BRUSSELS

A Greek MEP ripped apart a Turkish flag on the floor of the European Parliament late Wednesday. 

The action took place during debate over the large number of refugees on Greek islands, with Greek lawmaker Ionannis Lagos blaming Turkey for the situation before tearing apart a Turkish flag.

In the session, EU lawmakers were debating the humanitarian situation on the Greek islands, when Lagos said most Greeks are against illegal migration.

Lagos then accused the European Union of ignoring the rights of Greeks.

“What situation are we talking about right now… people are killing, stealing… [but] all we are talking about is Pakistanis and Afghans,” he said, urging that the Greeks be given back their “lost homeland.”

The Greek MEP blamed Turkey for the “stream of migrants coming into” his country and “getting away with whatever it likes.”

He then tore into pieces a Turkish flag made of paper, and said: “Let’s put an end to this.”

In response, the chair of the session called for restraint, adding that such behavior was not acceptable.

Lagos is one of the most prominent figures of Golden Dawn, a far-right racist political party in Greece.

In 2013 he was found guilty of attacking a community center in Athens which was hosting asylum-seekers. The Greek lawmaker, along with former Greek parliamentarian Nikos Michos and 20 other party members, had led the attack on the facility and its director.

Both parliamentarians got a two-year suspended sentence.

Last October, Italian MEP Angelo Ciocca was suspended from activities in the EP for several days for throwing a box of Turkish delight during debate over Turkey’s counter-terrorism Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria.

Lagos’ disrespectful display could draw a similar sanction.