Von der Leyen’s speech
“I am very glad to be among friends. It’s my first stop on the campaign trail and there couldn’t be a better place. As I tell my friend Kyriakos, I am impressed by his work and I want you to know that you should be proud,” von der Leyen said at the start of her speech.
“I continue to be struck by the beauty of this country and its exceptionally well-preserved antiquity. I remember the pillars that still support this country even today. Greece is a pillar of international democracy, NATO, security, democracy. It is a strong pillar of the EU, mainly thanks to the people of Greece, thanks to ND and you Kyriakos, Greece has a narrative of impressive growth and I want to honor you for that,” he also said.
And he continued: “Greece looked at chaos, but under your leadership it became an economic pioneer. It has exceeded the European average and is an example in the world. It is the “home” of some of the fastest growing businesses in Europe. There is no doubt that you made Greece proud, but also Europe.
Key to this transformation was leadership, courage and trust. In this uncertain world, Greece is an island of stability. We know what we can achieve when Europe is united. We showed it in the pandemic. Together we brought the economies back from the brink and I want to thank K. Mitsotakis for his contribution.
More than 10 countries supported Greece after the terrible fires in Evros. This is the best expression of European solidarity.
Finally, we have jointly agreed on the immigration and asylum pact and I would like to honor Margaritis Schinas for his work on this. We managed to fulfill our international obligations. We still do. We will decide who will arrive in Europe and under what conditions. Not the traffickers!
In the run-up to the European elections, united Europe is being questioned in an unprecedented way inside and outside. There is an attempt to wipe us off the map. Cyber attacks are happening. Putin’s friends seek to rewrite our history. With the extreme right in some countries they are trampling on our values and want to take over Europe, but we will never allow that to happen. In this election we stand for democracy, prosperity, security. We are proud Europeans.
I choose the term security with great care. Collective defense is a road of no return. Kyriakos is the only leader who has been directly attacked during his visit to Zelensky. We need to spend more, better and European. Greece has shown the way by giving 2% of GDP to defense, providing a lot of aid.
Defense cooperation should be the hallmark of the future in Europe and this is what we will support in this campaign. To strengthen the economy, with clean industry, justice, to support small businesses. Let’s make sure the future of clean technology defines Europe.
Throughout our history Europe has had no real security and prosperity without democracy. We don’t have to go far to see that the struggle for democracy never stops. Let’s roll up our sleeves ahead of the European elections. To fight for security and above all for Europe”.
Mitsotakis at the 15th Congress of the ND: Never again will we allow what happened in the past decade to happen in Greece – We have no room for experimentation – Abstinence, inactivity, indifference are not allowed
ND Conference – Speech by Maria Syregela: “For 50 years we have been and are next to all Greek women and all Greek men” [Βίντεο]
Mitsotakis on the femicide in Agios Anargyros: “It hurt and angered us – They will be punished”
Vassilis Kikilia’s speech at the ND conference: “We honor yesterday in order to build a better tomorrow”
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