"It is important that the voice of all Greeks, as citizens of the European Union, be heard. "From 27 May and for the whole of next year, we will be here discussing, in order to finalise our national proposal for the Conference on the Future of Europe, marking the next phase of the European Union", emphasized the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, calling for active participation in the Debate for the Future of Europe, during an online event organized by the Institute for Democracy "Konstantinos Karamanlis" in collaboration with the Secretariat of International Relations & European Union of the New Democracy party.
The debate, as Mr. Varvitsiotis noted, concerns "what kind of Europe we want from now on", adding that citizens will be able to freely express their views on the Future of Europe, including, among other things, a number of issues such as the Rule of Law, Human Rights, the deepening of Democracy, European cohesion policies, migration and the European Defence and Security Framework.
Regarding the 40 years of common Greek-EU course, Mr. Varvitsiotis recalled the words of the Ethnarch, Konstantinos Karamanlis, who had characterized the idea of the European project as revolutionary, because, for the first time, states decided to jointly establish a community of values - an economic community that would give access to all its citizens, without this being the result of any war or other conflict. "For us, Europe is our home, our “natural habitat”, a place of the values we stand for but also a place where we want to live," he pointed out.
In conclusion, the Alternate Minister underscored that the European proposal that will be formed will be addressed to the next generation of Europeans who want to live in a developing Europe, in a Europe that is friendly to diversity and open to new trends in society, in a Europe that respects the planet's biodiversity and does not destroy the prospects of future generations.
May 7, 2021