Greece and Cyprus are the only European pillars of stability and security in a turbulent region, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
By Financial Mirror
Speaking before MEPS, on the future of Europe, the Greek Prime Minister spoke of the foreign policy Greece and Cyprus had adopted.
He said both countries have signed a number of agreements with Egypt and Israel to bring about regional stability and understanding.
Tsipras said Greece has also deepened its cooperation in the western Balkans, continued its dialogue with Albania and has left the door open for a dialogue with Turkey, promoting solutions for the refugee crisis and working for a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN-backed dialogue aims to reunite the island under a federal roof.
Tsipras made reference to the recent agreement between Greece and FYROM pointing out that this agreement is a model for crisis solution in the region.
The Greek Prime Minister in his speech also referred to the economic crisis and the hardships the country and its people went through, pointing out that Greece was a part of the problem and now is becoming part of the solution.
He also pledged that his government will carry on the reforms and will not return to the past.
“We will take decisions to foster growth for our economy and growth means no more austerity,” he said, noting however, the decisions would have to be “compatible with achieving our fiscal targets.”
Tsipras also said that Greece, amid the crisis, welcomed large numbers of refugees and showed its solidarity when other EU countries were closing their borders.
He said Europe needed to find solutions to the crisis because if the EU fails it is faced with the rise of far-right movements, chauvinism and xenophobia which will lead to the collapse of the bloc.
It is the “dominance of racist and xenophobic” discourse in “traditional conservative political forces” that threatens Europe with “dissolution,” the Greek PM warned.
