Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis meets with the Ambassador of Slovakia, Iveta Hricová (Athens, 26 July 2019)

Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis received today, 26 July, the Ambassador of Slovakia, Iveta Hricová, in a courtesy meeting, occasioned by the taking up of his new duties.

During the meeting, there was a discussion of bilateral and European issues. Special emphasis was put on challenges facing the European Union and its member states due to the impending Brexit, the new Multiannual Financial Framework and the migration issue.

Regarding the Multiannual Financial Framework, the Alternate Minister stressed that the Greek side is pursuing a larger increase in its share of Cohesion Policy funds, given that our country was hit harder than any other during the recent crisis, losing about 25% of its GDP. They also discussed the pressure being exerted by the informal “Friends of Cohesion” group for an increase in the EU’s Cohesion Policy funding.

With regard to the migration issue, the Alternate Minister underscored the importance of creating a common mechanism for handling migrant flows and of burden-sharing within the framework of the EU, with each member state participating based on GDP, population and other criteria. In the same context, the Alternate Minister highlighted the need to promote cooperation with third countries on readmissions.

Finally, the Alternate Minister stressed that Greece and the Visegrad countries need to cooperate, agreeing to hold a bilateral meeting with his counterpart in September, in Greece.