11/10/2022 | 10:06:55 Thank you very much, Mister Chair. The Balkan Peninsula is a beautifully diverse region. However, many ethnic groups, minorities or even these small nascent countries themselves have often felt deep insecurity. Under despotic or authoritarian regimes, citizen felt oppressed, minorities excluded or persecuted, any sense of justice, equality, and freedom squashed. The imprint that this is left on our collective consciousness is that, when in trouble, we look for a big brother protector or... 15/03/2022 | 20:04:13 On February 24th, this war seemed to be but a bad dream, yet we woke up to a nightmare that was real when we believed we would never again see on this continent. The first reaction of many of us was a big "why?". Why such irrationality, megalomania, brutality, and fratricidal cold-blooded war? Then the "why" became a big "no". A "no" of indignation, a "no" to the lies and fake news, a "no" to the destruction of cities, a "no" to the unimaginable suffering, war crimes, deaths of innocent... 27/01/2022 | 19:09:26 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) As today is the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, allow me to start with a phrase from the speech of the Secretary General of the UN António Guterres: “Our response to ignorance is education. We know that when young people learn about the Holocaust they can better understand the fragility of shared values and democratic institutions- particularly in times of social and economic upheaval”. And it is... 30/09/2021 | 12:11:49 Thank you, Mister Deputy Prime Minister, for this very important discussion. In 2003, in Thessaloniki, I had the honour, as Foreign Minister, to prepare the Summit between the Western Balkans and the European Union. We agreed on an historic document. I’ll read you the most salient points: “The EU reiterates its unequivocal support to the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries. The future of the Balkans is within the European Union. We all share the values of democracy, the rule... 29/09/2021 | 12:23:45 Dear colleagues, I watched with my compatriots with uttermost horror the devastating fires in my country this summer. They destroyed not only our habitats, but also some of the most beautiful and ancient forests in Greece. In a tragic symbolism, an ancient olive tree of 2,500 years survived and, being mentioned in ancient texts, went up in flames. So, our human rights and our civilisation will also go up in flames if we do not respect the rights of our species, the rights of our natural... 29/09/2021 | 09:53:52 Thank you Mr Chair, dear colleagues, In 2016, 99 citizens of Ireland were chosen, randomly, by lottery. They were given the power to call on experts, government officials, businesspersons, civil society NGOs and youth organisations. Their task: to come up with recommendations on how to make Ireland a leader in tackling the climate crisis. After extensive democratic deliberation, and almost 2,000 proposals from interested groups, they came up with 13 specific recommendations. Their work... 30/01/2020 | 16:04:20 Mr President. Dear Colleagues, nine years ago leaders from different countries decided to bomb Libya in order to protect innocent citizens. I was present at that meeting then as Prime Minister of Greece. I then pleaded that we refrain from doing so until we had exhausted all pressures towards Gaddafi for a peaceful transition. Unfortunately our decisions had the opposite result. We are witnessing untold suffering of Libyan citizens as well as a proxy war which is tearing Libya apart, Mr Piero...