ABTTF President: “In Greece, one of the EU’s founding members and a country that constantly claims to be the cradle of democracy, the principle of the rule of law, one of the EU’s most fundamental values, is literally being trampled underfoot. The failure to execute the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the associations of the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for nearly 18 years is one of the greatest proofs of the systematic violation of the rule of law in our country.”
Twenty-five years ago, on 7 December 2020, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (EU), officially proclaimed by the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission, gained full legal binding force as primary EU law with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009.
The EU Charter, which ensures the protection of citizens’ fundamental rights and freedoms when EU institutions and Member States apply EU law within their respective areas of competence, encompasses fundamental values such as human dignity, freedoms, democracy, equality, citizenship rights and the rule of law.
On the 25th anniversary of the proclamation of the EU Charter, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in a speech at an event organised by the Ministry of Justice, indirectly responded to the criticism by former Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis of the government regarding the state of the rule of law in the country, indicating that the most reliable assessment of the government’s performance in the area of the rule of law was the relevant reports of the European Commission.
‘‘The EU Charter is of paramount importance in protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of EU citizens, yet there remain serious issues in its implementation by the EU Member States. In Greece, one of the EU’s oldest members and a country that constantly claims to be the cradle of democracy, the principle of the rule of law, one of the EU’s most fundamental values, is literally being trampled underfoot. As the speech made by Prime Minister Mitsotakis at the Ministry of Justice event once again revealed, the government is intent on misleading both the domestic and European public by completely ignoring the shortcomings and serious regression in the rule of law in our country in recent years. However, no matter how much the government continues to deny this situation, the facts are starkly evident. The failure to execute the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the associations of the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for nearly 18 years is one of the greatest proofs of the systematic violation of the rule of law in our country’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe.
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