Xinhua — Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday argued for a renewed and stronger Europe to address the multiple crises sharking the continent.
In an address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), he said: “Europe urgently needs a new social contract. We need more Europe and a better Europe.”
“The failure of the policy of austerity is a reality. We have 22 million unemployed in Europe of which close to half are long-term unemployed. This proves to us that the crisis isn’t behind us. This number has doubled since 2008,” he added.
For the head of the Greek government, symptoms of a weakened Europe include a drop in Europeans’ standard of living, the return of fanaticism and nationalism and the “political threat of the extreme right.”
“We must change direction and we must do it very quickly,” he said.
Tsipras said the EU’s management procedures must be improved to help deal with the continent’s economic and refugee crises.
“Close to 60,000 refugees and migrants find themselves today in Greece. This number could appear derisory to you. However, in relation to the population of the country, it is equivalent to 580,000 people for Germany, and 500,000 for France,” he said.
“We are waiting for our partners to assume their part of the responsibility and assure an equitable redistribution of the reception of refugees and migrations within Europe. A substantial acceleration of their resettlement is necessary,” Tsipras said.
