Category: Press Releases

The Pirate Party of Greece officially adopts the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism

Composite image displaying the emblem of the Pirate Party of Greece on the left and the logo of the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA) on the right.

The Pirate Party of Greece (PPGR), true to the Pirate Ideology’s principles, recognizes the need to clearly and unequivocally fight and condemn antisemitism. Antisemitism has been the basis for many centuries of brutal discrimination and murderous persecution against the Jews, which peaked with the Holocaust.  

In our Statutes,[1] we explicitly and unequivocally declare our dedication to the protection of human rights for all, without exceptions and/or conditions – regardless of race, religion, origin, gender identity-expression etc., exactly as dictated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the UN General Assembly and by the European Convention on Human rights. Our stance is reaffirmed in our other fundamental texts: our Founding Declaration,[2] our Prinicples,[3] and the Rethymno Declaration.[4]

We incorporate our fight against antisemitism in our general fight against racism. If humankind must learn one thing from the Holocaust and all other genocides is that “Never Again” must mean “Never Again for Anyone”. To us, human rights are universal, inalienable, and cannot be subject to negotiations. Thus, we are not going to treat the fight against antisemitism as incompatible with, or as competitive to the fight for the rights of the Palestinian people – or any other people. 

Furthermore, according to our party’s fundamental texts and the declarations and conventions on human rights we endorse and abide by, we reject the idea of any racially and/or religiously “pure” state as inherently racist, bigoted, and anti-democratic. As a country, we have had a very bitter experience with the fascist slogan «Ελλάς Ελλήνων Χριστιανών» (“Greece of and for Christian Greeks”) of the 1967-1974 Junta led by the Nazi collaborator Georgios Papadopoulos. We reject the idea that political critique of a state’s laws, policies, practicies, ideology, and official rhetoric may be stifled or censored as “racist” by nature. Speech can be racist depending on its content, its targeting, and the context in which it is uttered. Furthermore, to apply the “racist” label to the opposition to racist policies and actions weakens the struggle against racism and makes a mockery of it. Additionally, the Pirate Movement by nature rejects censorship, especially when it aims to protect governments that violate anyone’s basic human rights.

Consequently, we are led to the rejection of the working definition of antisemitism set forth by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), because it conflates Jewry with Israel as a state, and antisemitism with legitimate political criticism of the political, diplomatic, legal, and military actions of the state of Israel. In Greece, we have dealt with similar attitudes expressed by our own domestic far right, as it conflates Hellenism with the Greek government and labels “anti-hellenic” and “treasonous” every criticism of the government’s rhetoric, laws, and policies.  

Consequently, the Governing Board of the PPGR proposed to the party members, and on 28 July put to a vote, with 2 August being the deadline, the adoption of the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA).[4] The JDA’s definition and guidelines, in contrast to the IHRA Definition, offer a clear, explicit, and concise framework that leaves no room for misinterpretation, substantially strengthens the fight against racism in general, and antisemitism in particular, and is compatible with the Pirate principles of free speech and critique, as it shields the right to legitimate political criticism of ideas, laws, policies, and practices. The proposal of the Governing Board was unanimously approved by PPGR members.

Thus, the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism is adopted as an official position of the PPGR and will be published shortly in the relevant section of our website and Wiki, in English and Greek. The Greek translation will be posted after its finalization.

[1] Κόμμα Πειρατών Ελλάδας (Pirate Party of Greece). Καταστατικό – Κόμμα Πειρατών Ελλάδας – Pirate party of Greece. [online] Available at: https://www.pirateparty.gr/katastatiko-2/.

[2] Κόμμα Πειρατών Ελλάδας – Pirate party of Greece. Ιδρυτική Διακήρυξη του Κόμματος Πειρατών Ελλάδας. [online] Available at: https://www.pirateparty.gr/idrytiki-diakiriksi/.

[3] Κόμμα Πειρατών Ελλάδας – Pirate party of Greece. (2012). Αρχές και Προτεραιότητες του Κόμματος Πειρατών Ελλάδας. [online] Available at: https://www.pirateparty.gr/arxes/.

[4] Κόμμα Πειρατών Ελλάδας – Pirate party of Greece. (2025). Η Διακήρυξη του Ρεθύμνου. [online] Available at: https://www.pirateparty.gr/rethymno-declaration-gr/.

