Greece is always present in all international forums and enjoys the acceptance and respect of our partners.

Even before Turkey proceeded to enact the “Blue Homeland” and formalize its maximalist positions and claims in the Aegean and the Mediterranean, the domestic opposition rushed to lash out against the government and accuse it, in no uncertain terms, of having no position or opinion and of being ready to surrender to the whims of “Sultan” Erdoğan.

By Ersi Papadaki

However, the publication of the European Parliament on Turkey and the roadblocks it is placing in the way of its neighbors’ accession process constitutes an initial response to the opposition’s concerns.

A scathing report

Of course, no one is suggesting that the Greek government drafted the report. However, it is clear that Greek diplomacy and the political influence it wields in Brussels and Strasbourg are among the reasons that led to the specific wording and the exact contentof the report, which is a stinging rebuke to the Turks.

So much so, in fact, that Ankara launched an unprecedented attack against the European Union and its member states, accusing them, among other things, of “harboring terrorists” and other “hostile” elements.

Under normal circumstances, therefore, the opposition should understand and acknowledge the above, especially when it comes to such a serious national issue.

In reality, however, no one could expect anything better from parties that rushed to oppose, just a few months earlier, the deployment of frigates and aircraft as a protective shield for Cyprus.

All the more so when we are in an informal pre-election period, during which they have one more reason to prioritize their petty party and political interests over national ones—even though common sense dictates exactly the opposite.

It is equally striking that this behavior is not limited to those who in the past said that “we’ll take a chance with Turkey” or that “the sea has no borders,” but also the so-called… “Turkophobes.”

That is, those who claim to be not merely patriots, but the only ones who express and serve national interests, and whose positions on foreign policy and diplomacy begin and end with scenarios of conflict with Turkey.

At the same time, they are constantly irritated by the “calm waters” or by the open channels of communication that the Mitsotakis government has sought to maintain with its neighbor from the very beginning, and they forget that it was the prime minister who dared, in Ankara, to stand up to President Erdoğan and raise the issue of lifting the casus belli. Something that no other prime minister, minister, or political leader has dared to do to date…

In this light, the European Parliament’s report can only be considered a national success and largely vindicates the policy pursued by the government.

Because it proves something else as well, vindicating the prime minister: Greece is always present in all international forums and enjoys the acceptance and respect of our partners.

“Let them rejoice”

For the record, the report was voted for only by the MEPs of New Democracy and PASOK, while it was voted against by those of Niki and Plevsi Eleftherias, and those from SYRIZA, the KKE, Elliniki Lysis, and Aphrodite Latinopoulou abstained.

“The time will come for them to be judged by history, whether they abstain or vote against it. Let these parties be happy with their MEPs,” said Pavlos Marinakis during yesterday’s briefing with political editors, adding that, in contrast to the “pseudo-patriots across the political spectrum,” the reality is “the policy that delivers results and is recognized at the European level.”