“There needs be a stable framework of sanctions against anyone who seeks to instrumentalize migrants and refugees in order to destabilize either the European Union or its member states”, said Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, upon arrival at the General Affairs Council today in Brussels. In the context of the preparation of the European Council (16/12), he reiterated the relevant proposal of Greece for a “comprehensive framework of sanctions against anyone who schemes against the cohesion of the EU but also exploits our humanity” – as he said – “so that we do not witness the events in Evros again, so that we are not exposed to the kind of threats like Lukashenko’s”.
At the same time, Mr. Varvitsiotis noted that in the context of the EU-Eastern Partnership Summit and developments in Ukraine, Europe must keep the channels of communication with Russia open – in the same way as Presidents Biden and Putin now maintain regular contact – so as to avoid unwelcome developments.
The Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed his satisfaction that the first EU-Serbia Intergovernmental Conference was held on the sidelines of the General Affairs Council and for the opening of the first Chapters of the Accession Negotiations, which “is a landmark event for us”, as “we want the Western Balkans, and especially Serbia, to move closer to the European Union”.
Mr. Varvitsiotis also stated that the General Affairs Council is engaged with the issue of the pandemic and in particular with the coordination not only of the efforts to address the pandemic, but also to open the travel market, as well to procure drugs to tackle the coronavirus.
Finally, the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that “we need to motivate even more citizens to participate in the Conference on the Future of Europe”, noting that in our country this open process has not yet been embraced by all citizens. “Since Europe is our home, so we must listen to all its inhabitants”, said Mr. Varvitsiotis, announcing that by next year “we will see to it that even more voices are engaged in this dialogue, and we will take initiatives by also making use of the practices of other Member States”.
