Athens
, 17 October 2009
Mr. Speaker, honourable ladies and Gentlemen MPs, it is a great honour for me to be addressing the members of the Hellenic Parliament today. I address you with deep respect and I assure you that it is our purpose and vision to return Greece to the front line.
To strengthen the country’s position and render it once again an active and trusted power, prepared to pursue its interests.
We are once again taking the reins of a foreign policy that intercedes in all major international developments, effectively defends the nation's rights and gives a voice and negotiating power to Greece.
Greece is being called upon to find its identity once more. Its role. For us the course is clear. Greece makes gains as a country of values. A country that defends principles; the international law and human rights through which we reinforce our own integrity and security.
On foreign policy issues, we will always pursue dialogue with all of the political forces and the broadest possible consensus. We will also pursue consultations with civil society and the academic community. We will discuss matters frequently here in Parliament, even in closed thematic debates, whenever necessary.
The government is intent on changing many things in the country, and it will do so. But not our national objectives. Greece has reached a point where we are all in agreement on the major national issues. Most of us, at least.
But we will change the way in which foreign policy is exercised. Our goal is for Greece to once again exercise an active and multifaceted diplomacy. To again become an agent for initiatives. To seek solutions, to put forward proposals. To negotiate, to achieve synthesis of views. And if necessary, to disagree.
We want Greece to play a leading role again as a force for security, stability and development. As a guarantor of respect for international law, human rights and universal values.
Defining moments are before us. In less that two months, the worlds attention will focus on Copenhagen: the UN Climate Change Conference. Climate change and its repercussions are here. The charred landscapes of Ilias and Attika are constant reminders of this.
So we need to act, and we need to act now. We are already cooperating and coordinating closely with the Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change so that Greece can go from uninvolved spectator to useful collocutor.
The Foreign Ministry has now incorporated green diplomacy into its structure as a horizontal policy that will shape every activity and every initiative.
In this spirit, the International Development Cooperation Department – created by Prime Minister and Foreign Minister George Papandreou as a powerful development tool for strengthening Greece’s presence in the world, always with respect for the means at Greece’s disposal – will be linked from here on in, as necessitated by the new state of affairs, with the international effort to confront climate change.
Together with climate change, the economic crisis is exacerbating migration pressures. And one of our highest-priority responsibilities is to confront illegal migration. We are an entry, transit and destination country. So it is in our immediate interest to play a leading role in the international efforts to deal with the underlying causes of this phenomenon.
The Conference of the Global Forum on Migration Development, which will be taking place in Athens in a few days, is an excellent opportunity to tell it like it is, to share responsibilities and to find tangible solutions that will be adopted on an international level.
Finally, we need to provide effective responses, but always with respect for human dignity.
Within the framework of the Greek Chairmanship of the OSCE, in early December Athens will host the Organization’s Ministerial Meeting, which will focus to the matter of European security and the Corfu process.
We will continue with even greater intensity the worthy effort begun by the previous government – an effort that I acknowledge – so that we can make a decisive contribution to consolidating a system for security and stability in the OSCE region; a system also aimed at strengthening democratic institutions, respect for human rights and protection of the environment.
Even after the end of our Chairmanship, Greece intends to maintain a strong voice and a leading role in this discussion, which will shape the European security environment of the 21st century.
Ladies and gentlemen MPs, Greece aims to be at the center – and not on the margins – of developments. With regard to the EU, we support the effort towards further deepening and integration of Europe, to Greece’s benefit and to the benefit of global stability and security.
It is our hope that the Lisbon Treaty will go into effect soon, providing not only symbolic momentum, but also the additional tools for a European Union with a united and significant presence in international developments.
But we will also work to bring Europe closer to the citizen. To cease being a remote institution and become a familiar everyday reality that citizens themselves will help to shape.
Ladies and gentlemen MPs, our national issues are at a critical turning point. But there are no dilemmas. Greece will once again stand by Cyprus and the Cypriot people – in action, not words.
And this is the symbolic significance of the Prime Minister’s first visit abroad the day after tomorrow, to Cyprus. The Cyprus problem is the result of military invasion and occupation by Turkey. We do not forget this, and we remind everyone of it at every opportunity. And we have repeatedly underscored that occupation forces have no place in the European family.
We are pursuing a solution that is just, viable and functional; a solution based on the resolutions of the UN Security Council, the principles, values and treaties of the European Union; a solution that fully respects the European acquis, so that the Cypriot people as a whole can enjoy the benefits of the Republic of Cyprus’s membership in the European Union.
We firmly support the efforts of President Demetris Christofias. Cyprus has the right to a future without dependencies and self-styled protectors. And this is why the solution must be a Cypriot solution, without foreign intervention, artificial timeframes, mediation and threats of partitioning.
Greece is assuming a leading role in the Balkans once again. We are sending a message to all the region’s countries that once again, they can count on Greece’s support, on our vision for European integration.
The incorporation of Southeast-European countries into Euroatlantic institutions is a strategic choice for us. The Prime Minister has already announced an initiative for a new accession road map aimed at the Western Balkans’ European integration by 2014.
