Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis gave an interview to Politico’s Brussels Playbook on 20 November 2019.
Following the meeting of the EU General Affairs Council, Mr. Varvitsiotis echoed the message delivered by Greek
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis last month, stressing that he wants to see Athens more involved in EU decision-making. “For 10 years we have been
absent from European affairs, we were only dealing with our crises,” he said.Now, it’s time for that to change.
Mr. Varvitsiotis then highlighted that what he sees in European affairs is the resurgence of a set of national interests that impact decision-making in the
Council, expressing the conviction that “we have to fight back” against this trend.
Finally, regarding the thorny issue of migration, Mr. Varvitsiotis sent a double message from Brussels. One message, to Tirana and Skopje, was that “we are
still here for you, we want you in, and we want to keep alive this process of enlargement,” and the other message was for the European Commission:
“Come with a revised process of enlargement that can accommodate the needs of the member states.”
Finally, responding to a relevant question, Mr. Varvitsiotis underscored the catalytic role the new European Commission, under Ursula von der Leyen, is
expected to play in this process. “I hope that under the new Commission the enlargement process would be rejuvenated,” Mr. Varvitsiotis said, adding that “the process relies on the Commission.”
November 20, 2019