[5] JDA. (2023). The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism | JDA. [online] Available at: https://jerusalemdeclaration.org.

NOTE: This text’s citations will be updated when we provide official translations of our ideological texts (references 1-4).

Permanent link to this article: https://www.pirateparty.gr/2025/08/ppgr-officially-adopts-jerusalem-declaration-antisemitism/

Anti-Choice “Loopholes” in Medical Codes of Ethics: The Case of Greece and Our Position

This Press Release is an adaptation from the Greek-language original, published on 17.04.2025.

Το έμβλημα του Κόμματος Πειρατών Ελλάδας The emblem of the Pirate Party of Greece

The Greek Medical Code of Ethics (Law 3481/2005)[1] has several deeply problematic provisions which prioritize a doctor’s “conscience” (i.e. the doctor’s religious beliefs) over the patient’s rights, and especially the rights of women and LGBTQI+ persons. We quote and explain these provisions below, translated by our team: 

Article 2 – “The Practice of Medicine as a Profession of Service”

Paragraph 5: “A physician may, on grounds of conscience, refuse to participate in lawful medical procedures to which they have conscientious objections, except in emergency situations.”

It is obvious that no doctor will ever have “conscientious objections” to an appendectomy or an open-heart surgery. The only lawful medical procedures to which a doctor may object “on grounds of his conscience” are those opposed by the forces of regression, i.e. the clergy and the alt-right, which is generously funded by dark money: namely, the termination of a pregnancy (abortion) and gender reassignment surgery and treatment. While examining this legal text, we discovered that medically assisted reproduction is also targeted.

Article 30 – “Medically Assisted Human Reproduction”

Paragraph 5: “The physician may invoke the principles and rules of their moral conscience and refuse to perform or participate in a medically assisted reproduction procedure.”

In other words: the Greek government, for all is posturing as beeing deeply concerned about the demographic problem, and, more specifically the infertility and low birth rates that exacerbate it, gives the medical community free rein to refuse medically assisted reproduction services to patients, on “moral conscience” grounds. This provision is particularly peculiar, since the only doctors that perform medically assisted reproduction procedures are ones that have undergone the relevant training to acquire this specialization on their own accord.

As to the issue of a woman’s (or a trans man’s) right to not be burdened with an unwanted pregnancy and the upbringing of a child they are not ready or willing to bring into the world, the Greek Medical Code of Ethics once again prioritizes the doctor’s “moral conscience” over the patient’s welfare. More specifically, the law states:

Article 31 – “Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy”

  1. “A physician may invoke the principles of his or her personal moral conscience and refuse to perform or participate in the procedure of voluntary termination of pregnancy—except where there is an unavoidable risk to the life of the pregnant person or a risk of serious and permanent harm to her health. In such a case, the physician must obtain the informed and reasoned agreement of another competent physician.”
  2. “The physician is obliged to provide counseling support to the woman requesting the service before proceeding with the termination of pregnancy.”

As we have already explained, by “moral conscience”, the lawmaker really means “religious beliefs”. The aforementioned problematic provisions are really all about the state allowing the doctor to force their religious obsessions upon a pregnant person and – if applicable – their close family. It is all about the state allowing the doctor to weaponize their religious dogma in order to strip their patients of their agency, their right to choose if and / or when they will become pregnant, if and / or when they will carry a pregnancy to term, even their right to decide if and / or when they will start a family. We must also remind that unwanted pregnancies come with numerous economic, vocational, emotional / psychological, intra-family, and social / societal implications that the lawmaker decided to ignore. 

Now, let us examine the second passage that obliges the doctor to provide “counseling support” to the pregnant woman. It is a masterpiece of vague writing, crafted to give doctors the widest possible berth as to the interpretation of what constitutes “counseling support”. This way, the doctor is given the green light to exert emotional and psychological pressure, intimidation and shaming on the pregnant person (usually with heavy religious overtones), even to bring extremist religious groups on board. Sadly, we are not overstating matters. In 2020, what we are warning against took place at the Patissia Health Center, where a pregnant woman was denied an abortion.[2] There are also numerous other, extremely troubling, reports from other public healthcare establishments all over Greece, with pregnant women not only being denied their reproductive rights, but also be subjected to all sorts of abuse by the personnel – and all this, with the blessing of the Greek Medical Code of Ethics, since bullying, intimidating, and shaming pregnant women out of the procedures they need can be construed as “counseling support.”

