What Maria spoke about.

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EL Written Statement

The future of European competitiveness (debate)

I strongly disagree with the Draghi report, which is completely in the wrong direction and essentially favours the rich, leaving the poor behind. Business competitiveness reduces bread at the household table. The future of work in Europe is at a crossroads. Artificial intelligence can increase business productivity, but without preventive measures it will lead to increased unemployment and inequal…

9

Jul

2026

EL Speech

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Feasibility of a 28th tax regime and its potential to support EU competitiveness (debate)

Commissioner, I urge you to withdraw this proposal. The so-called 28th regime is not an innocent administrative change. It is a dangerous door for letterbox companies, social dumping and the weakening of collective rights. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) itself warns that there are no binding guarantees for workers. The European Trade Union Institute warns that it is paving the way f…

9

Jul

2026

EL Speech

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Evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy and follow-up (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, climate change is already changing the temperature and chemistry of the seas. It causes species displacement, biodiversity loss and increasing pressure on coastal ecosystems. Nevertheless, the Common Fisheries Policy continues to treat marine ecosystems primarily as a habitat for fisheries resources and not as critical infrastructure to tackle the climate crisis. In …

8

Jul

2026

EL Speech

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Defending European democracy and the integrity of the European Parliament in light of revelations that an MEP was subject to surveillance by illegal spyware (debate)

Madam President, Europe was born on the ruins of a dark past. She promised her citizens that they would never fear again that someone was listening behind the door, reading their letters or watching their thoughts. Yet today another MEP – a second MEP – is revealed to have been the target of Israeli spyware. When a Member of the European Parliament is monitored, he or she is not alone in danger; T…

8

Jul

2026

EL Speech

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EU’s response and preparedness to protect people against recurring heatwaves and upcoming wildfires (debate)

Mr President, every summer we have the same debate, the same mistakes. Nature didn't surprise us. Science has been warning for decades. But every time you had to choose between environment and profit, you chose profit. You have given land and water – forest, coastline, natural resources – in the name of a supposed development. Today it is not paid by those who have won; People are paying him. Ther…

16

Jun

2026

EL Speech

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2025 Commission report on Türkiye (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, when you read this report you feel that Europe is suffering from political amnesia. The first pages record violations of rights, imprisonment of dissidents, democratic backsliding, violations of the sovereign rights of Member States. And a few paragraphs later he talks about strategic cooperation, further customs cooperation, defence, security and deep…

20

May

2026

EL Speech

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Recent proposals to fight poverty in the EU (debate)

(EL) Madam President, 13 hours of work again being unable to pay for a · home They want us to consider it normal. We should consider it normal for young people to stay in their children's room until they are 35. We should consider it normal for older people to choose between medicine, food and heating. This is Greece's notorious success story. No, Europe does not have a problem of lack of wealth. …

20

May

2026

EL Speech

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Reviewing the ETS system to support European competitiveness (topical debate)

Madam President, Europe is telling citizens that the ETS system is a tool for saving the climate. In Greece, however, the world is paying expensive bills, small businesses are suffocating and we have an energy market where the few are becoming ever stronger. How is it that as the costs of the green transition increase for society, energy super-profits increase at the same time? People don't see a …

19

May

2026

EL Speech

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Political repression and humanitarian situation in Cuba (debate)

Madam President, Cuba is not punished for having a bad president. It is punished because its people still hold power in their hands and this remains a thorn in the throats of all those who want peoples subjugated economically and politically. Europe remains deafeningly silent, letting every Hitlerite kill the peoples. International law cannot be applied selectively. We cannot talk about human righ…

30

Apr

2026

EL Speech

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How to secure a sustainable future for the EU livestock sector in light of the need to ensure food security, farmers’ resilience and the challenges posed by animal diseases? (debate)

Mr President, today I am not just talking about livestock farming in general. I speak on behalf of people who see their herd being killed, their milk being thrown away, slaughterhouses being closed down and compensation coming in slowly and halfway. In Greece, more than 500,000 animals have been killed in the name of zoonotic disease management. No prevention, no adequate vaccination strategy, whe…

28

Apr

2026

EL Speech

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The Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law report (debate)

