Minister of Foreign Affairs, N. Dendias’, statement following his meeting with his Danish counterpart Jeppe Kofod (Copenhagen, 21.02.2020)

Thank you, dear colleague, thank you Jeppe, for your very warm hospitality.

On the solid basis of our excellent relations, today we explored ways of enhancing our cooperation on a number of fields.

We exchanged views on the urgent issue of climate change and I listened with great interest, I have to say, to Jeppe’s analysis on how Denmark has achieved to spearhead innovation in the area of renewable energy sources. We have a lot to learn from Danish expertise in this field, in order to achieve eliminating lignite dependence by 2028, a commitment of Prime Minister Mitsotakis.

We also discussed the migration issue, a subject of concern for both countries and, of course, for the whole of Europe. I explained clearly our position with regard to the need for a thorough revision of the asylum procedure. I have to say, I listened very carefully to the Danish proposition, which sounded quite reasonable.

Furthermore, we had the opportunity to exchange views on the EU path of the Western Balkans. EU accession is the ultimate guarantee for the consolidation of stability and prosperity in this region, provided, of course, that the set conditionalities are met. In this vein, we see the Commission’s proposals for revision of the accession process as a very good step in the right direction.

Finally, we discussed the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, where Turkey has been conducting its foreign policy in terms of 19th century’s gunboat diplomacy.
An aggressive policy that endangers peace and stability in the southern flank of the EU, undermining our collective efforts and fueling challenges on issues such as migration and terrorism.

I expressed our satisfaction for the clear stance adopted by the EU on those matters.
Finally, we agreed to continue our deliberations in the next period and, may I say, that I look very much forward to welcoming you in Athens. I hope that the weather the day you will come will be as good as it is in Copenhagen today.a