Cypriot MEP compares EU to Pontius Pilate during Cop31 debate
Akel’s Giorgos Georgiou accused Turkey of obstructing Cyprus’ participation in Cop31, while Diko’s Costas Mavrides urged measurable climate targets.
Strasbourg, France. Akel MEP Giorgos Georgiou compared the European Union to Pontius Pilate during a plenary debate on preparations for Cop31, accusing Turkey of trying to obstruct the Republic of Cyprus’ participation. The climate summit is scheduled for next month in Antalya, on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.
Georgiou challenges Turkey’s role
Georgiou said Turkey was attempting to use its hosting of the summit for political purposes, alleging that it sought to promote the illegal secessionist entity in Cyprus’ occupied territories.
He linked that alleged objective to what he described as the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum. The agreement concerns maritime jurisdiction and received ratification from Libya’s parliament on Tuesday.
Addressing the EU’s response, Georgiou said: “As for you, shall I say it? I shall. You are acting like Pontius Pilates regarding Turkey, and perhaps even regarding the climate,” he said.
Pontius Pilate, the fifth Roman governor of Judea, is chiefly remembered today for overseeing Jesus’ trial and ordering his crucifixion. His name has come to symbolise moral cowardice and an unwillingness to accept personal responsibility for a damaging decision.
Calls for action and social justice
Georgiou said the climate crisis was already present, pointing to wildfires, extreme heat, drought and devastating floods that had created a continuing emergency. Europe’s peoples, he said, were bearing the cost.
He said The Left, his political grouping in the European Parliament, was seeking the obvious outcome from Cop31: “action, not new promises”. Previous pledges, he argued, had already left people burned and drowned.
For Georgiou, addressing the climate crisis went beyond environmental protection. He described it as a fight for equality and social justice that should exclude no one, while accusing Turkey of seeking to obstruct Cyprus’ involvement and turn the conference into a political instrument.
Mavrides urges measurable commitments
Diko MEP Costas Mavrides also addressed the Cop31 discussion, saying climate change was not an ideology and its effects were more pronounced in Europe, especially around the Mediterranean.
He argued that worldwide challenges needed a global response and cooperation between countries. He called for specific, measurable targets to narrow the divide between declared goals and their implementation.
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