Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis participated in the Ministerial Meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Group MED9 (Cyprus, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Croatia, Slovenia and Greece) in Madrid today, preparing, together with his counterparts, the Summit to be held in the autumn at the level of Heads of State in Spain. The Meeting focused on developments in Europe following the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, on cooperation with the countries of the Southern Neighbourhood, the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and on Turkish provocative conduct.
In his statement immediately after the Meeting, Mr. Varvitsiotis stressed the importance of the Mediterranean for the EU's energy security, the protection of the marine environment and food security in Africa. “The Mediterranean is a source of strength”, he said, and “Europe needs to invest in it”, sending a clear message that borders, International Law and the Law of the Sea should be respected by all.
During the Meeting, the Alternate Minister raised the issue of Turkish provocative conduct and the need for Türkiye to respect International Law and the EU-Türkiye Joint Statement on migration, saying that “revisionist ambitions to redraw borders are not acceptable”.
As he made known, in the framework of the preparation of the Heads of State Summit, it was decided to expand the cooperation of the EUMED9 with the participation of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Energy and Environment, in order to ensure coordination at European level in such a critical neighbourhood for Europe as the Mediterranean. It is noteworthy that the EUMED9 countries represent approximately 45% of the European population.
EUMED9 Ministers also agreed to adopt a common framework for Europe's energy self-sufficiency and to develop better relations with North African countries.
July 12, 2022