This shameful treatment of pregnant persons in Greece must end. Women, and pregnancy-capable persons in general, are not reproductive machines and their bodies do not belong to the state or the clergy. Our official position is simple: healthcare, reproductive, and / or family planning rights are inalienable fundamental rights and no one, whether an individual, an organization, or a government, has the right to deprive anyone of them. As Pirates, we stand for bodily autonomy; we stand for people’s agency and freedom. The current Greek Medical Code of Ethics allows religious fundamentalists within the medical community to violate these rights and force their own religious dogma on others, and this must end now.

The Pirate Party of Greece demands and proposes an immediate reformation of the Greek Medical Code of Ethics. Greece and other EU member states cannot invoke their ostensibly pro-rights, pro-democracy, pro-liberty European acquis and, at the same time, give such outrageous power to doctors and religious fundamentalists to trample on the rights, dignity, and lives of pregnant persons and their families. We are outraged to see brazen far-right governments like Meloni’s in Italy not only allow doctors to force their own religious fanaticism on pregnant persons, but also, under the false pretext of “counseling”, facilitate their harassment by opponents of their reproductive rights.[3] Below, we present our proposals for much-needed amendments to the Greek Medical Code of Ethics:

Article 2 – “The Practice of Medicine as a Profession of Service”

Paragraph 5: “The physician shall have a duty to place the health and well-being of the patient above their personal beliefs and to perform all lawful medical acts with conscientiousness, sensitivity, compassion, empathy, and responsibility, taking into account scientific evidence and the patient’s needs.”

Article 30 – “Medically Assisted Human Reproduction”

Paragraph 5: Repealed

Recital: These services are provided exclusively by specialized physicians who have willingly pursued the relevant training and specialization. Therefore, a conscience clause is unnecessary.

Article 31 – “Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy”

  1. Repealed.

  2. New wording, as follows: “The physician shall provide counseling support, placing the needs of the pregnant individual requesting their services above their own personal beliefs. The exclusive purpose and scope of the counseling shall be the protection of the health and well-being of the pregnant individual. Any form of psychological or emotional pressure directed at the pregnant individual is strictly prohibited.”

Recital: A clear, patient-centric, scope and purpose for the “counseling support” is necessary to prevent and outlaw abuses by religiously-biased and / or gender-biased doctors.

Article 36 (formerly Article 38) – “Sanctions”

Proposed amendment to Paragraph 2:

“Furthermore, any physician who violates the provisions of Articles 2(5), 6(4,5), 19(5–7), 24(4), 28(9), 30(4), and 31 shall be subject to temporary revocation of their medical license and temporary suspension from any position held in the public sector for no less than two (2) years, as well as a monetary fine ranging from fifty thousand (50,000) to two hundred thousand (200,000) euros. The penalty shall be imposed by decision of the Minister of Health, following an opinion from the National Council of Medical Ethics and Deontology, which must be issued within twenty (20) days of the relevant request. In the event of a repeat violation, the physician’s license shall be permanently revoked, and the physician shall be permanently removed from any public sector position.”

Besides the amendments we propose to the problematic provisions, we are introducing gender-inclusive language (“pregnant person”), since not all people who can become pregnant identify as women. Furthermore, we are limiting the scope and purpose of the “counseling support” to ensure that it is actual counseling and not religious indoctrination, intimidation, shaming or other abuse of the patient’s dignity, freedom, and rights. Religious coercion has no place at all in the practice of medicine. Finally, we are introducing a harsher set of sanctions, to facilitate the removal of abusive doctors from the medical community.


