Speeches

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 discovered his Greek roots. He denounces both the forcible displacement of the Greek population of Pontus and Armenians, as well as Turkey's modern war crimes against the Kurds. This is more than enough for the Turkish regime, it seems, to persecute it for decades, to imprison and torture it, even while extremist terrorist jihadists move freely and we give asylum to thousands of illegal immigrants. The charges against John for war crimes are politically, legally and morally unacceptable. Yiannis cannot be deported from my country, Greece; we must support, protect and defend him. We, the Members of the European Parliament, must call for transparency, accountability and full respect for freedom of the press and religious conscience in Turkey. As for my country, the government must revoke Yailali's deportation and treat him as a political refugee, providing him with safety and protection.

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-speed Europe, where most of the time the law is defined by the powerful and the various interests. And there are countries with demographic bleeding, such as my country, Greece, with high unemployment rates, low wages and an expensive cost of living, where basic social and labour rights are often violated, while social injustice is being done at the expense of some workers. One such example is substitute teachers, who are excluded from basic labour rights, such as paid sick and educational leave, threatened pregnancy leave, child-raising leave, salary progression and much more. The Pillar must therefore contain a binding action plan to eradicate social injustices, so that work is protected, the family is supported and the worker is a person and not a number. Without social justice, without spiritual orientation there can be no bliss nor, of course, a common European future.

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 blackmail, nor should it lead to total impositions. The possibility for States to opt for alternative measures to mandatory relocation should be retained as a national right of choice. We must not allow the Pact to become a tool of economic coercion or population distortions that strengthen the interests of some elites. Illegal flows, especially from men of military age, i.e. young combatants, pose risks to security and social cohesion, something the Pact ignores. The solution is not to transfer the peoples of Africa and Asia to Europe. The European Union must make available all appropriate means to improve conditions in the countries of origin, focusing on eliminating the root causes. We call for a system that respects the national identity and security of the European peoples and of course recognises the right of countries to sovereignly decide what is best for their internal security.

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 implemented unilaterally, become tools of economic dependence and inequality, and even social control. Europe taxes coal, but imports products from countries with lower environmental standards. It does not protect the environment, it simply transfers emissions elsewhere. We are reducing our animal industrial production, subject to strict environmental restrictions, but we are importing products from countries that do not make an environmental assessment. We finance the war industry with huge amounts of money, thus encouraging the continuation of wars at an incalculable environmental cost. We must take steps in the right direction. We must regain our sovereignty. There must be a national climate plan and climate finance must be properly distributed. Instead of chasing the ghost of zero emissions, let's take a different path to ecological balance, with a return to traditional values, with scientific justification and not with the imposition of political correctness that serves the interests of some elites.

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 farmers, like of course every European, struggle with the land, but they face a plethora of problems, such as low producer prices, unprecedented increases and exorbitant energy costs, lack of collective power, weak distribution markets, commercial monopolies and speculative markets, in a prolonged period of inflation with unbearable living conditions. We must therefore support further amendments to the Commission's proposal for a balanced Common Agricultural Policy with fair prices and transparent pricing, real support, strengthening the production base, short supply chains, food quality, improving farmers' bargaining power. Farmers must once again become protagonists of development. The fair food chain starts in the field and ends up in man.

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 urban fabric in my city. Human lives were at risk, animals were lost, entire properties were lost and vast woodlands were lost. They have irreversibly affected Natura areas and, unfortunately, a large part of ecosystems are on the verge of extinction. The whole Mediterranean was on fire, from Iberia to the Balkans and Cyprus. Southern Europe is most at risk. Indicatively, in Greece, Chios, 1/3 of the total area became ash. Nearly 10 million acres were burned in Europe. Firefighters and volunteers battle the fires heroically every summer. We're grateful to them. The European Civil Protection Mechanism, rescEU, the Copernicus programme have worked, but unfortunately they are not enough. We need, among other things, emergency management capacity, better coordination, upgrading the toolbox, more effective rescEU, stockpiling actions in close cooperation with Member States.

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 worst years for the entire Mediterranean region. According to the Commission, more than 5 million acres were burned. In Greece, the disaster exceeded 1,800,000. In Evros, we had the largest forest fire ever recorded in the European Union since 2000, when official registration began through the European Forest Fire Information System. These are not just natural phenomena. It is a European failure to prevent and react. Greece urgently needs priority in rescEU, human resources, technical means, prevention, satellite surveillance. If the forest lungs of Greece are lost, the whole of Europe loses. Greece can no longer stand it alone. rescEU cannot be a wish list. It must become a shield for our lives and forests.

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 wages and causing inequalities and social discontent, while profiteering flourishes. The European Union must act vigorously against oligopolies and excessive supplies in the food supply chain. We propose strict controls against profiteering, full activation of control mechanisms at national and European level against oligopolies, reduction of taxes on food. Also, the abolition of energy exchanges for countries dependent on them, such as Greece, where 100% of electricity production passes through the energy exchange. Finally, investment in sustainable agricultural production without intermediaries is needed. For social cohesion and freedom of choice, price stability is fundamental.

