Alternate Foreign Minister G. Katrougalos participated in today's meeting of the EU General Affairs Council, in Brussels, at which the topics of discussion included preparation of the European Council of 9 and 10 March and the Summit Meeting to be held on the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome.
In his intervention, Mr. Katrougalos stressed the need to strengthen the social dimension and the democratization of the economic governance of the European Union. More specifically, the Alternate Foreign Minister argued that, in order to confront the EU's existential crisis of legitimization, proposals from the European Parliament and from civil society -- particularly from unions -- need to be adopted. As an example, he referred to the need to establish a European system of social security against unemployment, a minimum wage calculated based on the average wage in each country, harmonisation of tax policy, and the establishment of a Eurogroup of Labour and Social Affairs ministers.
Mr. Katrougalos also referred to the need to respect the EU's decisions on the relocation of refugees. The Alternate Minister stressed that this is mainly an issue of respect for European rules and, above all, the principle of solidarity, which is not just a political value, but also a binding legal rule for the EU. Finally, he argued for the need to revise the Dublin Regulation so as not to overly burden first-reception countries.
February 7, 2017