This initiative is of course the natural continuation of the Thessaloniki Agenda that was adopted under the Greek EU Presidency in 2003, and of the biggest enlargement in the Union’s history, also celebrated under the 2003 Greek EU Presidency.
Countries on this course should prepare themselves efficiently and fulfill all the necessary prerequisites: adoption of the community acquis, respect for international law and good neighbourly relations.
The clear precondition for the start of accession negotiations between the EU and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is the prior resolution of the name issue. And I would like to make it clear once again that the start of accession negotiations is within the exclusive competency of member states, and so of Greece as well.
Our position on the name issue – our national red line – is clear and well known to everyone: an name for use by everyone, in all instances, with a geographical qualifier. And I repeat, for all uses.
It is also clear and well known that we wish to contribute constructively – within the framework of our national position – towards finding a solution. So we extend a hand of friendship to our neighbouring people. It is now up to our neighbouring country’s leaders to choose: either intransigence and a nationalist rhetoric that renders null the country’s European course, or a constructive dialogue that will release its European future.
Greece has consistently supported a policy vis-à-vis Turkey aimed at the consolidation of a climate of mutual trust and its European perspective. To us, supporting Turkey's European perspective has never meant giving a blank cheque.
Turkey must comply fully with all the commitments it has undertaken as a candidate country vis-a-vis the European Union and all its member states. It will be evaluated on the basis of its compliance with these commitments at the December European Council. International law, the termination of the occupation in Cyprus, the resolution of the island’s political problem, respect for its borders and territorial integrity and good neighbourly relations are the cornerstones of solid, sincere and constant good neighbourly relations, which are necessary for the region’s stability.
Threats including the use of force, violations of our sovereign rights, and any type of provocation both at sea and in the air have no place in such relations. Our peoples have given the right response through their increasing economic, cultural and human interactions in the field of civil society.
In this light, it is clear that respect for the rights of, and improved living conditions for, the Greek minority in Istanbul, Imvros and Tenedos are Turkey’s obligations. I stress the self-evident and unwavering interest of the Greek state in the Ecumenical Patriarchate – an age-old institution of international scope – and its smooth operation, including its clerics’ complete training through the opening of the Halki Seminary. This is an obligation for Turkey that also stems from its relations with the European Union.
Ladies and gentlemen MPs, Greece will be a strong supporter of international cooperation. We seek an upgraded role for the United Nations Organization and we think that unilateral interventions perpetuate problems, instigate violence and undermine peaceful coexistence.
Our country deserves, and will build, dignified relations with all international powers. We will speak on equal footing with the United States. We will deepen our relations with the Russian Federation and we will promote communication and cooperation with emerging powers such as China, India and Brazil. Concurrently, our objective will be to upgrade our presence in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and of course the Middle East, a region of particular importance and major historical tradition for us.
We have demonstrated our interest in the resolution of the Palestinian issue and we will support with all our might the efforts aimed at the peaceful coexistence of the two states of Israel and Palestine following their mutual recognition.
Greece wants to develop an important role in the energy security of Europe. Through alternative routes for pipelines, as well as oil and natural gas provision sources. Particularly the Burgas-Alexandroupoli pipeline, the IΤGI and SOUTHSTREAM natural gas pipelines, and the interconnection between the Greek and the Bulgarian gas grids.
The projects that go through our country will be implemented in order to safeguard Greece's economic interests, taking into account environmental aspects and sensitivities.
Economic diplomacy has taken on a key role in the Foreign Ministry’s work, the main axes of which are promotion of Greece’s economic interests, reinforcement of investment and business activities and strengthening exports of products and services. Under the guidance of Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Spyros Kouvelis, we will soon put forward a detailed plan in this field; a plan that will include our intentions for the Hellenic Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans (HiPERB).
The government intends to put particular emphasis on issues of cultural diplomacy. We will work towards promoting our country as a global cultural power, capitalizing on our important advantage as a channel of communication and as a valuable buttress for political and economic relations.
In all our efforts, we regard the Greek community abroad as our comparative advantage. The members of the Greek diaspora not only deserve our attention, they require it. The Greek state must stand by the Greeks who live abroad, further their efforts and make the most of their strengths. And it will.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude with the following thoughts. Foreign policy often seems to be cut off from the citizens. The creation of the Citizens Service Centre for Overseas Greeks is proof to the contrary. We will sustain our efforts by setting up an on-line consulate that will offer solutions for the problems faced by Greeks around the world, and by further strengthening the Crisis Management Mechanism in order to make Greeks feel safe abroad.
Our immediate priority and commitment is to modernize the Foreign Ministry and its services and provide ongoing training to its competent officials, diplomats and other employees. Our guiding principle will always be to represent Greece in a dignified manner, without excesses and overspending.
Our vision, ladies and gentlemen MPs – the vision of every Greek – cannot be a foreign policy that is limited merely to addressing problems. We will work for a proactive and multifaceted foreign policy in order to shape the conditions that will contribute to peace and cooperation and defend Greece’s interests and national sovereign rights.
Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen MPs, thank you very much for your patience and your attention.