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. Executions and mass murders continue unabated. Hunger, disease, lack of drinking water and food aggravate the situation of the population. The plundering countless even in hospitals. Thousands of our compatriots are being taken hostage to serve as a force in the Rwandan and rebel army. Girls are raped, killed, and others are missing. I could have left, but I didn't want to leave our faithful. This is the time when they need my presence for what I can offer them. Saint Isidore of Pelousia says “Christ became a priest on the cross”. I would rather be crucified with them and resurrected with them, if God wills. Until now we have been a prophetic mission, that is, with words, teachings, catechisms and baptisms in the waters. Now we do a crucifixion and martyrdom mission, where we are in danger at all times, and our fellow men are baptized in their own blood." We must fight religious extremism.

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 the principle of collective defence, analogous to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, is necessary. Thirdly, the fully institutionalised way of involving European troops in peace support operations is also essential. And three key questions: How will defence spending be allocated to the financing of Member States? Needless to say, depending on many important factors, I imagine, such as the population of the Member States and their other specificities. Will there be Member States receiving the lion's share? Greece and Cyprus should benefit greatly, given the increased needs due to their geographical location and proximity to countries such as Turkey. After all, European defence or Euro-Turkish? Clearly European, Turkey will not participate in any part of European defence and in any defence expenditure. We won't have the wolf guarding the sheep.

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 cancel the casus belli against Greece and if it does not withdraw its army from occupied Cyprus, all European Union funding to it must be stopped yesterday. On Syria, we propose to send observers to work with the UN and the OSCE to protect minorities and speed up fair elections. Sanctions must urgently be lifted for the benefit of the Syrian people, but with attention to any financing of terrorist organisations. Greece can contribute to this effort as a member of the UN Security Council. Finally, on Gaza and the West Bank, we look forward to sending humanitarian aid. We support the relevant decisions of international organizations and courts. We consider the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas to be a very important step. We hope to create a state where Palestinians, free and equal, live in dignity.

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 country for a better working environment. At the same time, legislative myopia exacerbates the problem Europe-wide. We treat the ageing of the population exclusively as an effect in our pocket, projecting as a supposed solution the replacement with Afro-Asian populations, which do not intend and are not integrated into our culture. We violate the sanctity of unborn life, while we frantically legislate and advertise forms of symbiosis and way of life that contravene natural reproductive laws. If we really want Europe to survive, we must protect the unborn life, motherhood, the traditional family, by allocating brave resources to the births of young Europeans. To rediscover the values on which European culture was founded.

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 presidential election in Romania. They did not respect the democratic election result in Georgia or the wishes of the Georgian people. They do not apply sanctions against Turkey similar to those they should impose on Belarus. The European Union is reacting to Belarus, but it does not seem to be as moved by the thousands of persecutions and imprisonments of Turkish and Kurdish dissidents, journalists and politicians by the Erdoğan regime. The European Union is not concerned or moved by Turkey’s expansionist policy against two Member States – occupied Cyprus and casus belli-threatened Greece.

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 beings live in poverty and impoverishment due, for example, to low social welfare benefits or meager disability pensions, whenever and whenever they are granted, while cancer patients and those suffering from severe chronic diseases have to pay a large part of their own costs for their medicines and long-delayed treatment anyway. Ladies and gentlemen, we must each and every one of us, by whatever means we have and whatever position we occupy, ensure that the rights of persons with all kinds of disabilities are guaranteed in practice by the European Union in all the Member States.

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 Tiktok, but all social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram and the rest. The targeted, perhaps motivated by specific ideologies and obsessions, reference to tiktok is dangerous, as there is a risk of downgrading the overall phenomenon, which has multiple implications for our democracy. So if we are really interested in hearing in a democratic and transparent way the voice and will of the people in every election process, we must certainly not silence social media, but look at the issue of disinformation as a whole and without blinkers. After all, we have all turned to social media, after discrediting the subjectivity and bias of the media.

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 extraction of domestic hydrocarbons, such as natural gas and oil. This strategy will not only benefit the Greek economy, but also Europe as a whole, as it will reduce price pressures and ensure stability of supply. In addition, the development of domestic fuels, such as lignite, can help tackle energy poverty directly. Europe needs a realistic energy plan that balances autonomy and sustainability.

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 2024 by 10.4% year-on-year, after seven years of continuous increases. The Greek economy is experiencing the consequences of the three unbearable memoranda. The second condition was the abolition of the Workers' Housing Organization with a non-existent housing policy. The main cause of the problem is the red loans with unsold apartments and houses. The pressure of the European Commission to transfer them from banks to funds ensures only the profits of banks and servicers, while the homes of Greek citizens are auctioned. The non-performing loans amount to 21.3 billion euros, of which 12.5 billion are for primary residences, unprotected, it should be noted. In Greece we experience daily dramatic situations with families with children staying on the street. Sustainable, decent and affordable housing is a right for all of us. Nor, of course, should it become a financial product for speculation. We expect the European Commission to immediately propose national housing policy solutions.