On the same panel at the 5th Thessaloniki Metropolitan Summit co-organized by The Economist with powergame.gr were Dimitris Avramopoulos, former Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship in the European Union, and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Mr. Avramopoulos spoke about Israel, Europe, the Gaza war and Cyprus. “Many in Israel disagree with Netanyahu’s policy,” said Mr. Avramopoulos, sending the message that the solution is for “the country’s government to change course.” Referring to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, he said that “if he were in power now, many things would have been avoided.”
Avramopoulos at 5th Thessaloniki Metropolitan Summit: “Nobody takes Europe seriously”
The former Foreign Minister used harsh language about Europe, emphasizing that “nobody takes Europe seriously,” while, referring to the Cyprus issue, he said that “only with a unified Cyprus will peace be created. If Cyprus is unified, everything will be solved like dominoes.”
Mr. Avramopoulos questioned where the international role is while saying that “the United Nations has no power.”
Ehud Olmert at 5th Thessaloniki Metropolitan Summit: “Gaza war is a death trap, everything depends on Trump – biggest problem is opposition within Israel”
For his part, Ehud Olmert, speaking about the Gaza war, called it a “death trap” while saying that “everything depends on Donald Trump.” The Israeli politician who became Prime Minister on January 4, 2006 and submitted his resignation on August 1, 2008, remaining as interim Prime Minister until the government emerged after the 2009 elections, also said that the biggest problem is “the opposition within the state of Israel.”
Olmert moved along the same lines as Dimitris Avramopoulos, saying that “Israelis don’t trust Netanyahu and thousands of demonstrations against the government are taking place.” Among other things, he said that “Israel has lost every point of contact,” while emphasizing that “the country needs an intervention from Europe.”
