Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs for European Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis met today, Thursday January 12, with a delegation of the Spanish Joint Congress- Senate Committee for EU Affairs headed by its Chairwoman Susana Sumelzo Jordan. The meeting focused on developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans, the war in Ukraine, migration, energy, environment, tourism, and European economic governance.
Mr. Varvitsiotis emphasised the need to enhance cooperation amongst the countries of the European South in order to address the challenges facing Europe, in view of the Spanish Presidency of the European Council in the second half of 2023. "Europe has to pay greater attention to the Mediterranean", he pointedly stated, noting that our common shared goal is to deepen Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.
The Alternate Minister briefed the delegation thoroughly on the escalation of Turkish provocative conduct and Ankara's revisionism, underscoring that non-compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) threatens the stability of the Eastern Mediterranean, NATO, and Europe.
Aside from Susana Sumelzo Jordan, the delegation included Pere Joan Pons Sampietro (PSOE MP), Ruben Moreno Palanques (PP MP), Jose Maria Sanchez Garcia (VOX MP), Antonio Gomez-Reino Varela (Podemos MP) and Mariona Illamola Dausa (independent MP).
During its visit to Athens and in the context of enhancing parliamentary diplomacy between the two countries, the delegation also held a series of meetings with members of the Greek Parliament.
January 12, 2023