Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met today with the Prime Minister of Italy Mario Draghi, at the Palazzo Chigi in Rome.
During a two-hour working dinner ahead of the EU-Western Balkans Summit and the European Council (23 and 24 June), the two leaders discussed the European-wide challenges posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, especially in the field of energy and food supply, and stressed the need to implement solutions at a European level.
Mr. Draghi briefed Kyriakos Mitsotakis on his recent visit to Kyiv and they discussed ways to deal with the consequences of the war, with an emphasis on energy prices and the need to eliminate dependence on Russian fossil fuels. They also agreed to raise once again the issue of setting a ceiling on the wholesale price of natural gas.
The European Commission’s proposal for granting EU candidate-country status to Ukraine was also discussed, as well as the wider perspective for EU enlargement.
The Prime Minister reiterated Greece’s support for Ukraine’s European course. He also stressed the need to send a clear and positive message with regards to the accession perspective and support of the Western Balkans, reiterating the initiative to revitalize the process set out at the recent South East European Cooperation Process Summit in Thessaloniki, where he proposed Western Balkans’ integration by 2033.
The Prime Minister also briefed his Italian counterpart on the latest developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and on Turkish provocations.
Regarding Libya, Mario Draghi and Kyriakos Mitsotakis considered ways to restart the Political Process and called on all parties involved to avoid the use of force.
During the meeting, the two leaders reviewed bilateral relations, which are at an excellent level, highlighted the participation of the two countries in regional schemes including MED9 and initiatives such as the Rome Summit on Energy of the Southern European countries, and agreed that there is room for further deepening of their cooperation.
