GUE/NGL MEPs showed their solidarity towards the Greek people and the Greek government on Wednesday(1.7.2015) during the negotiations of the country with the Institutions. They held banners reading: “Solidarity with Greece” , “No to Austerity” as well as Greek flags.
[GUE is a French acronym for United European Left, NGL is an acronym for the Nordic Green Left, and MEPs is an acronym for Members of European Parliament.]
Within the video there are messages from 11 MEPs and 9 political parties in English, including:
Gabi Zimmer – President of GUE/NGL, Die Linke
Martina Anderson – Sinn Fein
Barbara Spinelli – Independent
Josu Juaristi – Eh Bildu
Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan
Fabio de Masi – Die Linke
Marina Albiol – Izquierda Plural
Marisa Matias – Bloco de Esquerda
Eleonora Forenza – L’ Altra Europa con Tsipras
Katerina Konecna – Komunistica strana Cech a Moravy
Helmut Scholz – Die Linke
Gabi Zimmer – President of GUE/NGL, Die Linke
“The referendum on Sunday it is the right of the Greek people to decide if they would like to support the approach by the current Greek government to negotiate and to say: “Stop Austerity – Enough is Enough. We need a fair offer, fair negotiation, we need a fair agreement.”
Martina Anderson – Sinn Fein
“Sinn Fein stands in solidarity with the Greek people and the SYRIZA government. The IMF gave finance to Ukraine through its landing into your ears policy, yet at the very moment, it did not give financial assistance to the Greek government. Shame on the Irish government for not supporting the Greek government in its time of need.”
Barbara Spinelli – Independent
“I think we are in front of a real campaign by the European Institutions, based on fear and panic. The answer of the Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras is Democracy.”
Josu Juaristi – Eh Bildu
“This is about the Europe we want and the Europe we need. This is about the society we want. This is about rights, about democracy, about the future we want for the Greek people and the future for all of us. And now, the future in Greece and in Europe is Syriza.”
Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan
“The thing I have to say is, to do the difficult thing is always a lonely thing to do, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing to do. What Greece is doing is an inspiration to many people in my country and many people who have given up on European democracy.”
Fabio de Masi – Die Linke
“We are aware of the very difficult situation that Greece is currently having because the government of Germany, the European Central Bank and other institutions have created chaos in the banking sector. There’s no solution to taking up new credit simply to repay old debts.”
Marina Albiol – Izquierda Plural
“Solidarity with the Greek people, they are being punished for having chosen to be an alternative and the end of austerity policies. The same people with a government that is giving a democratic lesson to the whole world. Stop cheating, stop lying, the divide now is not Euro yes, or Euro no. The debate is democracy or dictatorship of financial power.”
Marisa Matias – Bloco de Esquerda
“What I saw in Greece, what I still see in Greece is people fighting for their dignity, for their future, for their right to have a life and rights and that’s not very common unfortunately in the European Union because of the blackmailing of all the institutions. I was very moved by the action of the government, because we saw for the first time a government which is not afraid of the people – of their people.”
Eleonora Forenza – L’ Altra Europa con Tsipras
“As a member of the European Parliament I want to show all my solidarity to all the Greek people and to the Greek government. Altra Europa con Tsipras is with Tsipras, with the SYRIZA government. We think that the choice of SYRIZA is the victory of democracy, the victory of the fight against austerity. We are with SYRIZA.”
Katerina Konecna – Komunistica strana Cech a Moravy
“We express full solidarity with the Greek people and we support the Greek people’s right to say their opinion at the referendum. Please do not listen to the media propaganda. Please make your decision freely.”
Helmut Scholz – Die Linke
“I think that the German government which has taken a leading role in imposing austerity in the whole European Union, with the logic of the monetary and economic union, which is determining the internal market of the European Union as the core of that is expressing that this logic – currency first, people second or third – should be broken.”
Video: Vasileios Katsardis