Sources (in Greek):

[1] ΙΑΤΡΙΚΟΣ ΣΥΛΛΟΓΟΣ ΑΘΗΝΩΝ Kώδικας Ιατρικής Δεοντολογίας ΝΟΜΟΣ ΥΠ’ ΑΡΙΘMO 3418/2005 [ΦΕΚ Α’ 287]. (n.d.). Archived at: https://web.archive.org/web/20250617162228/https://www.isathens.gr/images/nomoi/kodikas_iatrikis_dentologias_2025.pdf.
[2] in.gr. (2020). Απίστευτη καταγγελία: Αρνήθηκαν άμβλωση σε γυναίκα στο Κέντρο Υγείας Πατησίων. [online] Available at: https://www.in.gr/2020/01/15/greece/apisteyti-kataggelia-arnithikan-amvlosi-se-gynaika-sto-kentro-ygeias-patision/.
[3] Giuffrida, A. (2024). Italy passes measures to allow anti-abortion activists to enter abortion clinicsThe Guardian. [online] 16 Apr. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/16/italy-passes-measures-to-allow-anti-abortion-activists-to-enter-abortion-clinics.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.pirateparty.gr/2025/07/anti-choice-loopholes-in-medical-codes-of-ethics-greece-ppgr/

Pirate Party of Greece 12th Congress – Decisions – Resignation from European Pirate Party and Pirate Parties International

Το έμβλημα του Κόμματος Πειρατών Ελλάδας The emblem of the Pirate Party of Greece
On Sunday 01.06.2025, the 12th Congress of the Pirate Party of Greece (PPGR) took place, entirely via video teleconference (VTC). This Congress was destined to be crucial, as the party’s Body of Members was called upon to decide on subjects pertaining not only to typical procedural formalities, but also the party’s political and ideological identity. Specifically:
  1. Through voting on the new Statutes (which shall be translated to English in due course) and the Rethymno Declaration, the PPGR’s Body of Members was asked to deliberate and decide on the strengthening of the progressive, secular, anti-racist, and inclusive character of the party, and on the clarification of a wider scope of political action for the party.
  1. It was also asked to decide on the future of its relations to the European Pirate Party (PPEU) and the Pirate Parties International (PPEU), bearing in mind the positions expressed by their leaderships.
After extensive and in-depth briefing by the Governing Board on the state of the Pirate Movement, the Body of Members concluded that a new beginning is necessary, on a concrete, consistent, progressive ideological base, without “nods” to neoliberalism, technofeudalism, neo-colonialism, and the far right, and also without any connection to institutions and persons whose public speech is deplorable. Thus, the Body of Members came to the following decisions: 
  1. The Rethymno Declaration was unanimously approved. This replaces the Uppsala Declaration and is a political, ideological, and programmatic declaration of the Pirate Party of Greece. It is also a call for a reestablishment of the Pirate movement, this time on ideologically, politically, and morally solid foundations, without ambiguities. It is also tailored to the current political reality, the actual concerns and needs of the citizens and of the PPGR’s members, and will serve as a compass and a basis for the formulation of progressive, democratic, and inclusive political propositions. 
  1. The new Statutes of the Pirate Party of Greece were also unanimously approved. This brings the following important changes-additions: 
    • It strengthens the progressive character of the party, by incorporating, inter alia
    • Provisions for the promotion of an entirely secular state, the strengthening of the party’s progressive ideological profile, as well as the protection of the members and the the people at large from gender-based, racial, regional, religious, ableist, etc discrimination. 
    • Provisions for Member Organizations built on a geographic or professional/vocational/scientific basis.
    • Provisions for the prevention and handling of incidences of Conflicts of Interest or other incompatibilities, as well as safeguards to ensure the functioning of the party’s instruments will not be undermined.
    • Text that clarifies: 
      • Members’ rights and obligations;
      • The functioning of the party’s instruments;
      • The duties and competences of the party’s instruments;
      • The duties, competences, and methodology of election and substitution of the members of the Governing Board and the Code of Conduct and Arbitration Committee;
      • Deliberation procedures;
      • The scope and functioning of the Three-Pirates Rule;
    • Provisions for the equitable and equal representation of genders in the instruments and ballots of the party;
    • Final and transitional provisions.
  1. With respect to the relation of the PPGR with the PPEU and PPI: the Body of Members unanimously decided for the party’s resignation from these two formations, as the Body of Members concluded that they (i) have abandoned the essence of the Pirate Ideology, which is antiracist, democratic, antimilitarist, pacifist, egalitarian, and promotes the peoples’ right to liberty and self-determination; (ii) produce no political added value whatsoever; (iii) do not enable constructive and productive political discourse. Members who took the floor stressed and condemned the hegemonic role played within these coalitions by persons who (a) promote militarism and a new arms race; (b) have fully adopted the positions and rhetoric of the extreme far-right and corrupt Israeli government; (c) express an impertinent contempt towards International Law, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the plethora of well-respected international humanitarian relief organizations, as well as the international Press freedom and civil and human rights organizations.
  1. The Body of Members orders and authorizes the Governing Board to proceed with the following actions:
    • Publish the Rethymno Declaration and the new Statutes;
    • Publish a Statement of Resignation from the PPEU and PPI;
    • Take initiatives to reach out and collaborate with individuals, parties, and organizations of the wider progressive-democratic side of the political spectrum, starting on the local and national level. 
#PiratePartyOfGreece #PPGR #12thCongress #EuropeanPirateParty #PPEU #PiratePartiesInternational #PPI

