K. Mitsotakis in Brussels for the ’27’ leaders’ Summit

Of Dimitris Gatsiou

The next 48 hours for Kyriakos Mitsotakis are set in Brussels. After the wide-ranging, five-hour meeting in Istiaia, where the reconstruction plan of northern Evia was presented in detail, after the catastrophic fires of last summer, the prime minister is leaving today for the Belgian capital, in order to give the “present” in two Sessions.

The first is related to the Eastern Partnership (will take place today) while the… main menu of issues that concern the European family comes to the fore on Thursday, with the 27 appointment of “27”, which also acquires a symbolic character.

This is because, for the first time, the work of the European Council will be attended by the new Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Solz, after the… change of baton in Berlin and the end of the Merkel era.

The European Union’s cooperation with its eastern neighbors will be at the heart of the 6th Eastern Partnership Summit, which will be attended by the 27 leaders and leaders of five of the six Eastern Partnership partners.

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine and Moldova, as Belarus was not invited, as it has withdrawn from the group.

According to information, in the proceedings of the Summit, which takes place in the midst of developments both on the Ukrainian-Russian border and on the border of Belarus with European countries and the effort to instrumentalize the immigration issue, the Greek Prime Minister will express Athens’ support for sovereignty. and the territorial integrity of the Eastern Partnership partners.

At the same time, Mr. Mitsotakis is expected to inform his counterparts about the results of the meeting in Sochi a week ago with President Putin, pointing out that all sides should work towards de-escalation.

Regarding the “27” Summit, which will be closed in twenty-four hours, the topics that will be on the front line are related to the developments on the pandemic virus front, the new “Omicron” strain of Covid-19, the vaccinations , but also increases in the energy front,

At the same time, issues on the agenda of the “27” dominate, such as the situation in Ukraine, but also immigration, on the occasion of the developments on the border with Belarus and the message for horizontal measures against those who instrumentalize the issue.

The leaders are expected to have the first exchange of views on the new strategic doctrine of Brussels, based on the “strategic compass”. The document submitted for discussion by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

As government officials note, Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s position is that the text must respond to the threats accepted by the Union.

At the same time, they recall that the Prime Minister was one of the first leaders to speak about the need to advance the debate on the strategic autonomy of the European Union both at the Med9 Summit in Athens and from the podium of the UN General Assembly last September. , noting that it will strengthen NATO’s European defense pillar.

Late Thursday night, the prime minister will attend a dinner hosted by eurozone leaders on the current economic situation, and progress towards the Banking Union and the Capital Markets Union, and will be attended by the President of the European Union. Central Bank, Christine Langard.