JOURNALIST: Are you concerned about a possible collapse of the Prespa Agreement following the developments in Skopje?
M. VARVITSIOTIS: The latest developments create a new political state of affairs and confirm everything we said about the Agreement before our elections. But what hasn’t changed is our support for our neighbouring country’s accession perspective – but under the necessary conditions: compliance with the principles of the rule of law, implementation of the constitutional amendments that have been passed, abandonment of any trace of irredentism, and the building of good neighbourly relations. These conditions, along with strict adherence to the Prespa Agreement, include the commercial aspects of the agreement and are intrinsically linked to the country’s progress towards EU membership, and they will also determine the pace of the future accession process. In this spirit, Greece supports the Agreement, in that it is an international agreement that is binding for both countries, but we constantly highlight, to our neighbouring country and in every direction, any delays or omissions we identify in their implementation of the agreement. The dialogue ahead of the April elections will certainly be polarised, and we expect domestic developments in our neighbouring country. In any event, we are shaping our agenda to consolidate stability in the region and defend our national interests.
JOURNALIST: Does the government support the launching of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania? Will you take initiatives to launch them within 2020?
M. VARVITSIOTIS: As we stressed at the European Council in Brussels and at the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Greece is in favour of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans. And this is nothing new. It is a longstanding and firm national policy that was set down in 2003, in the Thessaloniki Agenda. On our northern borders we want to have neighbours that are EU countries. We want Greece to play a leading role in helping the Balkan countries to join the great European family. We want our region to be a pole of stability and development. And this will be achieved through coupling the opening of the accession negotiations of the two countries on our northern border. Decoupling of the two countries’ candidacies could lead to the rise of nationalist elements in the region and to possible tensions. Thus we support the coupling of their accession processes, always on condition that they meet the criteria for opening of Chapters. In any event, the matter will be reconsidered in six months, at the Zagreb Summit Meeting. From that perspective, we are setting the tone of the policy we want in the region. A policy of growth, with Greece at the forefront.
JOURNALIST: Brexit is approaching. Is Greece prepared for any impact on trade, businesses, university students?
M. VARVITSIOTIS: It is a positive development that common ground was found for the Agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU at the recent Summit Meeting in Brussels. We want our major strategic partner, Britain, with whom we have traditional ties, to be a key interlocutor however things develop. Regardless of how things evolve on the European level, Greece is well prepared, having organized the issues that will be impacted on a bilateral level. Already, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs we have drawn up a 128-point action plan in collaboration with all the ministries and services, preparing public administration to handle the change with respect to the United Kingdom. At the same time, we are in regular contact with institutional and political officials in Britain, strengthening our relations and safeguarding the rights of Greek citizens to reside there, maintaining the level of university fees for Greek students, and protecting Greek products and Greek enterprises. Finally, I would like to inform your readers of the Foreign Ministry’s excellent website, brexit.gov.gr, where the necessary information can be found.
JOURNALIST: Will there be sanctions against the EU member states that do not accept relocation of refugees from Greece – or some measure that obliges them to do so?
M. VARVITSIOTIS: The migration issue and the sharp increase in refugee flows is not a Greek issue. It is a global issue, a European issue. Greece – located on Europe’s external border, and due to the previous government’s poor management – faced a disproportionately large burden. So today we are implementing a responsible policy that bears in mind not only the problems that have arisen over the past four years in local communities taking in refugees, but also the humanitarian dimension of the issue. We re-framed the issue in Europe: Greece is on Europe’s external border, and together, as a European community, we have to lay the new foundations for dealing with the migration and refugee problem. We are speeding up the bureaucratic procedures for processing applications for asylum and moving to ensure the effective implementation of the EU-Turkey Joint Declaration, which was neglected by the previous government. But at the same time we are asking that the burden be shared by our partners – we are asking for a show of European solidarity, an issue that we raised and that was acknowledged at the Summit Meeting. We need the assistance of the whole of Europe, and this is why we want the next European budget to provide increased funding for migration-related policies.
October 25, 2019