N. Androulakis: The policies of the conservative faction opened the ‘Pandora’s box’ in Greece

Representing the European Socialists in the debate in the Plenary of the European Parliament with the Prime Minister as speaker, the President of PASOK-Movement for Change, Nikos Androulakis, proceeded with an intervention with programmatic features highlighting the progressive social democratic sign and the priorities of his policy such as the reduction of social inequalities, fair economic and green development.

“The world is changing and we must rise to the occasion. We have a duty to do more and do it now. To defend social justice, solidarity, human rights, environmental protection through a progressive political plan. We must we make citizens feel safe again in the face of the geopolitical, climate and economic challenges of our time” Mr. Androulakis pointed out, insisting that the Recovery and Resilience Fund must acquire permanent characteristics especially for the Greek people, who experienced harsh economic policies.

“It is good to remember the humiliating referendum of 2015, but let’s be fair. Remember also the humiliating era of 2009. You led the country to a 15.4% budget deficit and bankruptcy, as the European Parliament’s resolution attests because these it was the policies of the conservative faction that opened Pandora’s box in Greece,” underlined Mr. Androulakis.

“The purchasing power of Greeks is the second lowest in Europe. According to Eurostat data, Greek citizens are proportionally burdened much more than the rest of the Europeans, there is no provision in the Recovery Fund for the construction of social housing for rent at a low price as they did other countries with corresponding problems. In the field of health, the fact that Greeks are third in Europe in private spending is revealing of the needs that exist to strengthen the National Health System and primary care,” the President of PASOK – Movement for Change characteristically underlined.

Referring to the response to the climate crisis, Mr. Androulakis emphasized that the Recovery Fund could be the main driver for the diffusion of RES through residential photovoltaics and the energy communities and called on the Government to seize the opportunity provided by the European Commission to review the of national plans, “so as to include even now investments such as the upgrading of the country’s electrical network and the means of storage that are necessary to strengthen our energy autonomy and the just transition”.

Mr. Androulakis emphasized the direction of adopting strong preventive measures at the European level: “Putin’s illegal and destructive invasion of Ukraine is a tragic event for the Ukrainian people and a very expensive lesson for the European elites on how to deal with authoritarians revisionist leaders. Appeasement has proven to be ineffective. Strong deterrence measures are needed. There is no other path to a strong and self-reliant Europe that is not a follow-up to US foreign policy. That is why I call on you to take a stand. The Greek people, after 10 years of continuous crises having lost more than 25% of its GDP, it is forced to pay billions to shield the sovereignty of our country with weapons programs, while at the same time European states arm the one who threatens it. This is where the decision needs to be made to arms embargo on Turkey and anyone who does not respect international law.I am glad that even Ms Mr. Weber, who then voted against it, now seems to support it. It is also unthinkable that European heads of state adopt Erdogan’s narrative on terrorism, when anyone who disagrees with his authoritarian practices, such as Kavala and Dermitas, is automatically labeled a terrorist and an enemy of the nation.”

Describing the continuum of crises and their social effects, Mr. Androulakis noted that “as the opportunities for a better life decrease for millions of Europeans, as those who feel outside the walls increase, the threats to liberal democracy will increase. Stagnation, imposed on the political unification plan by the Conservative forces, gave leeway to the deniers of the European vision to exploit it to their advantage. This is the duo responsible for why we remain a “slow-moving boat”, Mr. Prime Minister. They speak in the name of Europe without doing what is needed and they throw stones at her with Manichean arguments at every opportunity”.