D. AVRAMOPOULOS: It is a great pleasure to welcome to Athens a good friend of Greece, above all, but my friend as well, the Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt, who has extensive experience on the international diplomacy chessboard, and who has profound knowledge of the state of affairs and developments in the wider region of the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean.
This visit reaffirms the very good level of our bilateral relations, and it opens new paths to the enhancement of our cooperation in all sectors.
My Swedish colleague and I discussed the preparations for the Greek EU Presidency in the first half of 2014 and the priorities we have set.
Of course, we also discussed the economic crisis in the Eurozone and how we are confronting the crisis. I set out for Mr. Bildt the positive results Greece has already achieved, thanks to the implementation of reforms and the great sacrifices and resolve of the Greek people.
And naturally the recent decisions on Cyprus were among the issues we discussed. The solution ultimately arrived at is extremely painful. But it averted the disastrous scenario of a disorderly default, which would have had unforeseeable repercussions.
As I said to Mr. Bildt, Cyprus is not being left on its own during this very trying time. Cyprus has Greece at its side. But is also has the solidarity of the European family, of which it is an equal member.
I’m not talking about just the loan. I am talking about the investments, tourism and economic cooperation that will restore growth and jobs. Cyprus has a small and flexible economy. A small effort on the part of the European partners can have a huge positive impact in Cyprus.
With Carl, who still remembers the economic crisis Sweden went through in the past, we agreed that the EU must ensure cohesion and lay the foundations for better economic management and deepened political union.
The founders of the EU did not envision a vast accounting office. They envisioned a political union that would ensure peace and prosperity for its citizens. Today, this vision is more timely than ever before.
We exchanged views on enlargement policy and the European course of the Western Balkans, including FYROM’s, which we talked about in depth.
We ascertained together that our neighbours’ progress toward meeting the European criteria will be decisive in consolidating security in the Southeast European region. And it will be catalytic in confronting the resurgent nationalism that is a real threat to our neighbourhood.
We also talked about Turkey and its European perspective. Substantial development of EU-Turkish relations can be achieved only within the framework of an active and credible accession process, and provided the Turkish side complies with the necessary prerequisites.
I would like to thank Carl for visiting Athens and for our very useful talks. And I wish him a pleasant stay in Greece. Both you and your compatriots are always welcome in Greece. Not just for work, but even more so in the summer, for holidays on the Greek islands.
Dear Carl, thanks again for being with us today and the floor is yours.
C. BILDT: Thanks very much and thank you very much for inviting me here. It is always a pleasure to come back to Athens and to Greece. I have fond memories of coming here ever since really the summer of 1974; friendship and political struggles and political difficulties over the years, but always very strong bonds between our two nations when it comes to the different issues that we have been facing together, and particularly since when I was here -well, not in Athens, but in Greece - and signed, in June of 1994, at Corfu, during the Greek Presidency then, the Swedish accession to the European Union.
Since then, we have been close partners inside the European Union. And although we are somewhat distant in terms of geography in Europe, we have often been together on key issues, not least the development of common foreign and security policy. There have been other issues, there have been our common concerns with the issues of the Western Balkans, the strategic relationship with Turkey – quite a number of the big issues where we have been able to work closely together.
I have come here for a number of reasons. One of them was to look at economic developments, and I think I have been impressed by the progress that you have made on the fiscal consolidation. I shouldn’t compare the crisis that we had in Sweden in the early ‘90s with the crisis that you have, but still there are some similarities, so I know the pain associated with fiscal consolidation. It is necessary, it is as painful as it is necessary, but then I also know, from our experience, that when you also do the structural reforms, the pain grows out in gain later.
And clearly, we, from the reforms that we did - some of them of a painful and controversial nature at the time - have benefited quite considerably, and I am quite certain that with the direction of policies that you have, the same will happen here. It is not going to be next week, sorry to say, but I think you already see some signs: it takes some time, but the pain will be worth it when you see the new possibilities.
We are in a situation – I will be continuing on tonight to Cyprus, where I will see President Anastasiades tomorrow. I think, as said, they have avoided the extremely painful option of disorderly default, which would have been catastrophic for the people of Cyprus. But of course, they need our help and they need our support in order to, over time, revive the economy of Cyprus after the difficult times that they are now going through and whatever we can do from Sweden, we will try to do.
The bond that is there, that is very strong, is of course between our peoples in terms of tourism. I am happy to report that what is told to me is that Swedish tourists to Greece, which have always been a lot, are now increasing and that is a good thing. We also have noted substantial tourism to Cyprus, by the way, which is of course in contribution both to the people that come here and enjoy the sun, but also a contribution to the economy of your respective nations. So, I think we have had extremely good talks and of course, as is the case nowadays, we see each other fairly often and will continue to have dialogue on all of these issues.
