New Democracy MEP

A video showing the newly elected President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani referring to FYROM as “Macedonia”, has caused a backlash in Greece. The Italian politician went a step further by dubbing the citizens of FYROM descendants of Alexander the Great during a visit in the country’s capital Skopje, in February in his capacity as European Commissioner.

Revelations made by the Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati that Greece and Albania had exchanged non-papers on the issue of ‘Tsamouria’, lands located in a region of western Greece that Albanian argues belong to citizens of Albanian descent who had been expelled from the area after collaborating with nazi-occupying forces in the second world war, have caused an uproar.

The European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs unanimously decided to strip New Democracy MEP Theodoros Zagorakis of his parliamentary immunity, following a request forwarded by the Deputy Public Prosecutor at the Supreme Court of Greece on 19 December 2014 and announced in plenary on January 28, 2015.