On the margins of the EU General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis met on Tuesday, 19 November, with the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Amélie de Montchalin.
Mr. Varvitsiotis informed Ms. Montchalin of Greece’s positive stance on the French proposal for establishment of an Observatory on History Teaching in Europe. More specifically, Mr. Varvitsiotis informed Ms. Montchalin that Greece, given its strategic partnership with France and the excellent level of bilateral relations, intends to support the French initiative ahead of the Greek Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from May to November 2020.
Moreover, in their one-on-one meeting, Mr. Varvitsiotis focused on the sensitive region of the Balkans, reiterating that “the Balkans produce more history than they can consume.” Specifically, he noted that such an initiative, which will promote a more objective teaching of History in schools, will contribute to the elimination from school books of ‘myths’ or convenient distortions that today do not favour the cultivation of good neighbourly relations and the passing on of historical knowledge to coming generations.
In a letter to the Greek Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, the French Secretary of State had asked for Greece’s support of the initiative to set up an Observatory on History Teaching in Europe, which France proposed in the context of its Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
The initiative is aimed at collecting data from the participating states and drawing up a guide on best practices for teaching History.
November 19, 2019