What Nikolaos spoke about.

8 Oct

2026

EL Speech

Escalations in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean following persistent Turkish provocations (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Turkey is a threat not only to Greece and Cyprus, but also to the whole of Europe. For thirty years it has maintained casus belli against my homeland, Greece, if we exercise our legal right to expand our territorial waters. Today, it goes even further. It teaches Blue Homeland, challenges Greek islands and maritime zones, issues long-term NAVTEX in the Aegean and Easter…

15 Sep

2026

EL Speech

Hybrid attacks against the EU Member States (joint debate)

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Mr President, Europe is also undergoing hybrid warfare from Turkey through my home country, Greece, which guards one of Europe's most important external borders. In 2020, Turkey instrumentalised tens of thousands of migrants in Evros, attempting mass illegal entry into Greece. In the Aegean, migratory flows and smugglers’ circuits continue to be used as a means of pressure. Strong borders, effecti…

8 Jul

2026

EL Speech

Ongoing persecution of Christians in Nigeria, notably the Kawel village massacre

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Madam President, two weeks ago, on 22 June, armed men invaded the Nigerian village of Kawel and executed at least 20 Christian civilians. Among them is Pastor Markus Nyam and a pregnant woman. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident; It's a pattern. According to the Open Doors program, Nigeria has more Christians murdered for their faith than any other country on the planet. It's a sad one…

20 May

2026

EL Speech

Recent proposals to fight poverty in the EU (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, one in five Europeans and one in four children now live on the brink of poverty. 93 million of our fellow human beings do not know if tomorrow they will have a house, food or heating. These are not simple numbers in European reports and table-top exercises. They are people with names, families and dignity that no one has the right to take away. As an MEP of t…

29 Apr

2026

EL Speech

The need for targeted criminal provisions and platforms’ responsibility to effectively address cyberbullying and online harassment (debate)

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11 Mar

2026

EL Speech

Situation of the rule of law in Greece, following the Court decision on Predator spyware (debate)

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11 Feb

2026

EL Speech

Targeted expulsions of foreign journalists and foreign Christians in Türkiye under national security pretexts

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Mr President, Commissioner, targeted deportations of unprotected, judicial, foreign journalists and foreign Christians are a systematic practice in Turkey, which is now particularly worrying. The list of recorded cases is inexhaustible. Since 2020, more than 200 Christian workers have been deported. I will focus on a very recent but striking example, that of Yannis Vassilis Yialalis. Giannis disco…

22 Jan

2026

EL Speech

A new action plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, we must now ask ourselves whether the implementation of the Pillar of Social Rights meets the real needs of our societies. The pillar must touch on values that for us Greeks come from afar, from the ancient Greek conception of care for the common good to the Byzantine tradition of community spirit and the protection of the weak. But today we live in a multi-s…

18 Dec

2025

EL Speech

European Democracy Shield – very large online platform algorithms, foreign interference and the spread of disinformation (debate)

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26 Nov

2025

EL Speech

Protecting citizens' right to make cash payments and ensuring financial inclusion (debate)

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12 Nov

2025

EL Speech

The first European Annual Asylum and Migration report and the setting up of the Annual Solidarity Pool (debate)

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Madam President, I welcome the principle of solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility in the new Regulation, as well as the Commission's decision for countries such as mine, Greece, which are under migratory pressure and therefore entitled to make use of solidarity contributions from other Member States. But my country is already paying a disproportionate price. Solidarity should not be blackm…

22 Oct

2025

EL Speech

UN Climate Change Conference 2025 in Belém, Brazil (COP30) (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, in the run-up to COP30 in Brazil, of course, we must take global climate action. But let's not forget that climate change has always happened, is happening and will happen, and unlike the well-known narrative, it is not always related to human activity. Oversimplified and dangerous demonization of carbon dioxide, carbon taxes, green justice measures, when imp…

7 Oct

2025

EL Speech

Common agricultural policy (joint debate)

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Mr President, it is not possible for farmers to remain the last link in a chain that feeds the whole of Europe. Small producers keep the countryside alive, but they are squeezed between manufacturing multinationals by large retail chains and misguided Common Agricultural Policy targets. They work hard, but are poorly paid and see their income evaporate between middlemen and retail chains. Greek fa…

9 Sep

2025

EL Speech

Devastating wildfires in Southern Europe: the need to strengthen EU aid to restore the massive loss of forests and enhancing EU preparedness (debate)

