During his address at the 2nd High-Level Meeting of the Franco-German Initiative on the Comprehensive Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Western Balkans, the Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, underlined the fact that Greece, as the first Member State of the European Union and of NATO in the region, fully supports the Euroatlantic prospects of the Western Balkans.
More specifically, Mr Varvitsiotis stressed that, at a national level, Greece remains vigilant regarding the issue of the lawful trade and transport of military and dual-use weapons, and places great importance on the existence and proliferation of lawful binding measures regarding the issue of arms trading, in general, and control of small arms and light weapons (SALW), in particular, through the application of strict guidelines deriving from our common European position.
He added that “we are prepared to contribute to all control efforts through the know-how and training of suitable security staff, as we believe that stability and security in the Western Balkans is of fundamental importance to the stability and security of the European Union and the European continent as a whole”.
The Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs noted that Greece demonstrated its strong support for welcoming the Western Balkans into the European Family in Thessaloniki since 2003, and is expected to send a clear message at the impending Interministerial Meeting to be held in Thessaloniki on 24 February 2020 that the Western Balkans must venture forward as part of the European Union.
January 31, 2020