Alternate Foreign Minister Sia Anagnostopoulou participated in today’s Informal Meeting of Ministers of European Affairs, which took place in Luxembourg.
In the first session, which concerned the priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency, Ms. Anagnostopoulou, having agreed with the general lines of the priorities, pointed to the social dimension that must pervade all issues having to do with growth, insisting on the need to create new jobs. However, she underscored that the social dimension must also include the member states already in programmes. Moreover, she referred to the major issue of migration and refugee flows, underscoring the need for solidarity to be shown with the member states on the front line, with parallel sharing of responsibilities.
In the second session, which concerned the 2016 annual programming of the EU, Alternate Foreign Minister Anagnostopoulou chose to highlight:
a) the necessity of reforms, which must be aimed at social justice and equality, and
b) the endeavor to listen to EU citizens, which is the also the central title of the priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency. But she stressed the need to reduce European bureaucracy, so that the will and needs of citizens can reach European political decision-making centers.
Finally, in the Ministers’ discussion, during the luncheon, of the deepening of the EMU (Five Presidents’ Report), Ms. Anagnostopoulou supported the deepening of the EMU, the completion of the Banking Union, the promotion of innovation, and the combating of unemployment, particularly among the young. Finally, she insisted on the need to mutualize the debt and confront the democratic deficit, mainly in the functioning of the Eurozone.
July 25, 2015