What Nikolas spoke about.

13

Feb

2025

EL Speech

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Threats to EU sovereignty through strategic dependencies in communication infrastructure (debate)

Mr President, in the previous plenary we decided here on an upgraded Security and Infrastructure Committee of the European Parliament, Security and Defence. And today's debate from this morning shows that security issues in the European Union are not just about a frantic and obsessive arms and weapons race. They concern broader issues and possibly more important ones. Network and infrastructure se…

12

Feb

2025

EL Speech

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US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, the World Health Organisation and the suspension of US development and humanitarian aid (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, for two months now we have been overly concerned with what the United States is doing or will do and, I think, less concerned with what the European Union should do. The European Union must remain the guardian of international legality. The European Union must remain the guardian of global health, environmental protection and biodiversity. The European Union …

23

Jan

2025

EL Speech

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Combating Desertification: 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention (debate)

Mr President, let the European Union and its Member States not follow the hypocrisy of other countries on this planet. The dry regions of the Earth today cover about half of the Earth’s land area – 41% – affecting 2 billion people on this planet, and we do not understand. Let us remove the partisan blinkers and stop, ladies and gentlemen, denying the climate crisis. The measures we need to take ar…

21

Jan

2025

EL Speech

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Geopolitical and economic implications for the transatlantic relations under the new Trump administration (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner Šefčovič, I shall refer to the economic dimension of the new relationship with the United States, which I consider to be the most important. The architecture of world trade, as we know it after the Second World War, is changing. But it doesn't change now. It's been going on for years. Already under the Obama administration, I believe that the United…

18

Dec

2024

EL Speech

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Urgent need for EU action to preserve nature and protect biodiversity to avoid the extinction of species (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, in my recent question on the protection of Natura sites in the Mediterranean, you answered me, sincerely and thank you very much, that the figures are disappointing, for countries in the Mediterranean where biodiversity is at risk. So, ladies and gentlemen, now is the time for action. I cannot understand what delaying the implementation of the deforestation law is all a…

18

Dec

2024

EL Speech

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Preparation of the EU-Western Balkans Summit (debate)

Madam President, there are European countries par excellence that have been asking for decades to join our European family. And yet, the European Union has turned its attention to other corners of Europe and not to the Western Balkans. We need a strong message of support to countries that are trying to honour the Copenhagen criteria and to converge towards our European family. Και τα Δυτικά Βαλκάν…

28

Nov

2024

EL Speech

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Need to adopt an ambitious international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment

Mr President, what distinguishes the European Union from other countries of the world, from other federal states, from other international organisations? What is perhaps its most emblematic intervention on the issues of humanity and the planet today? Protecting the environment, the future generations, the planet. The protection of what is a self-evident prerequisite for our existence. As a member …

26

Nov

2024

EL Speech

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Outcome of COP 29 and challenges for international climate policy (debate)

26

Nov

2024

EL Speech

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2025 budgetary procedure: Joint text (debate)

21

Oct

2024

EL Speech

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Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU citizens (debate)

Madam President, dear Mr Letta, I welcome you to the European Parliament. We welcome some of your proposals, such as those for a common tax policy or a common European industrial policy. However, I do not agree with the further deregulation of labour relations and the exclusive emphasis on investment mobility. I also call on you and the European Commission to take into account the fact that a key …

7

Oct

2024

EL Speech

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Mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund: assistance to Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Greece and France further to natural disasters occurred in 2023 (short presentation)

Madam President, we unequivocally support the countries affected by the catastrophic natural disasters and we support the activation of the Solidarity Fund. We call, however, for disasters to be taken into account in relation to the scarce appropriations we have for their restoration and, of course, for the disbursement procedures to be speeded up.…

7

Oct

2024

EL Speech

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The extreme wildfires in Southern Europe, in particular Portugal and Greece and the need for further EU climate action on adaptation and mitigation (debate)

Madam President, the devastating fires in the Mediterranean and in the south of the European Union have had enormous repercussions, even more so in some of the Mediterranean countries and especially in my own country, Greece, where we have had a negative first for consecutive years, which testifies to the failure of the state apparatus. I am therefore addressing our European family and the Europea…

19

Sep

2024

EL Speech

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Droughts and extreme weather events as a threat to local communities and EU agriculture in times of climate change (debate)

on behalf of the ALDE Group. - Mr President, I am addressing the European Commission in particular and calling on it to integrate environmental policy into the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy, in terms of horizontal management and other policies. Yes to the integration of environmental policy into the CAP, but not to the sacking. That is, distinct policies and resources for those count…

16

Sep

2024

EL Speech

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Outcome of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture (debate)

Mr President, agricultural policy is one of the fundamental policies of our European vision. A basic policy, but one that is now being shaken because our farmers and stockbreeders feel that the European Union may no longer be able to protect them. I, too, would like to point out that, in the context of the debate that has begun for 2024-2027, we must also take other policies seriously. One policy …