YouSaid · the spoken record

Alexis Tsipras

lines on the record: 47
first: 2015-09-24
most recent: 2018-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“That is a genuinely modern, democratic and patriotic choice — one whose aim will be to ensure that our countries progress and prosper, rather than become pitted against each other. In conclusion, the civilization of my country leaves no space for doubting the choice that we will support. I assure the Assembly that the Greek people will be standing once again, and as always, on the right side of history.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We decisively confronted the logic that countries affected by global challenges must deal with them alone. Today, although Greece still faces big challenges in its economy, migration management and diplomacy, it is again standing on its feet, bringing solutions to the region. That would not have happened without a politics that asserts popular and national sovereignty but also commits to collective solutions aimed at peace, stability and preserving human rights. The challenge for our time is to once again find the proper balance as an international community, confronting international forces that spread fear and hatred and that in the end seek to scale back the progress we have made.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It means supporting positive steps for a diplomatic solution to denuclearization on the Korean peninsula. Lastly, particularly as we celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it means advancing the human rights agenda, which Greece has done, after all, by granting citizenship to second-generation immigrants who were born and raised in our country, by establishing the legal recognition of gender identity and the institutionalization of civil partnership and by deepening the rights of the Muslim minority. This year we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, who once said that tasks always seem impossible until they are done. For the last eight years my country has been hit hard by three global crises.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It means finding a political solution in Syria on the basis of an inclusive political dialogue under United Nations auspices, and revitalizing the Middle East peace process towards a comprehensive solution that responds to Israel’s just demand for security and the Palestinians’ just demand for a State on the basis of the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It means promoting valuable dialogue among European and Euro-Atlantic institutions and member States with Russia, on the basis of mutual respect and with the goal of dealing with international challenges and regional crises. It means promoting peace and development in Africa, supporting the countries that carry the biggest burden in hosting refugees, such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and confronting the root causes of migration.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We believe that modern, democratic, patriotic politics must be based on collective arrangements and guarantees that preserve and promote peace, stability, sustainable growth and human rights, and that they should not be based on a logic of unilateralism, nationalism and strengthening the powerful over the weak. That means making sure that international organizations, including financial ones, become more accountable and respond to the actual needs of States and citizens. It means supporting the Secretary- General’s vision for United Nations reform, as well as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the coming global compact on migration, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Iran nuclear deal, despite all of its weaknesses.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Modern, democratic, patriotic politics cannot accept as a given an international order that reproduces inequalities of power and wealth, protects the rights of some to have enormous trade surpluses at the expense of others, or allows some countries to impose their will and interests on others in the name of common values no less. That is our position with regard to the eurozone, to humanitarian wars in the region and to our differences with our neighbours. On the other hand, modern, democratic, patriotic politics has to be able to deal with twenty-first-century global and regional challenges, challenges that are common by their very nature and can only be dealt with collectively, on the basis of shared values.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“I think that today it is high time that we, as an international community, reframed the questions for our future, because we have heard many important statements. The dilemma is not one of patriotism versus globalism. It is rather whether we will leave our world in a vicious circle of nationalist reaction and regression, which history has taught us leads to tragedy, or create the conditions for collective, progressive solutions that respect the national and popular sovereignty of each and every country. Modern, democratic, patriotic politics cannot mean passively accepting the directives of transnational elites who are accountable to no one.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Moreover, we are actively promoting stability and economic growth in the Balkans through a policy of resolving issues with our neighbours, which unlocks their potential to join the EU and other international organizations of their choice. One example would be our dialogue with Albania, but, most importantly, the Prespes agreement with our immediate northern neighbour. That agreement is important not only for the region, but also as a model for the peaceful resolution of differences. Moreover, the agreement did not come about through the stronger party’s imposition of its will and interests on the other, but through a mutually acceptable arrangement that preserves the dignity of both sides.