The European Council meeting that is about to begin takes place immediately after the NATO Summit, at which a drastic increase in defense spending over the next decade was decided for all members of the Alliance. It is only natural, therefore, that foreign policy issues will largely monopolise our attention.
I will have the opportunity to refer to Greece’s long-standing positions regarding our wider region, the Middle East, and the need to maintain the ceasefire that has been achieved between Iran and Israel. All parties should return to the negotiating table so that Iran’s nuclear threat can be addressed diplomatically rather than militarily.
I will reiterate once again the Greek Government’s long-standing position that now is the time to bring the issue of a ceasefire back into the public debate, an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with the simultaneous release of all hostages, in order to put an end to this unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
We will also address issues relating to Syria. I hope that, on behalf of the European Council, we will condemn the appalling terrorist attack that took place a few days ago, targeting Greek Orthodox Christians. And we will send a clear message to the transitional government of Syria that we demand the protection of all religious minorities.
And, of course, we will also be addressing issues related to Libya, where the foreign and migration policy priorities of the entire European Union converge.
I will have the opportunity to inform my colleagues about the significant increase in migratory flows from eastern Libya and to request the support of the European Commission so that this issue can be addressed immediately.
I would like to express my satisfaction that the President of the European Commission responded immediately. The European Commissioner responsible, together with ministers from Italy, Greece, and Malta, will visit eastern and western Libya in early July to convey to the Libyan authorities that this practice can no longer be tolerated.
As you know, Greece has already mobilized its Armed Forces so that there is a mission to monitor the Libyan authorities, outside Libyan territorial waters, thereby sending a clear message that we want, we demand cooperation with the Libyan authorities so that these smugglers’ boats either do not leave the coast or return to the Libyan coast before they leave their territorial waters.
Greece will also request -and I believe it will succeed- that explicit references to the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum of 2019 be included in the conclusions. We believe that repeating this European message at the present juncture is absolutely necessary in order to make it clear to both Turkey and Libya that this memorandum has essentially no practical or legal value.
At the same time, we will discuss issues related to European competitiveness. We will once again emphasize energy issues: how Europe can and must have more affordable energy, how the European energy market can work better for all consumers, how to increase the penetration of renewable energy sources so that we become more self-sufficient and less dependent on expensive hydrocarbon imports from third countries.
And, of course, on issues of competitiveness, we will stress our willingness to support any effort by the European Commission to simplify and reduce European bureaucracy, which creates a major competitiveness problem for all European businesses.
Journalist: What’s your expectation for today’s Summit on migration policy?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Well, we’ll discuss migration again, once more at the European Council. As you know, the focus now, on behalf of the European Commission, is on making sure that we implement a new policy regarding returns. That seems to me the missing link in the current migration pact.
And, of course, I will also have an opportunity to inform my colleagues about the problems that we’re currently having with Libya and to send a very clear signal to encourage the Libyan authorities, both in eastern and in western Libya, that they need to cooperate with the European countries and with the European Commission, in order for these boats, managed by smugglers, not to even leave the Libyan coast. Thank you.
