Fidias Sparks EU Controversy: "I Believe Democracy in the EU is an Illusion"

Alithia newspaper, under the headline "The Choice of Fidias is Now an Embarrassment to All Cypriots," reported that Panayotu criticized the voting process in the European Parliament (EP) in one of his videos. He claimed that the votes were conducted in a dubious manner and accused EP Vice President Nicu Ștefănuță of being unable to calculate the votes accurately, stating that every vote had to be repeated twice.

In response, Ștefănuță dismissed Panayotu's allegations as "false claims" in a counter-video. He refuted the accusations and criticized Panayotu for portraying repeated votes as a recurring issue. Addressing Panayotu directly, Ștefănuță called on politicians to "learn the rules."

During an online broadcast, Panayotu also claimed that European Council President Antonio Costa was not democratically elected to his position. When asked whether there is "real democracy in the EU," he responded, "No. I believe democracy in Europe is an illusion."

The newspaper highlighted that Panayotu, elected by 70,000 Greek Cypriots in the EU elections for various reasons, has been harming the image of all Greek Cypriots with his actions and statements.