“There is no Europe if there is no welfare state and there is no Europe unless it shows solidarity with those who are left behind. “The goal of a modern Europe is to leave no one behind”. This message was sent by Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, during a session on the Future of Europe at the 6th Delphi Economic Forum, moderated by ANA journalist Dimitris Manolis.
Referring to the importance of the social dimension of Europe and the welfare state, the Alternate Minister stressed that Greece wants a social Europe and for this reason embraced the Portuguese initiative that led to the Porto Declaration. “Social Europe and the welfare state were the target of all memorandum programs in our country. “It is important to highlight and support the initiative that social Europe is an integral part of the EU”, he pointed out.
Regarding the pandemic, Mr. Varvitsiotis stressed that “it leaves behind a very big scar in terms of economy”. But, as he said, the Next Generation EU is the largest funding instrument the EU has ever put on the table and distributed to the Member States and can lead to Europe’s green and digital transformation.
He recalled the initiative of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis when he sent the first letter last year along with other leaders, calling for a support package for European economies, which was transformed into this very large Recovery package. It is, as he said, “the opportunity of our generation to manage this money, in order to give the next generation many opportunities rather than waste it like the nouveau riche do and as we did with previous European packages”. He pointed out that in four decades Greece has tapped into 200 billion euros in European support funding and now in a few years’ time it is going to tap into amounts up to 72 billion euros while much more can be done by using leverage. “In a few years we can have a lot of investments in key sectors that are transforming our economy, so that the next generation can live in a Greece which will be a pioneer in creating new jobs that require skills, scientific training and meet the ambitions of all young Greeks studying, struggling to get a master’s degree and excel”. He stressed that there are hundreds of billions of euros available for investments in ambitious proposals. “Greece is a country with many advantages. It is a country that offers security, political, economic and social stability, health adequacy and reliable human resources. It’s time we win our future!”, he pointed out.
As for the Conference on the Future of Europe, Mr. Varvitsiotis noted that it is a very open debate. “It is addressed to the citizens of the Union and it is time both Brussels and the governments remained silent and listened to their people. We, on our part, want to present to the Greek citizens what we have achieved 40 years now and let them tell us what kind of Europe we want for tomorrow”. “We need to look into how we can make Europe friendlier, more meaningful to the people and how Europe will come close to addressing the concerns of the younger generation in particular”, he concluded.
