftly. My country, especially the region of Thessaly, was also affected by this martyrdom last year. Preventive measures on the one hand, quick compensation on the other. We are in favour of enlargement to the Western Balkans. But these countries must respect the rule of law, which we have heard so much about today from the previous speakers, and we must not have phenomena such as the imprisonment in Albania of Mayor Beleris, who must be released immediately. Finally, European leaders should set a high standard for resolving the issue of accuracy. We call for immediate measures to relieve the most vulnerable households. This is how people's relationship with Europe's vision will flourish.

Madam President, colleagues, that India is an important trading partner, there’s no doubt, and under the good stewardship of Rapporteur Alametsä, for a change, all the political parties agreed on this report without many changes. That shows how much importance we give to, I would say, a new day. Why is it a new day? Because we have huge geopolitical shifts going on. Today, China and Russia are not looked at the same way we looked at them ten years ago. India is now seen not only as a trade and a cultural partner, but as a strategic partner that perhaps could take the place of our past partners and present partners like China and others. The country, we agree, is a stabilising force in the Indo-Pacific region. It is important that it keeps major sea routes open and provides stability and security in the region as a whole. We call for redoubling of the efforts in non-proliferation for nuclear weapons and, in a relatively energy-deficient country, we still ask it to reduce its dependence on Russian oil. But I think we need to propose alternative energy as the replacement. India is a natural partner for the greening of the globe. Its technical proficiency and technical advances in renewable energy are an obvious area for mutual cooperation. Solar panels, pumped storage, cheap hydrogen and significant digital expertise are a strong foundation for creating a more competitive Europe and a more competitive India. In keeping with the emphasis that Europe places now on human rights – something that it didn’t do 20 or 30 years ago in its trade agreements – it would be remiss if we did not take a strong stance on these issues. Our report points out significant deviations from the strict norms of a full Western-style democracy. We do not expect a country with such a great history and tradition to move suddenly into the nirvana of a democratic world. However, we do expect the largest democracy in the world to move forwards and not to move backwards with respect to human rights and rule of all. Over time, we hope it comes closer and closer to the values that we hold dear. To quote from the report itself ... (The President cut off the speaker)

Mr President, we know the scandal has cast a long shadow on this institution, and yet, a year later, we are still scandalised and we’re looking for solutions. We are working in a democracy. And that’s what’s good about this establishment on which the scandal has shamed us. Madame Aubry earlier asked Madame Loiseau some questions. Madame Loiseau is an example that I would like to follow in terms of morality and fighting back against the lobbyists. We should all have her spirit. There’s one problem with this scandal, which is not to do with the European Parliament, and it is that the justice system in Belgium has not moved fast enough, it seems to me, to clear up the situation. As long as the perpetrators are not called to justice ˗ that’s not the role of the European Parliament ˗ we will not have clarity, we will not have what they say closure. And finally, we can pass as many rules as we like, as many procedures, as many signatures, it is an ethical, personal matter. It is to us to be the pure politicians serving the public interest.

Madam President, colleagues, right now, at this exact moment, in the troubled country that is Niger, President Mohamed Bazoum and his son are waiting to die. His crime: being a Democrat. The son’s crime: being his son. This is the sick logic of dictatorships. They are foes of light. Along with ministers and civilians, the Nigerien junta arrested democracy and snuffed out the light. We have seen many dictatorships in our lives, unfortunately, but we continue to be offended. As George Steiner wrote a long time ago, we must never grow accustomed to even the smallest violations – we must remain outraged. Though I have never met President Bazoum –one day I might – I get it. As a young boy of 11, I witnessed my own father being jailed and my grandfather died under house arrest. President Bazoum has been offered an escape clause to resign and go free. Simple, no? Not so simple. A warrior at heart, as I found out from my friend, he refuses to yield to his captors, even if this means he loses his life. With our vote tomorrow, we might just save a Democrat and his son. With our vote tomorrow, we show our solidarity with the people of Niger.

Madam President, rapporteur Picula’s report is very strong and congratulations for being honest, for not cutting any corners. And I agree with the colleague from the Greens that Montenegro has come so far and it has to go the extra mile. And I agree with the colleague Dzhambazki that there is an influence, as the report points out, from other countries, both Serbia and China, and the effort should be to encourage Montenegro to use the EU Investment Fund so it doesn’t depend on this largesse of China to enter in the Balkans. It’s one of the tricks, and Greece as well has fallen into that trap. President Milatović has shown keen interest in coming closer to Europe. He visited here many times. He’s very pro-Europe, but as pointed out by some of the speakers, it’s an unstable government. And the very nice title of Europe Now expresses the need, but it has to bring it to delivery. I was actually, in the last elections, an observer and it was peaceful and fair. But then we also discovered the problems about the influence of the foreign countries. If we are to bring the Western Balkans in by 2030, all these matters have to be resolved. And one small matter – nothing to do with Montenegro – we need to resolve the problems in other countries like Albania and to free mayors like Fredi Beleri.

