For pandemic , the migration, the EU-Turkey relations, the Recovery Fund and the Multiannual Financial Framework discussed via teleconference the president of the Movement for Change, Fofi Gennimata with Iratxe García Pérez, President of the Group of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. .
Regarding the pandemic, Genimatas emphasized that the second phase is taking on dangerous proportions and that measures must be taken now without delay.
Recent announcements by European Commission have positive elements, mainly regarding the subsidization of tests, but they are not sufficient. The patent on the vaccine should be considered public good It was emphasized and pointed out that Europe must definitively abandon its commitment to “fiscal targets” and ”stability pacts” and immediately allocate resources:
«To support Health systems.
For decent wages for workers on furlough and the unemployed.
For liquidity, so that businesses can stay alive.
Protecting human life is our top priority.»
For migration, The president of the Movement for Change stressed that it is necessary to revise the Dublin Regulation and for all European countries to demonstrate their solidarity in practice.
The Socialists intensify pressure so that «the asylum process can be examined by other countries, not just by the countries of «first entry» (Greece, Italy, Spain).
Asylum seekers must be distributed across all European countries. This system should begin on the first day they enter European territory, as proposed by our group in the European Parliament.
With an emergency relocation program, our islands, which have been turned into warehouses for souls, must be decongested immediately, and the “humanitarian routes” program must be implemented.
Regarding EU-Turkey relations, Ms. Gennimata emphasized that Turkey It is also a destabilizing factor in the region. It threatens peace and security.
«We support President Macron and the France the attacks they receive.
Η Europe must understand this change and seek a new agreement in good time, a new relationship between the EU and Turkey that will involve not only benefits but also commitments.
Spain's solidarity with Greece is important, but we must all understand that this is not a bilateral dispute between Greece and Turkey or Cyprus and Turkey, but rather a strategy on the part of Turkey towards Europe, which requires a new agreement, a new relationship between the EU and Turkey.
Tolerance towards Turkey emboldens it and leads to new tensions. And we will all face this. Not only Greece, but all of Europe.
The European Council it will have to take specific decisions on the EU's overall stance towards Turkish provocations.
The adoption of the amendment on the arms embargo against Turkey by the European Parliament.
We must continue to exert pressure so that the arms embargo on Turkey becomes an immediate decision of the European Council,» he stressed, among other things.
For Recovery Fund and the Multiannual Financial Framework stressed that procedures must be accelerated, but with pressure to adopt the rules of the rule of law and force Hungary and Poland to back down.
«We want public investment first and foremost in health systems, education systems, civil protection, and investment in human resources (vocational training and integration of the unemployed).
It is also crucial to increase the resources of the Multiannual Financial Framework in order to step up interventions for development policy, support for farmers, and job creation.
We want an agreement against austerity, especially to support countries that are currently being hit hard but also suffered during the previous economic crisis.
For her part, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats, Iratxe García Pérez, stressed that for Socialists and Democrats there is no dilemma between the rule of law and recovery, and that the new Multiannual Financial Framework and the Recovery Fund are an opportunity for Europe to avoid a new round of austerity. He noted the need to direct resources towards investment in digitization, climate change, the modernization of public administration, public health, and education.
Particularly with regard to immigration, he emphatically stated that he agreed 100% with Ms. Gennimata's findings and proposals and stressed the need to improve the European Commission's proposal in the areas of relocation and the asylum examination system.
Finally, he conveyed the full support of the Socialists and Democrats in Greece and Cyprus, recalling their complaints against Turkey's unilateral actions, his belief that tensions must be defused, and stressed that Europe's values are non-negotiable and that Erdogan's actions are jeopardising security and peace in the region.
