Zappeion, May 29, 2024
Evangelos Venizelos,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Professor of Constitutional Law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Farewell Dinner Address at the 1st Summit of Global Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
Your Eminence Metropolitan Geron Emmanuel Of Chalcedon
Your Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America,
Most Reverend Metropolitans and Bishops,
Your Excellences,
Honorable Archons of the Ecumenical Throne,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. I consider it a great honor to have the opportunity to address the Archons of the Ecumenical Throne, the body of οφφικιάλιοι blessed by the Ecumenical Patriarch and called upon to unite in defending the rights of the Holy Great Church of Christ.
Plenary Session, Athens, 24 November 2023
Zappeion Megaron
Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe
The voice of European Lawyers
Guest Speaker: Evangelos Venizelos*
The voice of European lawyers is heard in Athens during an especially pivotal moment for the world. Obviously, our attention is centered on the two hotbeds of war that are near us, in the Middle East and in Ukraine. However, this period holds critical significance for the West, for Europe and for European political and legal culture.
War has consistently posed a severe challenge to the foundations of law. The law of war, both jus ad bellum and jus in bello, is a deeply contradictory concept. It tries to submit to legal regulations and limit extreme forms of violence. The balance between the right to self-defense, the right to security, the fight against terrorism, the protection of national sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the state on the one hand and the protection of human rights, especially the right to life, the protection of civilians and civic infrastructures on the other hand, consistently confronts us with profound political, ethical, and historical dilemmas. But these are usually discussed post facto, after events have unfolded and situations have crystallized.
23 November 2018
Evangelos Venizelos
Ukrainian Aytocephaly: History, Facts and Consequences*
Thank you very much for the invitation and the opportunity to discuss such an important and burning issue. The Church very often feeds us with issues we have to discuss politically. Today we will limit ourselves to the issue of the Ukrainian Autocephaly.
As so accurately Professor Evangelou and His Grace Bishop of Christoupolis Makarios have remarked, the problem of Autocephaly is in general a problem of pastoral responsibility and Canon Law, that is, a problem of distribution and exercise of jurisdiction in the Orthodox Church. But always the problem of Autocephaly is also a political problem, a problem of national identity, a problem associated with the emergence of a nation, with the ideology that every state seeks. As history teaches, and as it is generally accepted, I think, in the analysis of these phenomena, especially the emergence of a nation, the national identity is formed through the claim of statehood and then through the very function of the state and the cultivation of a state ideology, which lies at the core of the national identity.
GREEK - BRITISH SYMPOSIUM II - OPENNESS & EXTROVERSION
DITCHLEY PARK, OXFORDSHIRE
18 October 2018
After Dinner Speech
Evangelos Venizelos
I thank you dearly for the introduction, for the invitation, for your hospitality and for the opportunity to participate in this Symposium of such importance.
Today's debates have turned our attention to some very crucial aspects of our bilateral relations; to points that are not always plainly obvious.
Besides, the conjuncture is particularly challenging.
We are at the final and extremely difficult stage of the course towards the divorce between the EU and the UK.
Strasbourg, October 12, 2017
Evangelos Venizelos’ intervention in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Wednesday 11 .10.2017, joint debate: Call for a Council of Europe Summit to reaffirm European unity and defend and promote democratic security in Europe / Defending the acquisition of the Council of Europe - Preserving 65 years of successful intergovernmental cooperation
The pan-European constitutional acquis concerning Democracy and Rule of Law is proven more fragile than anticipated. The Council of Europe, as the guardian of these fundamental values and institutional guarantees needs a new boost.
The question has to do with the method by which this new boost can be efficiently given. The simple answer is through a new summit of Heads of State and Government of the Member States. The summit is though the most formal and powerful form of the intergovernmental character of the Council of Europe with the correlations of power ant the trade- off that this entails.
In my opinion, the special character and added value of the Council of Europe has to do with the institutions, procedures and mechanisms that has at its disposal, who transcend the intergovernmental character and advocate the principles of the rule of law and the need to protect human rights.
Brussels, 18 March 2014
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Venizelos’ statements following the EU General Affairs Council of 18 March 2014, in Brussels
E. VENIZELOS: Today’s meeting of the General Affairs Council looked principally at the preparations for the Spring European Council, which will be taking place later this week, on 20 and 21 March.
The main focus of this European Council will be the economy, including Growth, Competitiveness and Jobs, which, of course, is also the top priority of the Hellenic Presidency. Energy issues will also figure at the top of the agenda.
Enhancing industrial competitiveness, as a precondition for economic growth and job creation, is, as I said, a key priority for the Greek Presidency and for all European societies at this time, just before the European elections.
Νέα Υόρκη, 23 Σεπτεμβρίου 2013
Ομιλία Αντιπροέδρου της Κυβέρνησης και ΥΠΕΞ Ευ. Βενιζέλου στη Συνάντηση Υψηλού Επιπέδου της Γενικής Συνέλευσης για τους Αναπτυξιακούς Στόχους της Χιλιετίας σχετικά με τα άτομα με αναπηρία (HLMDD)
Mr. President of the General Assembly
Mr. Secretary General
Excellencies,
It is common truth that the synergy and collaboration of the international community constitute the cornerstone, the basis for an action. Today, we have a great opportunity to go a step forward in order to close the “gaps” and fight exclusion and discrimination. This HLMDD gives us the chance to underline and reinforce the existing connection between disability, human rights and development by advancing the mainstreaming of disability in development policies.
The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRDP), in 2006, was a landmark in the history of the human rights. It is now the moment to ensure that the international community’s commitment for a disability-inclusive development agenda will be translated into action.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Keynote speech of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Greece, Mr. Evangelos Venizelos at the official dinner closing the 1st Economic Forum Greece-UAE 2012
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
First of all, I would like to warmly thank the organizers of this meeting, primarily my dear colleague and friend, Theodore Pangalos, who invited me to address tonight’s event.
I had the opportunity to meet His Highness the Foreign Minister, with whom we overviewed our bilateral relations and the situation in the wider region. For Greece, the United Arab Emirates is a point of reference in the Gulf Area. It is a country with which we maintain close and sincere ties of friendship as well as strategic cooperation.
Washington DC, Sunday, September 25, 2011
Keynote speech of the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Greece, Prof. Evangelos Venizelos, at the closing lunch of the Annual Membership Meeting of the International Institute of Finance
Since 2008, we have been experiencing different phases of the international financial and fiscal crisis. In the case of the Euro Area it is now obvious that the crisis is more than a financial or a fiscal one.
It is a political and institutional crisis.
The point is whether the Euro Area, which has one of the world’s most powerful currencies, has those institutional structures and the political capacity that can provide swift and decisive responses, and make decisions that convince the markets.
Washington DC, July 25, 2011
"The Greek Debt Crisis: Prospects and Opportunities"
Public address of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Greece, Mr. Evangelos Venizelos, at the Peterson Institute for International Economics
Ladies and gentlemen,
Greece is at the center of international attention in the last two years. This is due to its poor financial situation, coupled with the fact that the Greek crisis develops within the Eurozone, within a monetary zone with a strong currency and a very satisfactory macroeconomic and fiscal performance overall. However, while Eurozone’s average performance as far as the public debt, the budget deficit, the trade balance, the growth rates, inflation and unemployment, does not justify such a strong and lasting challenge, the controversy exists. In particular, The Eurozone has a lower fiscal deficit and a lower public debt compared to the US.
