Former finance minister of Greece
German authorities impose entry ban on Yanis Varoufakis
Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis
© Thomas Krych / Zuma Press Wire / Action Press
According to a media report, the former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis is not allowed to enter the Federal Republic. The background is the Berlin “Palestine Congress” this weekend in Berlin.
Yanis Varoufakis criticizes the authorities’ actions
“In order to prevent anti-Semitic and anti-Israel propaganda at the event, several entry bans were imposed, including one against Varoufakis,” the newspaper quotes security circles as saying. The Greek has been world-famous since the financial crisis last decade. He is now active in the European movement Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (Diem25), which he co-founded.
Varoufakis sharply criticized the actions on Platform X (formerly Twitter). The German Interior Ministry had imposed a ban on him, a ban on any political activity, he wrote on Friday.
However, in the security circles quoted by the “Handelsblatt” there is expressly talk of an entry ban. This is possible within the framework of the European Union’s Freedom of Movement Act.
The police broke up the “Palestine Congress” on Friday around two hours after it began (the star reported). The up to 250 congress participants were asked to leave the hall early in the evening. The reason given by the assembly authority was a speech broadcast via video by a man who is banned from political activity in Germany because of hate speech against Israel and Jews. When the man spoke, the police and several officers intervened, cut the transmission and temporarily switched off the power. The organizers sharply criticized the demolition.