Greece: EPP Group calls on government to respect commitments

“Existing commitments must be respected”, said Manfred Weber MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, during the debate on the preparation of the informal European Council at today’s plenary session of the European Parliament. “The Greek people have voted democratically and we respect their vote. But they have elected a new government, not a new state. Mr Tsipras must learn that”, he said. Manfred Weber underlined the need for Greece to continue on the path of structural reforms and budgetary consolidation to bring back jobs and growth.

The Chairman of the biggest political group in the European Parliament warned Syriza on its choice of government coalition partner: “I find it very worrying for our common European future that Syriza is building an alliance with a populist party which regularly takes clear anti-Jewish positions”, he said.

On current developments in Ukraine, Manfred Weber MEP said that “there is war in Europe” and welcomed the initiative taken by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande to try to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis. “Europe needs to stand up for democracy and freedom. But should this initiative fail, the EU will have to take even more stringent sanctions against Russia”, he warned.

On the fight against terrorism and the consequences to be drawn from the Paris terrorist attacks, Weber stressed the importance of data as a major source of information in today’s world. “We urgently need to set up a European PNR system with high data protection standards. But improving the sharing of information and the already-existing information systems is also crucial”, he concluded.