Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis’ statement upon arrival at the EU General Affairs Council (Brussels, 23.05.2022)

Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis’ statement upon arrival at the EU General Affairs Council (Brussels, 23.05.2022)The need to investigate the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine was stressed by Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, upon arrival at the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels today.

In addition, the Alternate Minister described the issue of high energy prices as the greatest collateral damage of the war in Ukraine, which affects all European citizens who are facing inflation and the lack of energy resources, following Europe's decision to decouple from Russian gas. For this reason, he said, we need to consider both price reduction measures - in the context of the initiatives taken so far by the Prime Minister - and the search for alternative energy sources. He made special mention to the joint purchase of LNG from third countries, the exploitation of the reserves located in the South-Eastern Mediterranean and their interconnection with Europe.

On the issue of the food crisis, which is also included in the Council's agenda, Mr. Varvitsiotis emphasized that Europe is safe and sufficient in food. “However, this does not mean that the dramatic increase in prices due to inflationary pressures has escaped our attention. That is why we seek to formulate European policies together so that European citizens are not disproportionately burdened”, he concluded.

May 23, 2022