Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, G. Katrougalos, attends the General Affairs Council of the EU (Luxembourg, 16 October 2018)

Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Katrougalos, speaking today at the General Affairs Council which met in Luxembourg, emphasised that a significant delay exists in the creation of a cohesive European migration policy. The Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed that the xenophobic voices of demagogues in Europe take advantage of this inability in order to undermine solutions that are based on solidarity and international law, and to act as demagogues in light of the European elections in May 2019. The issue of migration is not a national issue, but rather a European one. Mr Katrougalos stressed that this requires a holistic strategy in order for it to be tackled, and especially a new asylum system which will fairly distribute the weight of migrational challenges in conjunction with the foreign dimension of migration; in other words, to support growth in neighbouring countries in order for them to be able to ensure an attractive future for their citizens. The relevant decisions must be taken by the end of the year.

The Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed the acceptance of Greece’s proposal to create a mechanism for political protection in the European Union to deal with natural disasters and threats, which must be outfitted and financed with the required funds. He also noted the need for social deepening of European integration as the only path to regaining citizens’ trust in the European endeavour. For this purpose, the new community budget will need to be ambitious and socially oriented.

Referring to the issue of BREXIT, Mr Katrougalos expressed the hope that an agreement will be reached, provided that the United Kingdom takes into account the significant progress in the negotiations and responds with a creative approach to recent pending issues, specifically with regard to the key issue of the Irish border in which European solidarity is a given. Our country is nonetheless preparing for any outcome, as is the European Union, including a worst-case scenario in which an agreement is not reached.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is coordinating the preparation and reaction of all ministries concerned, attaching special importance to the protection of the rights of Greek citizens living in the UK, protection of agricultural products and geographical designations as well as tourism, education, and shipping issues. Moreover, in conjunction with the Ministry of Digital Policy, a related web page is being prepared to provide updates to all interested citizens and institutions.Before the meeting of the General Affairs Council, Mr Katrougalos participated as an observer in the preparatory meeting of the European Affairs Ministers of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats where the above issues were discussed in a general climate of converging views.