The Greek Chairmanship of the Council of Europe continued its round of online discussions entitled “In discussion with…” with Washington D.C.-based French political analyst Benjamin Haddad, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative and close associate of Emmanuel Macron. The discussion, which focused on the geopolitical stakes of the current pandemic and its impact on democracies, commenced with an introductory address by the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the CoE Committee of Ministers, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis. Dimitris Gkintidis, from the press team of the Greek Chairmanship of the Council of Europe, moderated the discussion.
In his introductory message, Mr. Varvitsiotis had the opportunity to underscore Benjamin Haddad’s apt support for European solidarity and transatlantic cooperation, as well as his public campaign in favour of democratic principles, the rule of law and human rights. Mr. Varvitsiotis stressed that Mr. Haddad’s political realism – pointing to the imperative need for new approaches – is invaluable at a difficult time when democratic institutions are facing challenges.
Benjamin Haddad urged Europeans to “take their destiny into their own hands,” as the U.S. has gradually been withdrawing from the region over the past decade, leaving a strategic void in its wake. At the same time, he noted, the crises highlight the need for reform and improvement of the EU institutions, with the recent migration crisis showing that if we decide to abolish the EU’s internal borders in the Schengen area, then we have to invest significantly in the security of external borders, supporting countries such as Italy and Greece. The pandemic tested the European Union, he added, as there was initially some bad luck and failures, certainly, but what we saw last summer was Europeans reaching an agreement on a historic recovery package. Mr. Haddad noted that he was impressed by Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s leadership in the response to the pandemic. In closing, he expressed his satisfaction that the “evolution of bilateral relationship between France and Greece in the last few months and the stronger solidarity between the two countries in defending Greek sovereignty and international law in the Eastern Mediterranean is really a strong step in the right direction for Europeans to assert their own sovereignty and identity on the world stage.”
September 23, 2020