M. Weber-14th SW Conference: Let’s look to the future as an EPP family

The President of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, in his address to the 14th Ordinary Congress of ND, expressed his wishes for the success of the Congress, apologizing because, due to covid, he failed to be present.

“The war is back on European soil. What is happening is unbelievable because it is completely contrary to what we Europeans stand for. , ladies and gentlemen, is the opposite of what the EU stands for.

It is the opposite of what we believe. We believe in friendship, in unity, in that borders are no longer so important in the daily lives of citizens. This is what we cultivated after World War II, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Putin is destroying it all. That is why it is clear that we are on the side of our Ukrainian friends and against Putin. “With all the options we have on the table, by all means, we are fighting against President Putin’s aggression against Ukraine,” Weber said.

“Kyriakos Mitsotakis was one of the first leaders to send this clear message of unity and I want to thank him for his dynamic and clear stance at European level. Today we are united in our common struggle for the European way of life, for freedom and democracy. , the rule of law “.

The EPP president noted that the leadership shown by the Greek Prime Minister does not concern only Ukraine but also other issues: “Look at the economic development of Greece. Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the whole ND team have done an excellent job. People understood It is better to have a center-right government than to follow the false promises of Mr. Tsipras and the Left, Mr. Tsipras burdened the public debt with many billions of euros, while ND and Kyriakos Mitsotakis created jobs, a perspective for the This is the reality, and on the subject of Ukraine and Russia, let me remind you that Mr Tsipras was one of the first to travel to Moscow, and so did his Foreign Minister. I think it is clear to the Greeks that the center-right and the New Democracy have brought positive results and led Greece to friendship. right direction “.

At this point, Mr. Weber stressed that this experience is also necessary for European development because the pandemic and now the war have indicated that we need to innovate again. “We need to upgrade the EU architecture. We need to prepare Europe for the next decade. Look at Asia, China. Everyone understands that we have a lot of challenges ahead of us and this need to show leadership, to upgrade Europe, to “Preparing is a job we have to do in the European People’s Party. Today we are the strongest family in Europe. We have the strongest political group in the European Parliament,” he said.

He also thanked Vangelis Meimarakis and his colleagues in the EPP, emphasizing that “we are strong at the local level” and referred to the offer of Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Margaritis Schoinas and the Greek Prime Minister, who -as he said- is today one of the strongest votes in the Council representing the EPP “.

Finally, he stressed the strong position of the EPP and the confirmation of its leadership position at the forthcoming Rotterdam Congress. “We have the right approach for the future of Europe. Let us be ambitious. Let us look to the future. Let us do it as a family of the European People’s Party,” Weber said, concluding with wishes for the success of the ND Congress.