Dear Colleagues,
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence
and Foreign Affairs is convening today to debate the ratification of a
major agreement between Greece and Canada, which was signed on 28 May
2011 by then Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas and Canadian Finance
Minister Tony Clement, who is of Greek Cypriot heritage.
I note
here that the Agreement was signed during an important visit carried out
by Canadian Prime minister Stephen Harper to Greece; a visit during
which he expressed his confidence in the efforts of the Greek economy to
overcome the crisis, and had a number of meetings with the political
leadership of the country: President Karolos Papoulias and then Prime
Minister George Papandreou.
This Agreement was ratified by Canada
in February 2012. It is coming up for ratification in Greece with some
delay due to the general state of affairs and the long pre-election
period leading up to June 2012, when the new government was formed under
Prime Minister Samaras.
I note that the contents of this
Agreement were vetted carefully not only by the services of the Foreign
Ministry, but also by the services of many other co-competent
ministries, which, as you can see, have all co-signed the ratification
bill being brought before you today.
Dear Colleagues,
You
are aware that Greece traditionally maintains excellent relations with
Canada, our main link with which is the major Greek Canadian community
present in all the major cities of Canada. From Toronto to the capital,
Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec in the east, to Vancouver on the west coast.
This is a particularly dynamic Greek Diaspora community that honors the
name of Greece, distinguishing itself in many sectors of the
multicultural Canadian environment, including sports, academia, science,
culture and business.
As an indication, I will refer to two
instances: This summer, Greece was visited by the Greek Canadian Judge
Andromahi Karakatsani, a member of the Canadian Supreme Court. Professor
Andreas Gerolymatos, Director of the Chair of Modern Greek Studies and
Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, was honoured last year by
President Papoulias for his pioneering method of promoting the Greek
language and culture.
Dear Colleagues,
In recent years,
Greek-Canadian bilateral relations and contacts have been strengthened
even further, with particular emphasis on modernization of the
institutional framework governing them. In addition to the Canadian
Prime Minister’s visit to Athens, which I have already mentioned, the
President of the Canadian Senate, Noel Kinsella, visited Greece just a
month ago.
In fact, this is an important year, because we are
celebrating 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In this context, Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos will be
travelling to Canada next week to meets with the country’s political
leadership and to participate in the events celebrating this 70th
anniversary – events being hosted by the Canadian Parliament.
The
Agreement on Youth Mobility is part of this framework, and we are
pleased that the proposed ratification coincides with this important
anniversary. This is a pioneering agreement for Greece, and it gives the
opportunity to young Greeks and Canadians to learn about each other’s
culture and society, strengthening through these exchanges the friendly
ties linking the two countries. It is an agreement that will be
implemented on an equal and mutual basis.
Dear Colleagues,
Before
I set out the main points of the Agreement, I would like to make it
clear that it in no case has as its goal the immigration, or brain
drain, that one might think it would entail. It is not aimed at finding
permanent employment in Canada or Greece. It is a program with a single,
multifaceted goal: for Greek and Canadian youths to become familiar –
through contact with another culture, other languages – with the
day-to-day life and society of the other country, the other people. This
will happen through the experience they will gain from travelling,
living and working in the other country. It is hoped that these
experiences will contribute to the personal and professional development
of the young people who benefit from the implementation of the
Agreement.
Such programmes have been implemented by other
countries with great success for many years now. Canada itself has
signed and is implementing such programmes with some 30 other countries,
including 18 EU member states – Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, the
Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Estonia, Lithuania,
Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, Denmark –
and other countries, such as Japan, Australia and Mexico.
An
initial stage provides for a pilot implementation with the participation
of a small number of Canadians and Greeks – 100 to 200 young people.
The goal is to expand this number in the coming years.
For
purposes of comparison, I note that the ceiling for participation of
youth in this programme within the framework of the Agreements Canada
has concluded with Germany and France is 5,000 and 14,000, respectively,
per year. As it says in the Agreement, through streamlined procedures
expressly provided for by the national legislation of each country, the
young Greek and Canadian citizens, from 18 to 35 years of age, will be
able to travel, reside and work temporarily, for up to a year, in the
other country, provided they fall into one of the three categories
provided for by the Agreement:
1. Graduates of post-secondary or
tertiary educational institutions in their country who want to gain work
experience in the other country and have a prearranged employment
contract, or
2. Students at post-secondary or tertiary
educational institutions who want to do a prearranged internship in
their field of study and as part of their academic programme, and
3.
Those who want to travel to the other country on vacation, with the
potential to work temporarily to supplement the money they have to cover
expenses.
Each youth may enter the programme one additional
time, in a different category than the first time they entered. It goes
without saying that Greece has borne in mind its legal obligations as an
EU member state and a party to the Schengen Treaty.
I would also
like to note that – as pointed out in the Report of the General
Accounting Office of the State accompanying the draft of the
ratification bill, this Agreement has no financial cost for our country.
Dear Colleagues,
The
Greeks who benefit from the implementation of the Agreement will have
the opportunity – in a large, modern, democratic and friendly country –
to broaden their horizons, enrich their practical knowledge, experience,
academic or business training and, in the end, their CVs. They will
thus gain, among other things, a comparative advantage in their careers
and for opportunities for future employment in today’s difficult,
competitive national and international environment. Correspondingly, the
Canadian youth who get to know Greece within the framework of this
Agreement will be added to the store of friends of Hellenic culture in
Greece and Canada, thus enriching the human ties, including the large
Greek Canadian community, linking the two countries.
We believe that this opportunity we are giving to the youth of each country is also an opportunity for all of us in the future.
Allow
me to close with a more general observation. All this time, the
government, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and all the
leadership and personnel of the Foreign Ministry have begun a major
operation aimed at rehabilitating Greece’s image abroad. This is a
difficult battle that we are fighting through strategy, planning and
persistence. This is a condition for Greece’s attracting serious and
mutually beneficial investments and getting back on the path of economic
growth, progress and prosperity.
The first signs of a change in
our image are already visible. There has been a change in the climate
for Greece in recent months, and particularly of late. This was made
more apparent at the recent European Council. The Foreign Ministry,
Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, the political leadership of the Ministry
and the Ministry personnel will redouble their efforts in this battle
in the coming time. It is my hope, of course, that we will have as our
allies and supporters in this effort the members of the Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Defence and Foreign Affairs. Because, despite any
differences we have within the framework of our democratic system, we
are linked by a love of our country and the conviction that Greece can
emerge from this crisis and regain its rightful role on the
international stage.
Thank you.
October 24, 2012