“Greece will not tolerate any disputation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Greek prime minister stressed in his speech at the Plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, sending a firm message to Turkey.
“We keep our doors shut to threats, but the windows to peaceful contacts open. Disputes are resolved in accordance with international law, not with bullies,” the prime minister stressed.

Starting his speech, Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted that “Greece has turned a new leaf”, pointing out that in 2015 Greece was one step away from the precipice of exiting the euro. He reminded his audience that the Greek society at that time was hit by blind and divisive populism and that like today, on July 5, 2015, a referendum was held, which almost gave the gratuitous blow, and only in the face of the specter of disorderly bankruptcy did the then government back off.

“The price was heavy. Closed banks, capital controls, and finally a new unnecessary Memorandum that led us to a new cycle of austerity”, said the Prime Minister. “No European society has suffered more than the Greek one in the last decade,” he continued, stressing that the Greece of 2022 has nothing to do with that of 2015. Seven years later, Greece has a new government leading it into a new era, referring in particular to the reduction of unemployment, the increase in investments, and the liberation of Greece from the regime of enhanced fiscal supervision and all this despite the great difficulties we are still facing.

“Who would have thought that Greece, which for a decade was at the tail end of growth in Europe, would today show the third-highest growth in the eurozone,” the prime minister said, noting that Greece achieved it by cutting taxes and contributions, without jeopardizing the fiscal stability, while at the same time the Greek public which was a symbol of bureaucracy today is much more digital and much closer to the citizen.

“I am proud as a Greek that my country has reorganised the economy and united society,” the prime minister stressed, pointing out that Greece has taken its place again as an equal partner in the European family.