What Yannis spoke about.

3

Apr

2025

EL Speech

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110th anniversary of the Armenian genocide

Mr President, in a few days' time we will commemorate 110 years since the Armenian Genocide. The Armenians, Assyrians and Greek populations of Asia Minor and Pontus were the victims of a systematic and centrally organized extermination effort by the Ottomans. Hundreds of thousands died and even more became refugees – including my family. Unfortunately, the recent events in Nagorno-Karabakh, where …

2

Apr

2025

EL Speech

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European Steel and Metals Action Plan (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the main challenges facing the European steel and aluminium sector today are twofold: high energy costs and unfair competition from third countries. Challenges that often lead to the permanent closure of factories and the loss of thousands of jobs. We need targeted assistance through a comprehensive European action plan. The European mining industry urgently …

1

Apr

2025

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EU Preparedness Union Strategy (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, our world is becoming less and less secure. The consequences of the climate crisis make natural disasters more powerful and more frequent. This was also evident in the recent disasters in Greece, the Aegean islands and the Cyclades. In this context, we welcome the European Commission's preparedness report. But to become more resilient to modern threats, we ne…

1

Apr

2025

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CFSP and CSDP (Article 36 TUE) (joint debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Europe is facing major geopolitical challenges. The priorities of the new US administration differ significantly from those of Europe. Parliament's two reports on foreign policy, security and defence substantiate the need, in this new and volatile environment, for the Union to have a strong presence. With an autonomous foreign policy and a comprehensive strat…

13

Mar

2025

EL Speech

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Action Plan for Affordable Energy (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, electricity and gas prices have risen drastically in Europe, unlike in the United States, which is ultimately the only beneficiary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Of course, energy taxation, where Greece is unfortunately a negative champion, grid charges, licensing times, etc., all of this increases energy costs, and you rightly ask that they be addressed. But the main…

12

Mar

2025

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Accelerating the phase-out of Russian gas and other Russian energy commodities in the EU (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, thank you very much for your excellent initiatives. In the effort to get rid of Russian gas, the Eastern Mediterranean can play an important role. It is a new source, a reliable source, of supplying Europe with green electricity and gas. Natural gas deposits in the Greek and Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone are extremely important. There are two great projects that start…

12

Mar

2025

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100 days of the new Commission – Delivering on defence, competitiveness, simplification and migration as our priorities (topical debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is common ground now that we cannot rely solely on NATO and the new US administration for our security. This means that if we have to invest more in defense, we have to do it all together. The ReArm EU proposal allows for increased defence spending, but with new loans; loans which will of course be charged to national budgets. Unfortunately, there is no incen…

11

Mar

2025

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The need for EU support towards a just transition and reconstruction in Syria (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, three months after the collapse of the Assad regime, the situation in Syria continues to be fragile. We have clearly condemned the massacres of Alawite civilians and Christians by the forces close to the new government. We find incomprehensible the announcement of the External Action Service, which seemed to justify the new government and that violence is the…

11

Mar

2025

EL Speech

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White paper on the future of European defence (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the White Paper, which is expected in a few days' time, must be the road map so that, with a specific timetable and measures, the European Union can cope with today's geopolitical challenges. We need a strong European defence industrial and technological base. It is unsustainable for more than 70% of the money we spend on armaments to go to third countries. I…

11

Mar

2025

EL Speech

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European Council meetings and European security (joint debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the review of the foreign policy of the United States puts Europe before its responsibilities. We must continue to support Ukraine. It's the best investment we can make for our own defense. The Union's strategic autonomy, particularly in the areas of security and defence, is now an undeniable necessity. ReArm EU, although it sounds ambitious, does not make a …

12

Feb

2025

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Commission Work Programme 2025 (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission's work programme is, unfortunately, far inferior to the circumstances. It seems that the President does not understand the new geopolitical environment in which we find ourselves, a world in which all the geopolitical balances and alliances we have known so far have been overthrown. While in the mission letters of both the Commissioner for the …

11

Feb

2025

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Wider comprehensive EU-Middle East Strategy (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it is a pity that the High Representative is not in Parliament today to discuss the Union's policy on the Middle East. A region of particular geopolitical, energy and humanitarian interest for Europe, where developments are ongoing. Unfortunately, the Union is not as present as it should be. Our new strategy should fill this gap immediately, as we are at a pa…

