Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos participated today in a meeting of EU member-state Ambassadors to Athens, held at the initiative of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU. Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas also participated in the meeting.
In his remarks, Mr. Avramopoulos expressed the conviction that, despite the major challenges the Cypriot EU Presidency is being called upon to confront, Cyprus is very well prepared to lead the Union to a better Europe. He put particular emphasis on the important role the Cypriot Presidency will play in shaping a European economic framework that will function as a development tool, ensuring economic and social convergence.
Referring to Prime Minister Samaras’s new Government of National Responsibility, he underscored that this government is being called upon to carry out an historic mission, laying the foundation for a new political system and taking on responsibility for defence of the country’s European acquis, to the benefit of growth, prosperity, security and progress.
With regard to the economic adaptation programme, Mr. Avramopoulos spoke of the firm commitments Greece has made and of the speedy implementation of structural reforms. In this context, he noted that the drastic need to reduce the deficit and sovereign debt is a top priority. At the same time, he observed that the tight timeframe for fiscal adaptation set by the programme has led to a deep recession. Consequently, Greece’s request for an extension on the adaptation deadline is of vital importance to our country’s being able to continue the programme without a further increase in unemployment and fall in citizens’ standard of living.
Mr. Avramopoulos then stressed that Turkey’s failure to recognize the Cypriot EU Presidency is inconsistent with the obligation of candidate countries to show the proper respect for the organs and institutions of the European Union. He characterized as a grave error Turkey’s failure to capitalize on the Cypriot EU Presidency to promote its European perspective and work in the direction of achieving a solution on the Cyprus issue. The same holds true for Turkey’s policy of questioning Cyprus’s sovereign right to exploit the mineral wealth within its exclusive economic zone. At this point, Mr. Avramopoulos added that Greece fully maintains its right to an exclusive economic zone, in accordance with the Law of the Sea, underscoring Greece’s desire to delimit all maritime zones with neighbouring countries.
Regarding the European perspective of the Western Balkans, Mr. Avramopoulos stated that in 2014, the Greek EU Presidency will impart fresh momentum to the accession processes of the countries of the region, adding that Greece continues to support FYROM’s Euroatlantic perspective, and stressing, however, that the government in Skopje should follow Greece’s example and adopt a constructive stance on the name issue, showing true dedication to the development of good neighbourly relations.
Finally, commenting on developments in the Middle East and North Africa, Foreign Minster Avramopoulos noted that Greece continues to favor a peaceful solution in Syria, expressing the hope that the Security Council reach a consensus to this end. Regarding the Middle East peace process, Mr. Avramopoulos noted that Greece’s traditional ties with the Arab states and its ever closer relationship with Israel are useful elements in the efforts to achieve progress.