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Moreover, we remained committed to that policy in our difficult relations with Turkey, refusing again and again to give in to nationalism and the escalation of tensions. That position allowed us to show the great potential for our relations in the areas of security, migration, energy and the economy, while also making clear the need for respect for international law in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean. In that context, we clearly expressed and continue to express our full support for a just and viable solution to the Cyprus issue, on the basis of United Nations decisions. The solution will be based on the framework of the Secretary-General and our important Crans- Montana negotiations.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Thirdly, concerning the security crisis, we confronted grave challenges caused by rapid destabilization, the strengthening of nationalism and increasing tensions in a region in which we already had stark differences with neighbouring countries. In that geopolitical context, Greece retained a policy of protecting its sovereign rights and interests. However, at the same time, it chose to become, together with Cyprus, the most important European pillar of peace, security and stability in the region. We have established dynamic trilateral schemes of cooperation with Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. We also clearly presented the message that dialogue, cooperation and respect for international law are the only ways to foster stable bilateral relations and strengthen the prospects for the region.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We did not give in to nationalistic and xenophobic voices that called for push-backs into the sea or a superficial asylum process aimed at rejecting everyone. However, we also did not hesitate to accept that those who do not need international protection must return to their countries of origin where they can be safe. We severely criticized those European countries that rejected their responsibility to assume their fair share of the burden — countries that call for unity when it comes to having rights but see things differently when it comes to fulfilling responsibilities. The people of Greece, despite their difficulties, opened their arms to incoming migrants, showing the world what solidarity means. Deaths in the Aegean Sea have nearly reached zero, and migrant flows have fallen radically.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Today we have left behind economic programmes that only perpetuated recession. Our growth rate has been 2.1 per cent this year, and will be going on 2.5 per cent next year. Unemployment has fallen by 8 per cent, tourism has exceeded 34 million visits per year and we are overachieving with regard to the size of budget surpluses, while investors’ interest is growing steadily. Greece is becoming a regional energy, commercial and transport hub, while also changing the energy map and developing its strategic assets. Secondly, with regard to the refugee crisis, we have had to deal with the highest refugee flows in post- war European history. We did that while respecting international law and human rights. However, at the same time, we supported the difficult, but necessary, EU-Turkey statement.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We did that without succumbing to the directives of countries, forces and institutions that disregarded the will of the Greek people in favour of their own economic or geopolitical interests and without resorting to nationalist politics that would lead to a departure from the eurozone, an escalation of tension with neighbours and a violation of human rights and international law. First, as regards the economy, we remained in the eurozone but carried out tough negotiations for an economic programme that centred on the necessary structural reforms and not on the perpetuation of punitive and exhausting austerity. At the same time, we protected labour rights and are now establishing a respectable minimum wage, while guaranteeing fiscal space to support the welfare State and those who are most vulnerable.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“In dealing with crises in the broader region, the solutions that they proposed were also simplistic — sanctions and preventive or humanitarian wars, and, when those led to a dead end, disengagement from the region and the containment of problems to avoid any spillover. In Greece, we dynamically confronted not only the challenges themselves, but also the ideas and policies I have mentioned about the problems. Not only did we manage to stay standing, overcoming those difficulties, but beyond that we also became part of the solution, rather than part of the problem, in Europe and in the broader region.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Their aggressive stance highlighted the fact that the question is not whether we can count on international institutions to solve common problems on the basis of common values, but whether those problems and values are common at all. Their logic in confronting those crises was simple and based on a not-in-my-backyard attitude. For example, in dealing with the eurozone crisis, those forces called for a “Grexit” and the need to make an example of Greece. In dealing with the refugee crisis, they supported the unilateral closure of borders along the Balkan route as a solution, demanded push-backs into the sea and called for a small Schengen area that excluded front-line EU countries.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The question was whether the EU, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration would help us to effectively and humanely resolve the refugee and migrant crisis. The question was whether the United Nations, the EU, NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe would promote peace and stability, combat international terrorism and resolve conflicts in my region and many others. In the years that followed, however, what came to the fore was a very big “trust deficit” vis-à-vis international and national institutions, as the Secretary- General called it a few days ago (see A/73/PV.6). In that context, nationalist forces became stronger and stronger and finally succeeded in reframing the question.