The meeting of the Secretaries General of the 28 European Union member states took place in Athens today, 6 December, under the chairmanship of the Greek Foreign Ministry’s Secretary General, Ambassador Anastassis Mitsialis, with the Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service (EEAS), David O’Sullivan, and a European Commission representative in attendance.
Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas opened the meeting with a presentation of the Greek Presidency’s priorities, which were received by the participants with satisfaction, as responding to the current state of affairs in the EU and the need for the challenges of the times to be confronted in an effective and timely manner.
There was also a discussion of the external dimension of EU policies on migration, within the framework of “migration and border security” being one of the Hellenic Presidency’s top priorities.
Subsequently, there was an in-depth discussion of EEAS cooperation with member states on issues of security and co-location of personnel at missions abroad, with the aim of optimizing cooperation and reducing spending.
During the meeting, the Secretaries General also discussed the issue of the economic crisis and the constraints it imposes, with emphasis on the challenge of approaching highly qualified candidates for the Diplomatic Service of the Foreign Ministries of the member states, a matter that is of particular concern to the leaderships of the European Foreign Ministries, including that of Greece.
December 6, 2013