The semiannual Informal “Gymnich” meeting of Foreign Ministers of European Union member states took place in Luxembourg, on 4 and 5 September, with Greece represented by its Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Spyros Flogaitis. Subjects discussed at the meeting included the migration crisis, the Middle East issue, EU-Russian relations, and Iran.
Mr. Flogaitis presented Greece’s positions, and in particular the efforts our country is making to confront the unprecedented migration flows, highlighting the country’s extremely difficult position as the main gateway for refugees and economic migrants, and stressing that Greece has for years has been alone in shouldering the burden of guarding the EU’s southeastern external borders. The Alternate Foreign Minister referred to the need for shared European responsibility for dealing with the crisis, expressing Greece’s support for the joint German-French-Italian proposal for confronting the internal and external aspects of the problem and noting Greece’s readiness to participate in similar initiatives. He stressed Greece’s commitment to honoring its European and international obligations and asked for the solidarity and assistance of all the member states towards first-reception member states, highlighting that the achievement of an agreement on a just and proportionate distribution of refugees to all the countries of the EU is a key condition for achieving an immediate and comprehensive agreement on confronting the migration crisis at the highest European level, with the convening of a meeting of the European Council on the issue.
On the margins of the meeting, Mr. Flogaitis met with the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, with whom, in an excellent climate, he exchanged views on the ongoing migration/refugee crisis. He also met briefly with the Foreign Ministers of FYROM and Albania, who were participating in the joint meeting of EU Foreign Ministers with their colleagues from candidate countries.
September 5, 2015