“The distance that separates Ankara from Brussels is clear and explicit, as was outlined in yesterday’s decision of the EU General Affairs Council, and it is clear that Turkey, despite being an EU candidate country, does not meet any of the conditions that would bring it closer to the European acquis and is not in line with any EU foreign policy decision, while it remains provocative towards member states such as Greece and Cyprus”, stated Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis following his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium Sophie Wilmès held today in Brussels.
As the Alternate Minister said, with yesterday’s decision we also managed to revitalize the European enlargement policy, since no conclusions had been adopted for years, and we reopened the dialogue on enlargement in the Western Balkans, since Bulgaria, following our country’s compromise proposal, lifted its reservations regarding Northern Macedonia.
Earlier, Mr. Varvitsiotis discussed with the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs all the issues of the European agenda, he informed her about the Greek positions on the southeastern Mediterranean and the Turkish provocation, while he had with her “a profound discussion on the refugee issue and the challenge it poses to the future course of the European Union”. Following the meeting, he expressed his satisfaction with ” Belgium’s firm positions in relation to the deepening of the EU, the need for more Europe and, of course, the need to support countries located in difficult neighbourhoods such as ours”.