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Greece also found itself at the centre of a worsening crisis of destabilization in the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean, with nationalism growing rapidly. The question for me at the time of my statement in 2015, as it was for all of us, was whether the United Nations, the international community and our international institutions would be able to help overcome those common challenges through collective solutions. The question was whether the European Union (EU), the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and the World Bank would guide us to sustainable growth, help decrease poverty and promote more balanced global trade.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Three years ago, when I first had the honour of addressing the General Assembly in a plenary meeting (see A/70/ PV.22), I emphasized that Greece was at the forefront of three overlapping international crises. Those crises have had a severe impact on Greek society, its economy and the country’s diplomatic role in the region. Greece was the country most hard hit by the eurozone crisis, losing 25 per cent of its gross domestic product, reaching more than 27 per cent unemployment and significant levels of poverty. Greece was also the European country that, from a per-capita point of view, carried the heaviest burden of the refugee crisis, as over 1.2 million people entered its islands within a period of a few months.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It is those forces that threaten our values and instead of aiming to change the world for better, aim to divide it through fear, xenophobia and nationalism. Today it is more important than ever to stand by peace, democracy and sustainable growth on all the fronts where they are being challenged, and in Greece we know that very well.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“That is why we need a solution to the debt issue that would contribute to a new sustainable growth model, of the kind we talk about so much here in the United Nations and in Europe, and would leave the vicious cycle of austerity behind. We also need a global, effective response to the migration crisis, on the basis of international law. This must be a response that undercuts the dangerous xenophobic and nationalistic voices that are emerging so forcefully for the first time since the Second World War. Of course, backward-looking and ultra-conservative forces will attempt to provide solutions to these problems by investing in fear, sometimes labelling themselves anti-systemic forces. Nevertheless, it is very clear that it is not the democratic forces that are critical of the system that the international community should worry about.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“And we have underlined that the only way to build solid, long-lasting neighbourly relations is by respecting international law. On the name issue of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, we consistently support a mutually acceptable compound name with a geographical qualifier for use in relation to everyone. And we have promoted confidence-building measures that aim to strengthen trust and cross-border cooperation at this crucial time. Today — unlike a year ago — the challenges we are facing in Greece are opportunities. They are opportunities for the international community, for Europe and for our region. They are opportunities to turn the page on the crisis of the past and avert new, dangerous crises. We need a just, viable solution in Cyprus that would contribute to changing the unstable dynamics of the region.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We remain steadfast in our support to intercommunal talks for a just, viable and comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue, on the basis of United Nations resolutions and the status of Cyprus as an EU member State — a solution that can be viable only if we leave behind the anachronistic guarantee system of the past and ensure a withdrawal of Turkish occupying forces from the island. We support a solution that would provide a sense of security and trust to all the people of Cyprus and prepare the ground for broader cooperation in our unstable region. We have enhanced our dialogue and relations with Turkey through a wide range of initiatives, including our excellent cooperation in managing refugee and migration flows.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We have organized multilateral initiatives, such as the International Conference on Religious and Cultural Pluralism and Peaceful Coexistence in the Middle East and the Rhodes Conference on security in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond. And we have consistently promoted these values, in all international organizations, in relation to all the conflicts in our broader region. Furthermore, we are confronting terrorism wherever it emerges and in relation to the conflicts in Syria, Libya and Ukraine and the Middle East peace process. Today, we have before us a very important challenge to substantially promote peace and stability in our region.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Such a framework must include increased support to countries hosting refugees, increased returns of people not in need of international protection, and the resettlement and relocation of those in need of such protection. Moreover, it must include increased security cooperation against trafficking networks and additional initiatives to tackle the root causes of migration. The third big challenge that Greece is facing is how to contribute to peace, security and prosperity in an increasingly unstable region. Greece has been very clear in its response to this challenge. We have developed bilateral and, together with the Republic of Cyprus, trilateral relations with all our neighbours with a view to promoting peace, cooperation and international law.