Mr President, I support the Rule of Law Report and would like to take this opportunity to denounce what my colleague, Mr Maniatis, also denounced earlier on the Predator spying in Greece. What has happened, that is, the dismantling of the rule of law, which is not a national issue, is an issue, a European threat that concerns us, colleagues, here in the European Parliament. Among the targets at th…

27

Apr

2026

EL Speech

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Importance of consent-based rape legislation in the EU (debate)

Mr President, I support the report because it raises a fundamental question of justice. Rape is defined by the absence of consent. Silence is not consent. Fear is not consent. Failure to react is not consent. Victims in Europe today are not equally protected. Some states are required to prove violence or resistance, and this is second abuse. Greece has recognised rape without consent since 2019, b…

12

Mar

2026

EL Speech

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Rail transport safety in the EU – lessons learnt from the Adamuz accident and three years after the Tempi tragedy (debate)

Madam President, three years after the state crime in Tempi: 57 dead – most students –, two trains on the same line, no telecommand, contract 717, European funding, safety system not working, signals not working, station chief alone, no automatic train protection · · Collision Huge pyrosphere, temperatures above 1000 degrees, unexplained explosion, unknown fuel, 27 young people burned, jam…

11

Mar

2026

EL Speech

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

11

Mar

2026

EL Speech

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EUCO and situation in the Middle East (joint debate)

10

Mar

2026

EL Speech

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Housing crisis in the European Union with the aim of proposing solutions for decent, sustainable and affordable housing (debate)

Madam President, the housing crisis in Europe is not just an economic problem, it is a social problem. The report we are debating attributes responsibility mainly to the shortage of housing and proposes more funding for construction. But the reality that people live in is different. In many European cities, homes are transformed into products: Gold visas, funds that buy loans and drive families to…

9

Mar

2026

EL Speech

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Gender pay and pension gap in the EU: state of play, challenges and the way forward, and developing guidelines for the better evaluation and fairer remuneration of work in female-dominated sectors (debate)

Mr President, today we are gathered here to discuss a very important issue and I really want to protest, because before Mrs Latinopoulou invaded and said that what we are discussing before the war is of no importance, I asked with a blue card to intervene. I wanted to ask her how many years she has had employment stamps and whether she has lived outside the European Parliament. Because r…

9

Mar

2026

EL Speech

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Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, let us speak frankly. The main problem of the European Union is not the lack of dialogue between the institutions. It is the lack of a genuine democratic balance. Today, the Commission, a body not directly elected by citizens, has almost exclusive power to initiate the legislative process and determine the political direction of the Union. …

11

Feb

2026

EL Speech

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Addressing subcontracting chains and the role of intermediaries in order to protect workers’ rights (debate)

11

Feb

2026

EL Speech

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Developing a new EU anti-poverty strategy (debate)

11

Feb

2026

EL Speech

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International Day of Education, fighting inequalities in access to education (debate)

10

Feb

2026

EL Speech

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Extreme weather events in particular in Portugal, southern Italy, Malta and Greece: European response in strengthening readiness, preparedness and solidarity mechanisms (debate)

22

Jan

2026

EL Speech

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

Madam President, the European Union is talking about objectives, indicators, job quality and transitions. Workers in Greece count dead: 201 workers were killed at work last year. Almost one every two days. 21 was over 60 years old. 330 were seriously injured, not by accident, but by 13 hours that recently became law. Intensification, exhaustion, employer impunity and viewer-state. This is the comp…

20

Jan

2026

EL Speech

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

Mr President, Mrs Kaja Kallas, as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, I would like to ask you why I have this question: How can you not speak, representing the European Union, with Russia? I really wonder why your anti-Russian rage is not a useful tool, you know, for diplomacy. And let me tell you that in this speech you made, after the six minutes you talked …

20

Jan

2026

EL Speech

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Situation in Venezuela following the extraction of Maduro and the need to ensure a peaceful democratic transition (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. When Steve Bannon in 2017 saluted Nazis, when Elon Musk in 2025 saluted Nazis, when Trump said he would make Gaza a tourist resort, and with him you supported the genocide of the Palestinian people, there was no orderly reaction from Europe to international law. So when Trump entered Venezuela – because the regime you say, the Maduro regime, did not fall, it …