11

Feb

2025

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Continuing the unwavering EU support for Ukraine, after three years of Russia’s war of aggression (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, three years have passed since Vladimir Putin's brutal attack on Ukraine. While the Russian leadership believed that the war would last only a few days, the heroism and determination of the Ukrainians resulted in them resisting vigorously the attacks of the Russians and in addition the Russians using up North Korean soldiers. As Europe, we will continue to provid…

11

Feb

2025

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Preparedness for a new trade era: multilateral cooperation or tariffs (debate)

Madam President, in the first three weeks of the Trump presidency, we see a coordinated attack on the international regulatory framework we created after World War II. The 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum do not protect American producers, as the President of the United States thinks. On the contrary, it makes everyone poorer, with only ultimately winning China, which, as we know very well, bases…

22

Jan

2025

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Uniting Europe against actors hostile to the EU: time to strengthen our security and defence (topical debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Europe is facing a number of historically unprecedented challenges. From Russia’s expansionist war in Ukraine, Turkey’s revisionist practice in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, the crisis in the Middle East, to hybrid attacks on democracy and our societies. Today, more than ever, we must stand united in the face of geopolitical threats, countries and act…

21

Jan

2025

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

Madam President, Commissioner, since yesterday our world has been in a new era, in uncharted waters. We are in the age of authoritarian capitalism and social media. The first moves of the new US president are indicative: withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization; pardon those who tried to overturn the outcome of the previous elections; limitation of minority rig…

20

Jan

2025

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Ceasefire in Gaza - the urgent need to release the hostages, to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to pave the way for a two-state solution (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, after fifteen months of conflict, with Gaza on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe, and more than 50 000 civilians having died, the ceasefire and the release of the first three hostages brings with it a hope, a ray of hope and peace for stability in the region. The next six weeks are crucial for full implementation and for achieving the return of all hostage…

18

Dec

2024

EL Speech

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Preparation of the EU-Western Balkans Summit (debate)

Madam President, the European perspective of the Western Balkans is a European strategy starting with the Greek Presidency of 2003, which resulted in the formulation of the Thessaloniki Declaration. In this new period it is very important to rekindle the European perspective of these countries. The accession process is not unilateral. It requires effort from the candidate countries, it requires re…

18

Dec

2024

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Preparation of the European Council of 19-20 December 2024 (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I very much welcome the initiative of the new President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, for the December Council to deal with Europe's role in the world. Trump's re-election, wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and regime change in Syria have made the international environment extremely complex. It is necessary for the European Union to be present in int…

17

Dec

2024

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Misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, such as TikTok, and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, social media has a very important role to play in conveying ideas, shaping perceptions and exchanging views. In elections in particular, their role is very important. Equally important, however, is the responsibility of digital content providers to ensure that the rules are the same for everyone. We cannot allow "algocracy" to prevail, where algorithms made up o…

17

Dec

2024

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Toppling of the Syrian regime, its geopolitical implications and the humanitarian situation in the region (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, last week the sudden fall of Assad, a dictator who bloodied Syria, surprised everyone and filled Syrian citizens with hope. In less than two weeks, Hayat Tahrir and her leader Al-Golani found themselves in control of Damascus and the country's majority. But nobody at the moment can be sure that the change of this regime will indeed lead to a democratic, inclusiv…

27

Nov

2024

EL Speech

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Rise of energy prices and fighting energy poverty (debate)

Madam President, in energy some well-known unknowns are speculating. Taxing their super-profits is not a governmental feat, but, on the contrary, a self-evident obligation. On the contrary, governments should apologise for the lack of international interconnections, internal networks, storage facilities and, above all, market surveillance that allow such speculation. But while some are getting ric…

26

Nov

2024

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Continued escalation in the Middle East: the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, UNRWA’s essential role in the region, the need to release all hostages and the recent ICC arrest warrants (debate)

26

Nov

2024

EL Speech

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Reinforcing EU’s unwavering support to Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression and the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia (debate)

25

Nov

2024

EL Speech

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Condemning the illegal unilateral declaration of independence of the secessionist entity in Cyprus and all efforts to legitimise it and reaffirming the need for European solidarity - 41 years after (debate)

Mr President, this year marks 50 years since Turkey’s barbaric and illegal invasion of Cyprus, as well as 41 years since the proclamation of the pseudo-state in the occupied territories – 37% of the territory of Cyprus. Turkey, while an accession state, continues not to recognise the Republic of Cyprus and not to implement the Ankara Protocol, preventing the full implementation of the customs unio…