A scheduled meeting was held late Tuesday between SYRIZA–Progressive Alliance MEP Nikolas Farantouris and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York.
Farantouris is representing the European Parliament as rapporteur of a report on the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the interparliamentary conference taking place at the UN this week. The European Parliament approved the report last week with a strong 70% majority—422 votes in favor out of 672—addressing SDG implementation for the planet, society, and the economy.
According to an official statement, the meeting emphasized adherence to international law and the need for its strict enforcement by all members of the global community.
Speaking after the meeting, Farantouris said he and Guterres discussed “major global issues at a critical juncture for the international community and the organization, reaffirming our commitment to the principles of international legal order.”
He stressed that with the United States scaling back its involvement, the European Union and its 27 member states have become the UN’s largest financial contributors, “and therefore the guardians of its functioning.”
“For this reason, the EU’s voice can and must be heard even louder,” Farantouris said. “And that voice must call for the strict application of international law.”
Farantouris also criticized Turkey’s actions, saying they violate international law, citing “the threat of war, the illegal military occupation of Cyprus, the unlawful Turkey-Libya memorandum, and most recently the push to connect Turkey electrically with the occupied northern part of Cyprus, which is not recognized under international law.