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Despite the calls for violating the Geneva Convention, my country, whose asylum service did not exist three years ago, deals fairly and in accordance with the Geneva Convention with the fourth-largest number of asylum applications in Europe. Together with Turkish and European authorities, we are implementing the very difficult, but necessary, European Union-Turkey agreement. It is an agreement that has led to a decrease in flows, but most important, a decrease in deaths in the Aegean Sea. It has replaced the dangerous route of the Aegean Sea with a legal one to Europe. In that context, today more than ever, we need a strong international initiative that will establish a new global framework for refugee management, thereby undercutting the xenophobic migration agenda.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“An enormous political crisis has erupted in Europe, with increasingly strong xenophobic forces pushing forward their agenda and claiming that respect for international law is a luxury in Europe today and that people should be pushed back into the sea; that sharing the responsibility for hosting refugees is an unacceptable imposition and that front-line States alone should be host countries; and that our economic crisis is reason enough for us to betray our values. Those xenophobic forces received the answer they deserved, and that answer came from the Greek people. The people of Europe most hard hit by the economic crisis proved to the world that neither our values nor our humanity are conditional. Despite the calls for pushbacks, our coastguard has saved tens of thousands of lives, instead of endangering them.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Besides the substantial economic challenge, the Greek people are confronting the enormous challenge of refugee and migration management, a challenge that, as we have already underlined, is global and has to be dealt with collectively, on the basis of our shared values. Since I spoke here last, over 1 million migrants have entered Greece. Nearly 60,000 migrants remain stranded in Greece today, after our northern borders were shut off through the unilateral action of other countries.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“At the same time, we are taking advantage of Greece’s strategic position at the crossroads of three continents, so that it can establish itself as a hub for energy, trade and maritime and railway transportation in the region. We are promoting necessary reforms, while protecting the welfare State and labour rights. We are urging our partners to proceed to the finalization of the necessary measures for our debt reduction, in order to regain market confidence and prepare the way for our return to capital markets. The first signs that our planning is delivering are already reflected in the return to positive growth rates, the steady downward trend in unemployment, the positive public finance accounts and the revived investment interest from abroad.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Sometimes, despite our efforts, we take a step backwards, but we always strive to push forward to prove that a country that has lost 25 per cent of its gross domestic product in six years, and watched unemployment and poverty rates skyrocket, can stand on its feet; and to create a business-friendly environment that encourages investment and does away with the sins of corruption, patronage and parasitic business practices. At the same time, we are confronting the serious social consequences that imposed austerity has inflicted on Greek society. Our absolute priority is to reduce unemployment as soon as possible to the average level for Europe through a new production paradigm that utilizes the potential of our highly educated human capital.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Since I spoke here last year (see A/70/PV.22), Greece has faced these great crises standing strong. Today, our discussion is no longer about our surviving crises. Today, now that we have political and financial stability, we are focusing on ways of promoting economic growth, developing more effective and humane migration management and maintaining peace and security in our broader neighbourhood. Today, we speak about resolving challenges with an impact, not just Greece but in Europe and beyond. At the economic level, after seven turbulent years of recession, Greece is now emerging from the deepest social and economic crisis in its post-war history. We are working hard to ensure sustainable, inclusive growth.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Or are we going to allow the forces of nationalism, xenophobia and neoliberalism to dictate ineffective or dangerous responses to the challenges we face? In that context, the main topic of this year’s General Assembly — the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — is more timely than ever. In recent years, Greece has been the member of the eurozone hit the hardest by the economic crisis and the austerity measures imposed to resolve it. As a front-line European Union (EU) State, it has faced the greatest migration flows to the EU since the Second World War. Greece has been at the centre of a region with increasing security challenges, with instability deepening in the Balkans and conflicts worsening in Ukraine in the North, Libya in the West and Syria in the East.