Speeches

Madam President, if our land is destroyed, human existence will also be lost. That is why we must face challenges and disasters together as one fist. Together we can do anything. This calls for Europe-wide financial support for those affected, the creation of a strong pan-European fire brigade and cooperation between Member States, as well as a tightening of penalties in cases of malicious fires. Finally, we must offer our congratulations to the unsung heroes, firefighters, nurses, police officers, soldiers, pilots and volunteers, who boldly and selflessly run to the call of their homeland. As a person who has participated many times voluntarily in firefighting, I am calling for the volunteers to be used productively at last by the state services for better coordination.

We should not have considered the reintroduction of internal border controls. We had to look at the misguided immigration policy of so many years, so that we got to the present day, so that the whole of Europe was flooded with illegal immigrants. To examine the attitude of all those who could not understand the problem, but with dangerous obsession characterized with the worst adjectives anyone who dared to talk about the problem. At the end of the day, they finally understood the problem. The narrative of open borders collapses like a paper tower under the demand of citizens calling for a Europe that respects and preserves state sovereignty and national identities. Mrs Johansson, from Italy and Malta to the Nordic countries, from Spain and Portugal to Greece and Cyprus, European citizens are sounding the alarm, shouting that they cannot take it anymore. They call for immediate measures to prevent the demographic alteration of the nations of Europe. Let us finally implement a strict immigration policy and send a clear message that no one will enter Europe illegally.

Your Honor. A lot has been said in the comments of colleagues, but things are simpler. Israel is under attack from radical Islam. Fanatic Islamists strike indiscriminately, ignoring all human value. The Western world must be united in the face of the Islamic threat. Tolerance towards terrorism and those who want to sow fear must be zero. We should block the way for extremist Islamic approaches. At the same time, however, at the time of the sad black anniversary, I must express my shame that an accession Member State, instead of supporting Western culture, respecting the principles and values advocated by the European Union, is threatening Israel with retaliation. Turkey's president, Neo-Sultan Erdoğan, provokes by saying that Israel must pay the price by supporting radical Islam. It confirms that Turkey has no place in Europe.

As a citizen of a state that has been through the same – and worse – as Ukraine, I welcome the European Parliament’s support to the people of Ukraine in the face of the illegal Russian invasion. International law cannot be challenged, nor can national sovereignty be disrespected. However, as a matter of principle, I chose to abstain in order to underline the selective sensitivity. Let me be clearer: the Republic of Cyprus cannot be invited to contribute financially and militarily to Ukraine in order to counter illegal external actions, while its European territories are illegally occupied by the Turkish army. As we see in Ukraine the forcible expulsion of population, missing persons, illegal occupation, settlement, homicides, deprivation of liberty and the right to property, the same is happening in Cyprus. Therefore, I expect from Europe the same support and reaction towards Turkey as the one adopted against Russia. Otherwise it is hypocrisy. When we talk about Ukraine, everyone should keep in mind and think that a member of the European Union, Cyprus, is being held hostage by a state with a criminal record – Turkey.

Mr President, we are all talking about Europe's energy and energy autonomy, while at the same time there are untapped rich deposits of natural gas in a part of the European Exclusive Economic Zone, in the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus. They remain untapped because they are not allowed by a pirate state, an acceding state, Turkey. How long will the European Union tolerate these behaviours that conflict with international law and the law of the sea? How long will Europe caress Turkey without imposing severe sanctions? The European Union must finally act decisively and support the creation of the EastMed pipeline, which will connect the Eastern Mediterranean with the rest of Europe and give the necessary breath to millions of European citizens.

Madam President, these days may be a celebration for the European Union, but not for us, the Greeks of Cyprus. In three days, the black anniversary of 20 July 1974 dawns, when Turkey – committing dozens of war crimes – invaded and since then illegally occupies the European territories of the Republic of Cyprus. Fifty years later, thousands of Cypriots are still experiencing the tragic consequences of the Turkish atrocity: Refugees, enclaved, missing. At the dawn of 20 July remember that some European citizens – some MEPs – can move around Europe’s cities, villages and streets freely, without restrictions, and can work where they want and work where they want but not in their own homeland. That's why we ask for the obvious: the right to have a democratic European state free from racial segregation, support for Cyprus – in line with Ukraine, liberation from the occupation and the right to live free in our homeland like all European citizens.