Migration
• We cannot let things stand as they are on the southern side of the European coastline, on the Mediterranean. I asked the Council of Foreign Ministers to consider illegal migration as a major political issue of the European Union.
• The existing regulatory framework and infrastructure will not suffice – nor will the existing funding and the existing capabilities of FRONTEX, which is present in Greece, though I would say the presence is mainly symbolic. We want a much more substantial FRONTEX presence. Completely different initiatives have to be taken in terms of scale and ambition, with much more funding. And of course we need a radically different perception of what is called European solidarity, of what is called fair division of burdens.
• We are victims of a disproportionate state of affairs resulting from geography as well as the European Union’s institutional, organizational and economic inertia. We cannot have Greece and countries like Malta, Italy, Cyprus undergoing these pressures without seeing a gesture of real solidarity.
• With respect for each member state’s national sovereignty, a major operation in the field – an operation with real results, extensive means – has to be organized, so that we can confront this phenomenon, which has to be confronted at its source, in regions where the problem originates.
• During the Greek Presidency, we will take initiatives, in all the Councils, to fairly and effectively share all the problems and provide a humanitarian and effective solution.
• And this concerns every side of the Mediterranean – the southern and eastern sides – bearing in mind the burden shouldered by each country.
• With regard to Dublin II, there are various outlooks among the various geographical groups of member states. But the international state of affairs is pressuring us, as is the inability of the international community and the European Union to deal with the problem at its source.
• So certain parties may now be forced to see that there have to be political agreements that allow the European Union to confront humanitarian crises, to oversee its coastlines, to intervene in a timely manner to avert tragic developments or developments that cannot be managed by reception countries, so that we can have a response with regard to both Dublin II and any new legal instruments that may arise.
• We are not at all satisfied with the way the readmission agreements and protocols are functioning. The European Union must insist on this in its relations with all third countries.
Cyprus Issue
• Yesterday I had the opportunity for a detailed discussion with my Cypriot colleague, Mr. Ioannis Kasoulides. The prevailing view in the Cypriot government is that, for all intents and purposes, the talks have already begun.
• The “joint communiqué” is a substantial text that constitutes the outline within which the substance of the negotiation will move. Thus, this text is in reality the result of the preliminary phase of the negotiations.
• As such, we shouldn’t be put off by delays, the existence of disagreements, insistence by one side or the other on points that are very important. And we know what the critical points are for the Greek Cypriot side. They are the points that concern the national policy: respect for the Security Council resolutions; respect for the European acquis; the highest criterion of our wanting a solution that can be accepted by the Cypriot people through a referendum.
• Because if something isn’t accepted by the Cypriot people themselves in a referendum, we cannot speak of anything substantial, anything that can be implemented.
Albania
• There is an agreement with Albania on the delimitation of maritime zones in general; an agreement that has been signed, agreed to, initialed; that has been ratified by the Greek side, has been ratified by the Albanian side, and the relevant law has been voided by decision of the Albanian Constitutional Court.
• We are asking Albania, within the framework of the International Law of the Sea, to complete the process of drawing up this agreement. The principles cannot change, because the principles are the International Law of the Sea itself.
• There are, perhaps, technical matters that we are willing to look at again on the level of technical committees. There are two options: The option of International Law and European practice, and there is the option of challenging International Law and European practice.
• Albania says that it is a country ready to accede to the EU. We support Albania’s European perspective, we want to provide know-how and assistance, but there are certain self-evident preconditions.
• There are the Copenhagen criteria, there is good neighbourliness, respect for International Law, respect for the European acquis.
• The European Commission has carried out a study that shows that the implementation of the International Law of the Sea, the implementation of maritime zones in the Mediterranean, favors the prosperity and development of the Mediterranean European peoples.
• So we are saying to Albania that this is what we should do. And this is what we have done with Italy. We can’t have delimited the continental shelf with Italy in 1977 and not have the same practice with Albania. Moreover, certain points should be worked out trilaterally.
FYROM
• Despite the dispute that exists with regard to the name, Greece is the top foreign investor in FYROM; the two economies are to a great extent interlinked. And we mean it when we say that Greece can become the conduit for a very speedy Euroatlantic integration for Skopje – we want to make this a reality. Our relations are exceptional and they can become even closer. In the energy sector, in fact, new opportunities are opening up as a result of everything that is happening with the pipelines.
• Now, regarding our position on the name issue, our position is what I said to Mr. Nimetz when he visited in September, what I said to the UN Secretary General when I saw him in New York, what I said to Mr. Poposki – with whom I have met twice; once in Brussels and once in New York – and what I said to Mr. Ahmeti, who was kind enough to visit me here at the Foreign Ministry.
• We accept a compound name, as has been formulated as national policy, and this constitutes a great show of good faith on the part of Greece. Naturally, by compound name we mean a geographical qualifier, and not a qualifier referring to the system of government. We are also talking about a name that is for all uses, domestic and international.
• It is of very great importance that we change the climate, but you don’t change the climate with insulting statements like, “Greece should be called the former Ottoman province of Greece”. This is an affront to the processes and resolutions of the UN, and I am very dismayed at this, even if it was an unfortunate play on words and not a substantial political observation. I hope it was an unfortunate play on words.
• And, moreover, we cannot have public expression of the position that “we do not accept any name that compromises the constitutional name”. In other words, FYROM itself does not accept the UN process? We need to respect the Secretary General and the Security Council and, of course, the Copenhagen Criteria, the European acquis and the obligation all countries have to respect the rules of international law and good neighbourly relations.
Visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
• We are looking forward to welcoming the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, to Athens. I had a very friendly and substantial discussion with him in New York, on the margins of the General Assembly.
• We will discuss the whole range of our bilateral relations, with emphasis, of course, on economy and development issues. We will be signing agreements and other international texts, which we will be announcing as soon as the relevant joint preparations are completed by the two Foreign Ministries.
Antiracist Legislation
• This is a piece of legislations that brings Greece’s legislation into harmony with the European standards, and it concerns the repudiation of speech and actions that disrupt social cohesion, peace and security.
• We have done very systematic and responsible work in collaboration with the Justice Ministry. So it is of very great importance that we pass this law that concerns mainly hate speech crimes. Because our legislation on murder or organized crime is already sufficient. We need to supplement our legislation on the level of more incipient expressions of the speech of Nazism, fascism, violence.
Economy
• Greece can now show a structural primary surplus of 5% of GDP, which is the best performance in the Eurozone and the best performance in the European Union. This structural primary surplus naturally takes into account the extreme, cumulative recession.
• The sustainability of the sovereign debt is a system of projections and estimates, and a common perception that is prevalent not just in institutional organs, but also in the markets. So it is very important for there to be conviction regarding the sustainability of the sovereign debt.
• According to the sustainability study on which the Eurogroup and IMF decisions are based, the Greek debt is sustainable and, from a certain point on, falls at an impressive rate.
• Of course, this has to be facilitated by various arrangements that don’t create a problem for anyone; arrangements that have to do with the expiration of bonds or the payments on loans – arrangements regarding interest rates, despite the average interest rate being extremely good, and the average duration being very long, because in 2012 we did not just achieve a haircut. We achieved the radical restructuring of the Greek sovereign debt, which is now in an incomparably better state.
Turkish Navtex for research vessels
There was an immediate Greek demarche and express confirmation from the Turkish side that the Turkish vessel will carry out purely scientific research: research that is not linked to the seabed directly or indirectly, in Turkish territorial waters and international waters. This was received as a response from the Turkish side. Naturally, we are monitoring things closely in cooperation with the Hellenic Navy.
October 22, 2013