Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis meets with the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement, Olivér Várhely (Brussels, 29 January 2020)

Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis met with the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement, Olivér Várhely, on Wednesday, 29 January 2020, in Brussels. During the meeting, he underscored the importance of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans and Greece’s readiness to play a supportive and constructive role in the negotiations. He also expressed Greece’s commitment to this process and invited the Commissioner to attend the Enlargement Conference our country is hosting on 24 February, in Thessaloniki.

Mr. Varvitsiotis supported the European perspective of North Macedonia and Albania, underscoring the importance of good neighbourly relations and our neighbours’ meeting their commitments. “We want to move ahead and send the message that the Balkans can trust and rely on the EU and Brussels,” he stressed, adding that Enlargement can “once again become the vision of the citizens of the Balkan countries at a time when Europe lost its momentum.” “We must send the same message, regarding their future in Europe, to Serbia and Montenegro,” he added.

Concluding, he referred to Greece’s multidimensional and decisive role in promoting the European Idea in the Balkans at a time when the wider region needs calm and stability.