Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis’ statement on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union

Great Britain withdrew from the European Union, not from Europe. It cannot withdraw from Europe, after all, given that it is part of its history. And it remains one of Greece’s firm friends and allies.

Brexit is an event of historic dimensions, but we are certainly not happy about it, as Greeks or as Europeans. But the finalisation of Brexit opens the way to the immediate launching of an open, sincere and institutional Dialogue on the Future of Europe, on procedural and substantial reform.

In any event, the Greek government has been prepared to deal with this development for some time. This past summer, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated an institutional dialogue with citizens, entrepreneurs and social organizations on how to handle all of the individual issues that would arise in their transactions with Great Britain. We coordinated all of the Public Administration agencies involved – technically, administratively, operationally and organizationally – based on a comprehensive Operational Plan. With a clear picture of Brexit’s challenges for the market and society, at the beginning of the year we voted a comprehensive legislative package regulating the main parameters. Law 4652/2020 was the first law to come before Parliament this year, and through it we regulated issues concerning the residency, insurance and healthcare of British citizens, we settled matters concerning the financial, tourism, insurance and transport sectors, and we took care to staff Greece’s customs authorities, which will see a significant increase in workload following Brexit.

The Greek government’s efforts to manage this reality – which is new to everyone – certainly won’t stop here. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to monitor developments closely, putting the administrative mechanism at the disposal of Greek citizens and businesses, effectively defending their rights and interests and those of the Greek economy.

Through mutuality, flexibility and a spirit of collaboration, we believe our bilateral relations will maintain all of the momentum and effectiveness they have had until now. We believe in a common and secure future, as befits the friendship between the two countries, and we are certain that the historical and political depth of our relations will serve as the right compass for achieving this. As Winston Churchill so presciently said, “The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”