Leading up to the European Parliament elections in June 2024, Metsola intends to tour all EU Member States, urging citizens to participate in the voting process. Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, delivers a speech during a joint meeting of the Committees for European Affairs, National Defense and Foreign Affairs, Cultural and Educational Affairs, and Equality, Youth and Human Rights, at the Plenary Hall of the Hellenic Parliament, during her official visit to Athens. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

EU - Greece (T)

speech

official visit

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

Athens

Greece

Greek parliament

president's agenda

Speech by Roberta METSOLA, EP President at the Plenary Hall of the Hellenic Parliament

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/74931376/1708333157421_I252984Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, Speaker Tasoulas, Chairman Plakiotakis, distinguished Members of the Hellenic Parliament, ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for affording me the honour of addressing this Hellenic House of Democracy. In this birthplace of democracy, as we mark 50 years since its return, I want to right away pay tribute to democracy's fallen warrior, Alexei Navalny. First, they took his freedom. Then they took his life. But his legacy and his struggle will live on in people in Russia and in all of us. It is important for me to recognise his courage here in this place. Democracy takes courage, Alexei Navalny knew this. Every Ukrainian fighting on the front knows this. And you all know this.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, Greece will always be the symbol of democracy. This ancient nation that produced the architecture, the art, and the philosophy that shaped our civilisation and thinking. It is only fitting, therefore, that the birthplace of democracy was recently classified among the 20 strongest democracies in the world. Now, of course, this does not mean that there is no work to be done but it means the responsibility is greater for all of us. With the return of war on our continent, we are reminded of the need to push back against autocracy. Values that we hold dear, values that Greeks have fought for for centuries.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, Ladies and gentlemen, Greece is and will always be close to my heart. Not just because my ancestors came from here. Not just because like you I am proud to be from the Mediterranean, but because we understand each other. We know the perspective offered by a European Union that comes with opportunities, but also with responsibilities. We know that we are better, stronger, and that we can achieve more when we act together. And if the geopolitical challenges of the past few years have taught us anything, it is precisely that.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, 'After a global pandemic which saw Europe produce vaccines for all, and so Greece leads the charge to bring in EU-wide digital certificates that reopened Europe. We were meant to spend the last two years focusing only on our economic recovery, on levelling up our societies, investing in green and new technology and reinvigorating Europe. We had to do that while facing a war on our continent, which is soon entering its third year, a war that no one wanted, that no one invited, and that targeted all that we hold so dear in Europe.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, We are a continent built for peace. Our union is the promise we made to a generation who only knew war and it is a promise that we must keep protecting, even in the fog of illegal aggression in our neighbourhoods. We stand for our values and for peace. And that means that we could not, and we did not hesitate to stand with Ukraine when it mattered the most. And it is why we stand with them still, and it is why we will stand with them for as long as it takes.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, Here, allow me to say how grateful I am to the people of Greece and your leadership, for your constructive partnership, and commitment around the EU table. And how particularly thankful we are for providing shelter and care to Ukrainian refugees when you already take on so much more than is proportionate. Now, I know none of this has been easy. Greece has received nearly €15 billion in grants and loans from the European Union's Recovery and Resilience facility since 2021. And yet there is still more that can and should be done across Europe to better cushion the social and economic impact of all these decisions. Europe starts in its regions, in its islands, and its villages. Europe starts with its people.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, And as President of the European Parliament together with Greek members of the European Parliament, many of whom I see here today, we have made it our mission to burst through the Brussels bubble, to bring Europe closer to our citizens, and to build a stronger Europe. One that makes everyone's lives a little bit easier, a little bit fairer and a little bit safer. The European Union is not perfect, far from it. There is much left to do and much left to deliver. Our processes sometimes frustrate even me. But my answer is not to destroy, but to build. To build better, to build more sustainably. To listen more, more to our farmers, more to our young people. More to all those for whom the promise of Europe still seems too far away. To deliver effective laws that help people that tackle corruption and abuse, and that end the intergenerational struggles of poverty, inequality and disenfranchisement.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, We can recapture the enthusiasm for Europe. We can show that politics is a force for good. A vehicle for positive change in our communities and our society. And that is how we can convince people to vote in the next European elections in June. After all, it was that great Greek Plato who said:  "The heaviest penalty for declining to rule, is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself.". Don't take that risk, vote.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, Now friends, this has been truly a momentous time in European history, and there is much that we can be proud of. On equality. We have ushered in several laws to help shatter glass ceilings, to end discrimination and help women reach their potential. In this context, allow me to emphasise how significant Greece's introduction of marriage equality is. I know it was difficult. Equality has never been a straightforward concept, but we will get there.