Alexis TSIPRAS, Greek Prime Minister, is the ninth EU leader to debate the future of Europe with MEPs during the plenary session of the European Parliament (10-13/09/2018) in Strasbourg. He opens the debate speaking about e.g. the crisis in Greece, migration, relations with FYROM and Albania.

EU - Greece (T)

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

future of the European Union (T)

TSÍPRAS, Aléxis (EL)

Future of Europe: extracts from the opening speeches of the debate with Alexis TSIPRAS, Greek Prime Minister

SOUNDBITE (Greek), Al&#233;xis TS&#205;PRAS, Greek Prime Minister, But Greece managed, Greece coped. Three years down the line it&rsquo;s a different country. We managed to become from a part of the problem a part for the solution for Europe and the clean exit for the last three-year programme is of course a success, first of all, of the Greek people, but it is also a success of Europe as a whole. Because we proved that if there is a spirit of solidarity and cooperation, we can solve crises.

SOUNDBITE (Greek), Al&#233;xis TS&#205;PRAS, Greek Prime Minister, For the first time since the crisis began the sacrifices of our people had an effect. We&rsquo;ve managed to have a fiscal consolidation, we did deep reforms and breaks with past, things that were taking place decades ago. We managed to go form the spiralling of the crisis back to economic growth.

SOUNDBITE (Greek), Al&#233;xis TS&#205;PRAS, Greek Prime Minister, Last year Greece returned to growth and for this year the estimates are that we will have 2.5% growth. The last three years we were champions in absorbing European development funding and in 2017 we were the second country in absorbing and using funds from the Juncker plan. We&rsquo;ve had foreign investment of 3.6 billion, which is the best of the last decade.

SOUNDBITE (Greek), Al&#233;xis TS&#205;PRAS, Greek Prime Minister, In a Europe where there is more racism and xenophobia, Greece did what it could to manage the tremendous refugee flows within a climate of protection of international law.

SOUNDBITE (Greek), Al&#233;xis TS&#205;PRAS, Greek Prime Minister, Our local communities gave lessons of humanity and we worked together with the European Union, and the international organisations to face up to this challenge. Today the asylum authority, which did not exist five years ago, manages the greatest number in relation to our population of applications for asylum. And we contribute to peace and stability in an area which is destabilised.

SOUNDBITE (Greek), Al&#233;xis TS&#205;PRAS, Greek Prime Minister, This means that we open a European perspective for the Balkan countries and the summit of our efforts is the historic agreement of Prespes with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and we continue our dialogue with Albania.

SOUNDBITE (Greek), Al&#233;xis TS&#205;PRAS, Greek Prime Minister, The fiscal fetishism in facing up to the crisis meant that disparities became greater among Member States and within them. And this failure of the neoliberal management of the crisis feeds the monster of Chauvinism and right wing populism.

SOUNDBITE (Greek), Al&#233;xis TS&#205;PRAS, Greek Prime Minister, The European idea should not be crushed between the distractive neoliberalism and the horrible far right. We have to give a decisive answer that the only way to safeguard the European unification is to upgrade democracy, justice and transparency through bold reforms. We should foster the perspective of a better Europe