- We express our satisfaction at the completion and submission of the 18-month programme of the Irish-Lithuanian-Greek Presidency Trio. This pro-gramme is the result of excellent cooperation between the three countries, as well as with the General Secretariat of the Council, the European Ex-ternal Action Service, and the European Commission.
- In this context, I will refer to three important priorities for my country for the period of its Presidency in the first half of 2014:
The first is Enlargement, a policy that serves the strategic interests of the EU and strengthens peace, stability and democracy in Europe. During our Presi-dency, we are determined to promote enlargement in implementation of the unanimous European Council decisions of 2006 and the conclusions of sub-sequent Councils.
The EU must remain open to those countries that meet the criteria and are willing and prepared to share our values. Particular attention will be paid to the European perspective of the Western Balkans. The stabilization process, in accordance with the Thessaloniki Agenda, will remain the framework in this direction. Moreover, we will promote the goals of Agenda 2014, the basic principles of which are good neighbourly relations, regional cooperation, and reconciliation. The substance of Agenda 2014 is mainly political.
Its goal is to speed up the enlargement process in the Western Balkans and keep the European integration of this region high among the EU’s priorities. The aim of Agenda 2014 is to enhance the competitiveness of the Western Balkans, linking these countries with the EU and neighbouring countries. To underscore our political commitment to the European perspective of the Western Balkans, we intend to host an EU-Western Balkans Summit Meeting in Thessaloniki in May or June 2014.
Our second priority is to promote Growth and Employment within the frame-work of the recently adopted Agreement: the creation of jobs is a political is-sues that runs through all the agendas of all the Councils in all their configura-tions. In this context, our efforts will focus, first, on promoting the objectives of the Integrated Maritime Policy in accordance with the recent Limassol Decla-ration. And second, our efforts will also focus on enhancing the competitive-ness of European enterprises, including SMEs.
Third, we want to establish common European policies on energy issues, with emphasis on energy sufficiency and increased use of renewable energy sources, and fourth, we want to point up Europe as a tourist destination.
The third priority of the Greek Presidency in the first half of 2014 will be Jus-tice and Home Affairs issues. The second half of the Stockholm Programme remains the frame of reference for the EU’s political and operational agenda in this area.
The efforts towards supervision of the full implementation of the regulations on free movement will continue, with the aim of creating an open and safe Europe in the service of its citizens. More specifically, we will promote the sin-gle approach to migration and the common European system of asylum based on fair division of burdens and solidarity among the member states.
Our priorities also include the creation of a framework for the upcoming mul-tiannual programme in the Justice and Home Affairs sector, which will cover important issues such as migration, security and justice.
- We wish the upcoming Irish Presidency every success.
December 11, 2012