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, On the digital transition, our laws are critical to ensure modernisation and efficiency to safeguard our children online. To boost our economic growth. To beef up our Union's competitiveness. And to strengthen our autonomy and our freedom. And here I want to emphasise the central concept of sustainability to our economic model which ultimately is what the green transition must be all about. But for it to work properly, it must also be part of a broader strategy incorporating every sector. It must provide real incentives and safety nets, and above all, it must work for people. Greek farmers, families and businesses have every reason to expect the promise of Europe to deliver for them to.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, 'This is also true for the next generation of Europeans, which is why through Erasmus+, Youth Guarantee as well as Horizon Europe and Invest EU, we are giving young people in Greece and across Europe the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, When it comes to security and defence, we must build a real EU security and Defence Union framework, one that complements NATO's without competing with it, because that is how we can guarantee peace. We must also keep talking about the rule of law and the democratic standards that we expect from all Member States and all those countries willing expecting to join the European Union because a threat anywhere puts us all at risk. This is why we speak about these issues. This is why members of the European Parliament pushed the European Commission to have an annual rule of law monitoring exercise that looks at every country and recommends how each and every country can improve.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, For us the end cannot be an exercise in political rhetoric that is weaponised but a plan to live up to people's expectations across the Union to ensure that Europe has the tools we need to meet the promises that we ourselves have made. In Greece, I can also see concrete steps being made. This includes the establishment of the National Transparency Authority and implementing national action plans against racism, intolerance and for the rights of people with disabilities. These are important steps on a national level that help.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, Because ultimately, ladies and gentlemen, Greece makes Europe stronger. Greece has given the European Union influence and stability in the Mediterranean. Greece commanding the forthcoming EU naval mission in the Red Sea is proof of that. And I am glad that the military base in Larissa will be able to step up and serve as the operational headquarters now in this uncertain world.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, 'The European Union must charter a new path forward, deploying its unity because Greece understands what is at stake for European democracy and security. And together, we are stepping up. We have re-examined our energy supply chains. We have decoupled from Russian energy sources. We are seizing new opportunities. And here Greece has again led with the Athens Declaration on Climate Change in Mediterranean, aimed at strengthening environmentally friendly cooperation among Mediterranean states, and soon in connecting the Hellenic electricity grid with the Middle East and Africa. Greece will facilitate imports of lower cost renewable energy into Europe. And this is all to say that Greece is using its assets to its advantages and to Europe's advantage too. And ultimately, it is a win-win for all.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, 'And this win-win mentality must also be the philosophy behind our approach to migration. This is a European issue that requires a European response, and that response, as you said, Mr. Chairman, is finally here. I am glad that together we defied the odds by reaching a monumental European deal, a deal that is fair with those who are in need of protection, a deal which is firm with those who are not eligible for asylum, and a deal which is hard on traffickers who exploit the most vulnerable people on this planet.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, No EU Member State will be left alone. Greece will not be left alone. Now, dear colleagues, while we are proud, and rightly so, of our successes, we must also be honest about where we can do better. Where we have gone perhaps too far too fast. Where our bureaucracy has stifled innovation and access to funding, where we have not gone far enough and did not match people's expectations. Having those open conversations is how we keep people's trust in our projects. Because it worries me that in many places there is a new generation who, despite having all the information of the world at their fingertips, are more sceptical than before. I would know, I have four boys. Three of them constantly on their phone at home, fourth one is a little bit too young still.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, This generation is tempted by populists that attempt to paint black and white pictures, when in reality the middle ground is always a thousand shades of grey. This is a generation that is more cynical about politics in general. A generation that takes the rights that Europe protects and the opportunities that our union gives for granted. And I believe, and so strongly, that this is our collective responsibility to make sure that we do not allow that generation to retreat to the populist fringes of the political extremes.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, At the last European elections, over 58% of Greek voters went to the ballot box. I hope that this time, especially now with postal voting, even more of them will make their voice heard. That is why I came here today to Greece, to explain to the people of Greece why their vote matters and I have come also to listen to young people in particular. In Republic Plato talks about how politics needs people who understand, who are able to keep a finger on the pulse of society, to govern and to lead. And he adds that those people cannot come to it merely by accident, but must be carefully take part in the European elections of the 9th of June to vote and to carefully select the 21 members of the European Parliament from Greece, that will steer their future. And I am convinced that we can do that together.

SOUNDBITE (English) EP President Roberta METSOLA, Allow me, as a final word to wish in this spirit also my former colleague in the European Parliament, Manolis Mavrommatis, a speedy recovery and we wish him well. Thank you very much, efcharistò.