“The agreement was a very powerful message. A message of cooperation and solidarity. A message that reflects the principles and values that are the foundation of the European Union. It was a message that we had to send to the peoples of Europe. And they expected it of us.” Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis stressed this, among other things, with regard to the Agreement on the Recovery Fund and the new European budget, during the presentation of the Greek CoE Chairmanship’s priorities to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
During the videoconference, Mr. Varvitsiotis referred to the marathon negotiations at the Summit Meeting in Brussels, where he accompanied Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Addressing the OSCE Permanent Council, in his capacity as Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Mr. Varvitsiotis pointed to the common challenges that the two organizations are called upon to face. “The Council of Europe and the OSCE are two different organizations, in historic and institutional terms, but with a common goal: to promote peace, security and stability in Europe by respecting the fundamental principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights,” he noted. “No matter what challenges we have to face, the answer is always the same: We need to work together in a spirit of cooperation and solidarity in order to tackle successfully the many challenges that we have to face. Because major challenges demand collective responses.”
Presenting the priorities of the Greek Chairmanship to the members of the OSCE Permanent Council, Mr. Varvitsiotis stressed the importance of the adoption of the Athens Declaration, which will concern a set of principles related to the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in times of crisis, such as the pandemic.
During the teleconference, a number of the 57 members of the OSCE, including the United States of America, Russia, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Albania – the current Chair of the OSCE – and other state representatives welcomed the Greek Chairmanship’s priorities and initiatives.
July 23, 2020