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Mr President, in the July plenary we discussed measures to prevent and prepare the European Union for summer forest fires. After the huge loss of forest land, we are again called upon to discuss the issue, in search of ways to improve it. In my country and this year we burned - literally. Greece is one of the most affected countries across the continent. The fires were everywhere, they reached the…

9 Jul

2025

EL Speech

EU Preparedness Union in light of the upcoming wildfire and droughts season (debate)

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Madam President, my country, Greece, is affected every summer by uncontrolled forest fires. In every fire, forests, animals, property, and even human lives are lost. Only in Attica in eight years has 37% of the forest land been lost. In 2021, nearly 1.5 million acres were burned across the country. The tragedy in Evia with half a million acres becoming ashes still hurts us. 2023 was one of the wor…

7 May

2025

EL Speech

High levels of retail food prices and their consequences for European consumers (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, in a resolution in February we deplored the cost-of-living crisis caused by inflation in the European Union and considered it imperative to reduce it to 2% in order to maintain social cohesion. However, a mere finding is not sufficient. Accuracy in food reduces the purchasing power of citizens, threatening their quality of life and freedom, as prices rise faster than…

1 Apr

2025

EL Speech

Targeted attacks against Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – defending religious freedom and security (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, on the tragedy affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo, instead of others, I would like to quote from the messages of the Greek Orthodox Bishop of Gomas and the Great Kivus, Mr Timothy, of African descent. It says the following: Our country has suffered an unfair war by Rwandan-backed rebels, covered by foreign forces for exploitation of the subsoil. Execu…

11 Mar

2025

EL Speech

White paper on the future of European defence (debate)

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Mr President, first of all we agree with the formation of a European defence, as long as the obvious is respected, that the attack of one Member State will mean an attack against all Member States. Greece and Cyprus have every reason to agree on a common defence between the Member States. But first, a clear European foreign and defence policy and diplomacy is a prerequisite. Secondly, agreement on…

11 Feb

2025

EL Speech

Wider comprehensive EU-Middle East Strategy (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, let us not forget the following: as regards Turkey, it is a major destabilising factor in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. With its expansionist and revisionist policy, it continues to express itself through threatening statements and provocative actions against two Member States, Greece and Cyprus, as well as Syria and Iraq. If it does not canc…

22 Jan

2025

EL Speech

Addressing EU demographic challenges: towards the implementation of the 2023 Demography Toolbox (debate)

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Mr President, Greece's demographic problem is summed up in the words 'perfect storm'. For a century we have been facing negative records with the fewest births and the most deaths, thus losing every year the equivalent of a city of some 65 000 inhabitants, a performance which places us in the worst 5% of the planet. Many young people are afraid to have a family and children, even leaving the count…

21 Jan

2025

EL Speech

Need for actions to address the continued oppression and fake elections in Belarus (debate)

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Mr President, I wish you a happy and blessed year. We naturally express our solidarity with the Belarusian people on their way to claiming their democratic freedoms. We condemn any attempt by the Lukashenko regime to rig the electoral process through blockades and bans of political opponents. But the European institutions have not reacted to the undemocratic, absurd cancellation of the presidentia…

19 Dec

2024

EL Speech

Need to update the European strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities (debate)

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Madam President, as we know, in accordance with Article 34 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the right of persons with disabilities to a dignified life accessible to all necessary goods is guaranteed. In my country, however, Greece, this right is being violated incessantly because of the economic policies that are being implemented. Thus, too many of our fellow human bein…

17 Dec

2024

EL Speech

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

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Mr President, social media may shape public opinion. We have the illustrative example of the recent presidential elections in Romania, where critics of the first-vote Mr. Georgiescu instrumentalized the Tiktok platform to cancel the election process. Disinformation and false information is undoubtedly a sad and deeply worrying fact. It is a major and multifaceted threat. And this is not just about…

27 Nov

2024

EL Speech

Rise of energy prices and fighting energy poverty (debate)

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Madam President, the rise in energy prices in Europe is unfortunately a reality. It is a direct consequence of the reduction of gas flows. The crisis has highlighted the dangerous dependence on imported energy resources. Strengthening energy independence is essential. We all understand that. My country, Greece, can play a key role in European energy security. "How?" you would ask me. Through the e…

9 Oct

2024

EL Speech

Ensuring sustainable, decent and affordable housing in Europe - encouraging investment, private property and public housing programmes (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner. One of the main problems of the Greek family is the housing crisis and the inability to rent or buy a house. According to recent statistics, Greeks consume on average 40% of their income for housing, which is significantly higher than the corresponding European figure. According to data from the Bank of Greece, apartment prices increased further in the first quarter of …