Permanent link to this article: https://www.pirateparty.gr/2025/06/ppgr-12thcongress-decisions-resignation-from-ppeu-ppi/

The Pirate Party of Greece on the Far-Right Meddling with Human Rights 

Το έμβλημα του Κόμματος Πειρατών Ελλάδας The emblem of the Pirate Party of Greece

In horror and disgust, we read that Mr. Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, seems to be accepting the Right/Far-Right bloc’s insolent demand to revise the the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).[1]

For many  years now, the Right/Far-Right coalition seeks to undermine humanitarian and democratic values and gut all legislation that protects human rights. For many years, through anti-democratic think tanks like the “liberal” Atlas Network and the extreme fascist Heritage Foundation, it has been promoting historical revisionism, a change in the very meaning of words, and regression. Of course, it has “authoritative” scribes in oligarch-owned “mainstream” media and moles in the Academia by its side: these groups have both been hard at work, for decades now, to whitewash fascism and Nazism.

Funded by dark money and by fascist multi-billionaires like Peter Thiel, Robert Mercer, and Elon Musk, and aided by the daily and incessant misanthropic and terror-mongering  propaganda of their media, which has turned the masses into angry, goose-stepping mobs, the Right now feels safe to show its true intentions. It wants to return us to the days of Franco, Mussolini, and Hitler. The Right was never the power of “prudence”, “moderation”, “stability”, or “unity”. It has always been, as History teaches us, the very womb of fascism, discord, inhumanity, and human abattoirs. It has always presented all sorts of social groups as “subhuman” and “savages” that must be exterminated and erased: Jews, Roma, Muslims, the LGBTQI+ community (especially trans folk), people with disabilities, Palestinians, refugees and migrants. When, of course, it took a break from turning private sector workers against their public sector peers; pensioners against students; men against women. 

In no way shall we accept any regression in human rights, and especially w.r.t. the more vulnerable groups, like refugees who try to flee the neo-colonial wars instigated and funded by the Neo-fascist International. We declare outright that we shall show absolutely no tolerance to the neo-fascist rhetoric of the unhinged Right. We declare that we shall not recognize or accept any text that makes concessions to the neo-Nazis and the fascists. Finally, we remind Mr. Berset that human rights are not privileges granted to the plebs by the sovereign. They are not subject to demagogic “polls” and “plebiscites” rife with weasel words and manipulative questions aimed at stoking social automatism, and fear and lothing for the Other. They cannot be the subject of obscene horse trading and political “balances”. If Mr. Berset actually wants to honor his position and his institutional role, he must stand up to vulgar fascists like Kemi Badenoch, Giorgia Meloni, Mette Frederiksen (who has the audacity to pretend to be a social-democrat!), the racist Geert Wilders, the petit-dictateur Viktor Orbán, the risible Bart De Wever; if he does not have the spine and rectitude to do that, he must hand in his resignation.

True to our humanitarian values, true to our Pirate Ideology (which, contrary to what some claim, is neither nebulous nor “ill-defined”), we declare unanimously, unequivocally, and officially that we shall fight with all our powers against the fascistization promoted by the European People’s Party and its neo-fascist allies. We call on all democratic and progressive powers in Europe to a mass, unyielding, and united struggle against the Right’s obscene campaign, before it is too late. 

  1. Magee, C. (2025). Convention on human rights must adapt, says Council of Europe head. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/05/convention-on-human-rights-must-adapt-says-council-of-europe-head [Accessed 6 Jun. 2025].

#Europe #CouncilOfEurope #EuropeanConventionOnHumanRights #ECHR #FarRight #Revisionism

Permanent link to this article: https://www.pirateparty.gr/2025/06/far-right-meddling-human-rights/