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“In 2015, we celebrated the seventieth anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco by reflecting on the challenges facing us as an international community and our capacity to resolve them. A year later, the challenges and problems still persist and the same questions remain. Will we be able to bring dynamic, equitable and sustainable growth to our economies with the global economic crisis still upon us? Will we be able to manage migration effectively, on the basis of international law, at a time when the number of displaced people in the world is greater than it has ever been since the Second World War? Will we be able to promote peace and security in an increasingly unstable global and regional environment?”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Even in their most difficult moments, they are asserting their democratic right to choose their own fate. That is a daily example of people insisting, even under the most difficult conditions, on their basic humanity and democratic rights. That example should guide us in taking the necessary steps towards a safer, just and prosperous world for ourselves and future generations to live in.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“In the Western Balkans, we promote robust bilateral relations and a commitment to the region’s European perspective. Greece has stepped up efforts towards the settlement of all differences in the region, among them the issue of the name of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. We have proposed a pragmatic settlement framework aimed at reaching an agreement and an agreed set of confidence-building measures that provide us with an opportunity to further enhance bilateral cooperation and trust. People all around the globe are striving to achieve a better future for themselves and their children. People in my country are struggling every day, with pride and dignity, to overcome crises and regain hope. Even in their most difficult moments, they are assisting those more in need, those fleeing conflict zones.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“I firmly believe that any real and lasting solution will have to eventually deal with the international issue of security, the cancellation of the anachronistic treaties of alliance and of guarantee and the withdrawal of all foreign troops, including the troops occupying the northern part of this island. As a regional player keen on promoting security in the region, Greece has been making steady efforts to improve cooperation with Turkey. We have done so through a wide range of initiatives, including the promotion of our dialogue on confidence-building measures. Full respect for good-neighbourly relations and international law by Turkey, as well as a just and viable solution to the Cyprus issue, remain preconditions for the full normalization of Greek-Turkish relations.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Today more than ever, and in light of the instability in our region, it is important that the momentum be grasped for a mutually acceptable, just, viable and comprehensive solution to the Cyprus issue, based on the relevant United Nations resolutions and on Cyprus’s membership in the European Union, to the benefit of all the people of Cyprus — Greek and Turkish Cypriots — as well as all other communities. In that context, I would like to underline Greece’s full support for the intercommunal talks, held under the leadership of President Anastasiades and the head of the Turkish Cypriot community, Mr. Akıncı.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“We appreciate the efforts of the Normandy Contact Group and the conciliatory role of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in avoiding a vicious circle of militarization in the region, And we call on the signatories of the Minsk agreements to implement the agreements in full. We are also deeply concerned about the rise of jihadism, which must be dealt with decisively and comprehensively. Beyond the crises I mentioned, Greece attaches particular importance to engagement with its immediate neighbourhood. There also it is important to foster new initiatives rather than remain trapped in the dead-ends of the past. I spoke of the need to avoid constructing walls. And truly it is shameful that for the last 41 years — the same number as my age — Cyprus has remained divided.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“In Libya, we fully support the United Nations efforts, and we welcome the successful completion of negotiations and political dialogue last week. Furthermore, we believe that the Middle East peace process is of key importance for the region. A new momentum for a solution must be promoted, with a view to the creation of a State of Palestine on the basis of the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, that coexists peacefully with Israel. Concerning Ukraine, we support its territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Nevertheless, again we hear some who insist that we should embark on unilateral initiatives without considering their prospects and consequences, or leave the conflicts to be settled by themselves, without contributing to stabilization or reconstruction. Yet those are exactly the mistakes that brought us here in the first place. We do not have the luxury to make foreign policy choices without examining in advance what their consequences will be. In Syria we must act decisively in favour of reconciliation and a political solution that will lay the ground for the Syrian- led democratic transition, foreseen in the Geneva Communiqué. In that regard, we support initiatives aimed at engagement with all relevant international and regional actors.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“That resettlement mechanism, together with the existing relocation mechanism in Europe, will give hope to those people, discouraging them from trusting traffickers. Furthermore, we have to increase support for frontline European States, such as Greece, in their effort to manage those flows. 