“Greece and Spain will coordinate their policies at a high level in view of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2023, to ensure stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and counter Turkish actions”. This was the message sent by Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis from Madrid, where he met with Spain’s Secretary of State for Europe, Pascual Navarro. The discussion focused, inter alia, on developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, the priorities of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU and the migration issue.
In particular, the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs briefed his Spanish counterpart on Türkiye's escalating provocative rhetoric and unlawful conduct in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, as well as on the current state of Greek-Turkish relations, with particular reference to the fact that the Greek Prime Minister today called on the Turkish President to state his position on the latest provocative appearance of his government partner D. Bahçeli in front of a map depicting the islands of the eastern Aegean and Crete as part of Türkiye.
Mr. Varvitsiotis underscored Greece's commitment to dialogue and respect for International Law. He also recalled that the European Union has unanimously and repeatedly condemned Türkiye's unilateral provocative actions in the framework of the European Councils and that it opposes any form of revisionism that endangers the European security architecture.
Following the recent assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union by the Czech Republic, the two ministers also exchanged views on the priorities of the Presidency in the current semester. For his part, Mr. Varvitsiotis pointed out that it is imperative to strengthen European security in the fields of energy, defence and cyberspace, as well as to boost the resilience of the EU's economy and democratic institutions in the face of future crises. He made particular reference to the need for coordinated European action on rising energy prices.
On the issue of migration, the Alternate Minister noted that it is a common problem for both countries due to their particular geographical location and outlined to his counterpart the systematic migratory pressure exerted along the entire length of the Greek-Turkish border. He placed special emphasis on the need for Türkiye to fully implement the provisions of the EU-Türkiye Joint Statement and to refrain from using migrants as tools for political considerations. The two ministers agreed on the need for a coherent European migration policy based on solidarity and fair burden-sharing.
The Conference on the Future of Europe and recent developments in EU-UK relations were also discussed. Mr. Varvitsiotis pointed out that Greece and Spain share the same concerns on issues such as climate change and EU enlargement, adding that “as partners in the European Union, allies in NATO and neighbours in the Mediterranean, we have much to gain by adopting a common stance on common challenges”.
July 11, 2022