The Social Summit, which is scheduled for 7 May in Porto, and the Conference on the future of Europe, which starts next month, were the focus of Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis’ videoconference with the Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Ana Paula Zacarias.
In his intervention, Mr. Varvitsiotis noted that Greece has specific proposals on both the issue of Social Europe – which is the central theme of the Portuguese Presidency – and the dialogue on the Future of Europe, which starts in May and coincides with the 40th anniversary of Greece’s accession to the European Union. He briefed his Portuguese colleague on the central event marking this anniversary, which is set to take place on 27 May, at Zappeion, with the EU leadership in attendance.
During the teleconference, they also discussed the reopening of tourism in mid-May. The Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs underscored the need to speed up the process for the launch of the Digital Green Certificate. He highlighted that Greece is sending a message of safety – as the vaccination programme is in full swing and 30-39-year-olds will be able to schedule their vaccinations as of next week – expressing the belief that most of the population will have been vaccinated by mid-June.