15-29658 25/55 A/70/PV.22 01/10/2015 Greece is also at the centre of a third security crisis, one that causes this refugee crisis. We are at the heart of a triangle of destabilization, with Ukraine to the north and the conflicts in Libya and in the Middle East to the south-west and south-east. Located in that unstable environment, Greece has been striving to bolster regional security. It supports all efforts promoting peace and stability.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Nevertheless, for some, the only way to deal with that challenge is to build walls higher, to repel migrants by force, or to ensure that they remain someone else’s responsibility, as far away as possible. We do not believe that the future of Europe or the future of our world can be built with ever-higher walls, or children dying at our doorstep. Neither can we forget that many of our ancestors were refugees and migrants. We cannot allow racism and xenophobia to destroy our common principles. In the United Nations framework, we have to build the necessary mechanism for resettling people from countries neighbouring Syria, while also supporting those countries directly in hosting refugees and dismantling trafficking networks.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Since the beginning of the year, more than 300,000 people, mostly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, have entered the country with the goal of transiting to Western European countries. Greece, like all other European countries, was taken aback by that development. Nevertheless, the people of Greece showed their solidarity by providing food and shelter to the refugees. In cooperation with the European Union and other international organizations, we are doing everything we can to manage those flows in an effective and humane way, by improving reception facilities and identification procedures, as well as by setting up hotspots to facilitate relocation.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“How many times since the 1970s have countries in the developed and, more recently, in the developing world struggled when facing exactly those problems — problems that concern not just their weaknesses, but the recipes they are given to deal with them? We have to realize that we need a global financial and economic system oriented to fostering national growth strategies and our post-2015 development agenda. We have to discuss the issue of debt restructuring in all competent forums, including this one, in connection with developing growth strategies, not austerity strategies. Another regional European crisis where Greece is at the forefront is the recent unprecedented migration flows.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“After many months of negotiation, Greece agreed to a new stabilization programme that includes reforms in our public administration and in the pension and tax systems and gives us the opportunity to stabilize our economy by creating the foundation for a necessary reprofiling of our debt. Unfortunately, at the same time, it imposes measures further burdening both society and the economy. Those measures should have been avoided. We needed and still need to struggle step by step to claim a growth agenda rather than an austerity agenda, to protect the most vulnerable members of society and distribute tax burdens justly; and to link the development of the economy and the restoration of confidence to the need to restructure our debt. How familiar does that sound to others in the Assembly?”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Like many other countries, Greece was hit hard by the 2008 economic crisis, due to the structural weaknesses of its economy and its high debt and budgetary deficits. Yet the neoliberal recipe we and other European countries were called to implement came at a devastating social cost and contributed to deepening the economic and fiscal crisis rather than curing it. We lost 25 per cent of our gross domestic product (GDP), our debt to GDP ratio grew to 180 per cent, unemployment reached 27 per cent and the migration of graduates to European countries accelerated. We faced a firm commitment on the part of some to the idea that Greece must exit the eurozone, or that the institutional and structural reforms we need must be combined with tough austerity measures and welfare and wage cuts.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“This great Organization was established to answer the big question: how do we deal with those challenges on the basis of our shared values of the Charter of the United Nations? Unfortunately, as the years go by, we seem to be returning not only to the same problems, but to the same old failed recipes that fostered those problems in the first place. That is why the biggest challenge we face today is an existential one: whether to continue with the same old recipes of social exclusion, political fragmentation and economic aggression, or to try to reclaim our future step by step, with confidence but also with the ability to learn from our mistakes. Allow me to refer to the efforts of my own country in confronting three specific crises in the past few years.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)
“Seventy years have passed since the United Nations was founded, after the most disastrous war in history. In the wake of that war, the noble declarations of the United Nations raised hopes for a common peaceful future, based on universal values, social justice and respect for human rights. Much has been achieved since. But, regrettably, the vision of the founders of the Organization is far from being fulfilled. Today we are witnessing a vast humanitarian crisis, unprecedented movements of displaced people and an increase in poverty, violence, extremism and human 24/55 15-29658 01/10/2015 A/70/PV.22 rights abuses. Nevertheless, the big question for us is not to identify the challenges we face. The peoples of this world know very well what they face every day.”
2015-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 70 (2015)