“Participation in shaping our common European future is not only a privilege, but also a duty for each of us,” President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou said on Tuesday, welcoming European Parliament President Roberta Metsola to the Presidential Mansion.
Sakellaropoulou underlined that choosing our representatives in the upcoming European elections was – as Metsola had aptly noted – the largest multinational exercise in democracy. “Europe has achieved a lot on a political, social, economic level. But it also faces a series of challenges, from the climate and energy crises to migration and Russian aggression, which require coordinated action from all of us. And that is why it is more necessary than ever to develop the strategic autonomy of the European Union,” Sakellaropoulou said.
She also commented: “We have to be coordinated and decisive against the extreme rhetoric and populist phenomena that are growing and strive to question European values such as the rule of law and democratic human rights.”
This was the reason, Sakellaropoulou stressed, why it was important to try to convince European citizens, especially young people, about the need to “defend these values and the European project as a whole,” and congratulated Metsola on her initiative to try to address as many European citizens as possible during this period.
On her part, Metsola thanked the President for her warm welcome, saying she was content to be in Athens as the President of the European Parliament, in the context of her visits to several countries, with the aim of encouraging citizens to vote in the June 2024 elections for the new members of the European Parliament. As she stated “in June, 720 members will be elected, Greece will send 21 members, and, of course, they should be elected by the Greek citizens.”
She also noted that during her visits, she tries to explain “what the European Union is, what its successes are, what could have been done better during this time, and of course, why everyone should now participate in the election process, since we have before us serious decisions regarding climate change, migration, democracy, farmers’ issues, as well as many serious political decisions that must be made in the next five years.”
Referring to her visit to Greece, she noted that she seeks to engage in discussion with young people especially, in order to explain and ask them “what the European Union means for them”, as well as urging them to participate in the European elections.
In conclusion, she said that she had “a very good discussion with the Prime Minister” and congratulated Greece on the changes and reforms that have been made, mainly regarding marriage equality, noting that it was a matter that is considered very important for the European Parliament.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