JOURNALIST: My question is related to the Balkans: Are you concerned with the rise in nationalism in the Balkan states?
C. BILDT: Well, I am concerned with the rise of nationalism all over Europe, I mean there are tendencies that we should be... we should all be proud of our relations and the heritage that we represent, be that Sweden or be that Greece, but that is a different thing.
But when nationalism turns against others, then we have reason to be on our guard, and that is happening in the Western Balkans, but it is not happening only in the Western Balkans. And there I think, and I should have said that, we also discussed of course the coming EU Presidency of Greece in the beginning of next year, which I think will be very important.
The work that we do in the European Union is really to deal with the ghosts of the past in Europe that sometimes have a tendency to come back in the form of nationalism, and of course in the form of ugly nationalism, and we do see certain such tendencies in the Balkans at the moment. I think that is one of the reasons why we are both very concerned with accelerating the process of European integration of the Balkans.
We will have Croatia coming in as a new member by the 1st of July. We hope that we will be able to take the steps in order to launch the accession negotiations with Serbia, ongoing with… they have started with Montenegro, we hope to move Kosovo forward – we have a name issue that is well known there – even Bosnia signs, some things started to move.
But without the European Union, and I would say without countries like Greece and Sweden inside the European Union, driving the process, it would be more difficult.
D. AVRAMOPOULOS: If I may also say some words on that, it is that populism and nationalism is the worst mix right now in our region and undermines all efforts at stabilizing this sensitive part of Europe. And I fully agree with what Carl said before. But Greece, on the other hand – we must never forget this – remains a stable and stabilizing factor in our region. We have condemned populism and nationalism and we have exhausted all means in order to extend a positive message to our neighbours, especially with the ones with whom we have some problems to sort out.
Greece is a European country with full respect for the principles and values of our common country – Europe – and we will keep working in this direction. And something that Carl said before is very important: nationalism is an expression of hatred towards others. There is a big difference between patriotism and nationalism. In nationalism, you hate the country of others, and in patriotism you love your country.
JOURNALIST: So a question to both of you related to the crisis in Cyprus. Do you intend to take any joint initiatives as the European Union to show solidarity to Cyprus?
C. BILDT: Well, I think the fact that Sweden is not in the euro, but anyhow, the fact that there will be now sort of 10 billion euros is an act of solidarity by the euro countries, in order to avoid what Cyprus was heading into.
It does not sort out all of the problems as you know, but it avoids them really. So the 10 billion euros is a very sort of visible and clear element of European solidarity. As for us, who are not in the euro, we will try to be supportive in other ways. I mean the fact that I am going there tomorrow should be seen as an act of solidarity and support during difficult times. They are certainly not forgotten, they have got friends, we will be there and I will talk with them about exactly what that can mean. But we certainly want to be supportive, express our friendship, express our sympathy and express our solidarity.
D. AVRAMOPOULOS: The European Union is a framework of security for Cyprus in these difficult times it is going through. I said earlier, and I repeat it, that Cyprus is not alone. It has Greece at its side, it has the European Union at its side. That is why I referred just now to the framework within which initiatives will be developed to support the Cypriot economy. But the message being broadcast is clear: Cyprus is not walking this difficult path alone, and this is something very positive. And I am certain that the day will soon come – as has happened many times in the past – when Cyprus will find its pace, its orientation, its economic growth and stability. The fact that this safety net the European Union is providing exists – with community solidarity as the key principle – is very optimistic and sends a message of certainty to the Cypriots in these difficult hours.
JOURNALIST: Minister, you just said that your country is not a member of the Eurozone. Nevertheless, your Minister of Finance said last October that for sure Greece would be out of the euro within six months. So maybe you should discuss with him to reconsider this forecast, since the six months have just passed.
C. BILDT: Well, it shows, of course, that even the Swedish Finance Minister can be profoundly wrong at times. We just said to him at the time, “Dear friend, you will be proved wrong,” and I would be very happy to take sort of a Greek euro coin back to him.
I have to say, to be fair to him – both he and I campaigned heavily in 2003 – that even Sweden should be member of the euro. We lost a referendum on that one, but that is another story. The euro, we are not members, as I said, but it has to be said that the Euro has contributed to stability also of the Swedish economy. Because I was Prime Minister of the country in the ‘90s, when we did not have the euro, and when we had European currencies going up and down on a weekly basis, it was a pure nightmare. The fact that there has been the euro during these difficult economic times has been something that has been benefiting also the countries that are for different reasons still outside.
Thank you very much.
March 28, 2013