“Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour and a privilege to participate, together with our distinguished guests, in the discussion on the priorities of the European Union’s new leadership.
With Greece having definitively turned a dynamic new page, with a new government that expresses this dynamic of the new Greece of growth and investments, and with the European Union entering a new era and a new institutional cycle of the Europe of 27. This is a debate that concerns everyone.
And when I say everyone, I don’t mean just politicians or international-relations professionals. I mean all European citizens, whether they are farmers in the Peloponnese, auto-industry workers in Frankfurt, or the heads of SMEs, anywhere in the Union, all of whom are seeking to maximise their exports and profits.
For many years, the European Union has looked inadequate in the eyes of many of its citizens. Whether they belong to a specific social group or geographical region, whether they are workers in old industrial regions of the UK, workers in the heart of France or Greek islanders bearing the burden of the migration crisis, many Europeans feel more and more isolated, unprotected – that they have been left behind or, even worse, are superfluous.
In fact, during the economic and migration crisis of the past ten years, many of our fellow citizens justifiably felt that the European Union has not done enough to protect their way of life and social model.
Many Europeans have been hit disproportionately hard by globalisation. Globalisation has increased the competition for our enterprises and exports, and at the same time it has exposed European workers to unfair competition from countries that do not apply the European Union’s standards for protection of the environment, labour rights or working conditions.
The European Union has not done enough to deal with this environmental and social dumping. And we have paid dearly for this, with increasing Euroscepticism and Brexit – the UK’s withdrawal from the Union.
So our commitment to the critical issues impacting the day-to-day lives of European citizens is not just a priority for the new leadership of the Union, but a deterrent measure to ensure that citizens do not lose faith in the European endeavour.
Thus, we need to work to:
1. Bring jobs back to European peripheries.
2. Accelerate economic growth for the whole of the European Union and combat unemployment – especially youth unemployment.
3. Combat climate change.
4. Create and implement an effective, dignified and humanitarian asylum and migration system that guarantees fair burden-sharing among all of the member states.
5. Enhance the security of our borders, the protection and promotion of our values internationally.
Brexit has shown us the cost of doing too little too late. But it has also increased our resolve to protect and enhance the European endeavour. The most ambitious, progressive and successful endeavour in human history – an endeavour that brought peace and prosperity to the European continent for nearly a century.
And yes, there is still a lot to do.
It is a fact that European citizens’ determination has halted the course of the forces of Euroscepticism and populism. We have to seize this opportunity to make real progress. To be precise, this is an opportunity that we do not have the luxury of missing.
I believe that the new Commission is already fully aware of the challenges I mentioned and the urgent need for real, substantial progress. So that we can see a substantial difference in people’s lives. And fast.
In this context, I would like to focus on the priorities that concern economic diplomacy and the need for greater synergies between the European Union’s various openness agencies – organizations that promote exports.
In tandem with its responsibility to ensure a strong economy and sustainable development within the Union, the EU of 27 member states is and remains the largest economy and investment force in the world. The largest provider of development assistance in the world. It is an international economic leader, with each of the member states shaping the policies and, at the same time, enjoying the benefits of belonging to a single powerful force in global economic competition.
And the criticism of the bureaucracy of Brussels may sometimes by justified. But the Union’s prudent policies in its relations with the global community – in sectors of interest and on a regional level – are of crucial importance to all of the member states, including Greece.
The Union is by definition an outward-looking organization, open to the world and the new global challenges. A Union that constantly promotes liberal trade regimes, connectivity, sustainability and growth. The shaping of trade policies is indicative of the nature and benefits of this successful Union.
Real negotiations with third parties on a bilateral or multilateral level, implementation and evaluation of agreements concluded by the European Union, are a dynamic process, open to everyone – and at the same time we negotiate as a single unit. The Union’s strength is its very nature: To interact with the world as one, while ensuring benefits for all of its member states.
With regard to the future, European investments – for example, in the digital economy, the environment, technology, research and development – are especially important for the prosperity of all the member states in the global context of sustainable development.
This is the clear message of our policies – a message that, together with our European values, we need to reaffirm, once again, to friends and partners in our wider surroundings and around the world.
We must also make more effective use of our trade and customs policy to achieve broader goals, such as dealing with the root causes of migration. Our trade and customs policy is a powerful tool for dealing with migration, through the creation of jobs in countries of origin, rather than creating migration structures on European territory.
For example, to reduce migration flows from Africa, we should adapt our trade and customs policy to ensure greater growth in Africa. The same reasoning holds with regard to adaptation of our trade and customs policy to discourage social dumping and trading partners’ policies that are environmentally destructive. In this way, we could have a more effective impact with regard to our climate goals internationally and with regard to protecting jobs on a European level.
To achieve the above, however, we need greater coordination between European institutions, between the European Commission and the External Action Service (EEAS), and between the member states. This is vital if we are to create a more holistic foreign and trade policy. A strong policy that contains all of the goals of each member state individually on climate change, unemployment, migration and security.
At the same time, the European Union needs to use its diplomatic sway to safeguard its economic and trade interests. To protect the geographical indications of European products.
In short, I think there is broad consensus on what our priorities should be. What we need is to be more innovative and forward-looking in our policies. We need to plan better, implement better and choose our goals more clearly, thus unlocking our collective dynamic.
And mainly we have to learn how to use the vast collective sway we have as the European Union. In all sectors and for the benefit of all member states and citizens, without discrimination, regardless of place of residence or profession. This, perhaps, should be our sole overriding priority.
In closing, I would like to underscore the fact that Greece was on the front line of the reorientation of EU-Western Balkan relations, as a party to the 2003 Thessaloniki Agenda, and remains a firm supporter of the Union’s enlargement policy. A policy that we see as a powerful means for consolidating peace, stability and prosperity in the wider European space.
Our common past unites us, so that we can realise that the only way forward is in the direction of a common future.
Thank you.”
November 14, 2019