–Mr President. I’ll speak in Greek, but first I would like to say to my colleague, Ms Vozemberg-Vrionidi from EPP New Democracy, that I hope that Greece never does this again. She says her government has stopped with PEGA, with the following, and with the spyware. I hope that’s true. However, there are some unsettling things still going on. Now I’ll switch to Greek. Είναι εξαιρετικά ανησυχητικό ότι η νέα ελληνική κυβέρνηση δεν ακολούθησε τις προτάσεις της επιτροπής PEGA, εκείνες που αφορούσαν τη λειτουργία της ΑΔΑΕ. The Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy. Maybe that’s ironic. Σας θυμίζω ότι γνωστό θύμα των υποκλοπών ήταν και ο σημερινός πρόεδρος του ΠΑΣΟΚ Νίκος Ανδρουλάκης. Η κυβέρνηση «κίνησε γη και ουρανό» έτσι ώστε μαζί με το μικρό δεξιό κόμμα να αλλάξει τα μέλη της επιτροπής, ακριβώς μια μέρα πριν από τη συνεδρίαση της ΑΔΑΕ για το θέμα των υποκλοπών. Μια μέρα πριν. Αυτό λέγεται συγκάλυψη. Με αυτόν τον αμφίβολο τρόπο η κυβέρνηση προστατεύεται από τις συνέπειες των πράξεών της. Κάνω έκκληση στο Συμβούλιο και την Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή να θεσπίσει μια πανευρωπαϊκή νομοθεσία με ισχύ, ώστε να μπορέσουν τα θύματα των υποκλοπών να μάθουν επιτέλους αν παρακολουθούνταν, από ποιους και γιατί παρακολουθούνταν, και να αναζητήσουν δικαίωση.

Mr President, I would like to thank Nacho for the very good work he did; we worked together. I’ll go to Greek, but I think my interpretation of this is that it’s closing the door on accession. I heard different interpretations today, and for those in Greece, it’s a mixed bag – good and bad for us. It’s a slap in the face for Türkiye, but how do we pressure Türkiye from now on to democratise? What would be the instruments we could use to bring it closer to our values? I’m going to switch to Greek. Κύριε Πρόεδρε, να ξεκαθαρίσουμε ότι δεν κλείνουμε την πόρτα στην Τουρκία. Αν προτείνει τελικώς κάποια νέου τύπου σχέση, αυτό πρέπει να γίνει το γρηγορότερο δυνατό. Οφείλει να είναι σαφές ότι δεν υπογράφουμε λευκή επιταγή για το μέλλον. Αν πάμε προς τελωνειακή ένωση πρέπει να κρατήσουμε τις αξίες των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων. Προφανώς είναι σημαντικός εταίρος για τη Δύση, όμως πρέπει να εφαρμόσει τους κανόνες για τη μετανάστευση, όπως έχει συμφωνήσει, αλλά δεν το κάνει. Και προφανώς πρέπει να συνεχίσουμε να πιέζουμε για τη λύση του Κυπριακού.

Mr President, the catastrophic and extreme events that have affected Slovakia, Greece, Libya and Morocco show one thing: The beast of climate change is here and it's devouring everything. In Thessaly, to give a quick example, we saw divers searching for bodies in sunken houses. We haven't even seen this in science fiction movies. Like all Greek Members of the European Parliament today, I ask that the European Commission also bend over to the problem, to take additional and urgent measures. I hope soon, as many colleagues here have said, that the conservative forces in the European Parliament will support the Green Deal more strongly. I propose that the Greek government immediately proceed with the reconstruction of the infrastructure and prevent the epidemiological bomb coming from the polluted waters. We criticize the works that were not done, the modern technologies of prevention, which, as others said, were not implemented. By December, to go practically, it would be nice for the European Commission, the ENVI Committee and we at S&D, to propose a to do list of good practices for the prevention of fires and floods. This is something we can do from now until spring. We have seen volunteer firefighters, foresters, police officers, the army and ordinary citizens move decisively, with self-denial, courage and above all in the spirit of solidarity. I suggest we follow their example. Only with this determination, and with the emergency sirens ringing in our ears, will we tame the beast of climate change. As soon as possible, as other colleagues have said, we must take measures to reduce the rise in temperature. Action now by all of us.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I have recently been fortunate enough to visit Albania as a member of the municipal election observation team. Yes, it was a smooth process. Yes, I agree with what the Commissioner and Ms Santos said; Albania has moved on, but there is something far behind: Two days before the national elections he cannot put in prison a number of mayors, including the very sensitive for us mayor of Himara, Freddie Beleris. He was eventually elected to prison. We call for his release if he wants Albania to have the support of Greece and all of us in trying to reach Europe in the 20's and 30's – and we wish him well. We want all the Western Balkans to enter at some point. He must as soon as possible abide by the rules of the rule of law, apply chapters 23 and 24, and then he will have our applause.