The President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou makes a three-day official visit to Serbiafrom today, March 27, following the invitation of its Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic. In the context of her visit, Mrs. Sakellaropoulou gave an interview to the newspaper “Politika” of Belgrade, where she stated that “the Serbia is a key partner for the European Union and European integration of the Western Balkans is a strategic goal of Greece’s foreign policy”.
“The integration of the Western Balkans region into the European Union is one mutually beneficial investment of a strategic nature, both for EU member states and for Western Balkan partners. This is the position that Greece has consistently supported and promoted for decades. The European Union is not complete without the Western Balkans” stressed Mrs. Sakellaropoulou.
In addition, he expressed the need to accelerate the European integration of the Western Balkans due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “THE war in Ukraine further strengthened the strategic importance of the relationship between the European Union and the Western Balkans. That is, the need to speed up the process of joining the Western Balkans to the EU in order to better address the various challenges facing Southeast Europe. Challenges they try to impose on us forces challenging international law and the inviolability of borders” pointed out Mrs. Sakellaropoulou.
The PtD reported that Greece actively supports Serbia’s European path and all the countries of the region and underlines the need to continue the reforms in order to achieve the conditions for joining the European Union. “We strongly believe that it is very important for the Serbian people to understand that we share a common future, in the family of Europe, which we must shape together. For this reason, we call on Serbia to continue reforms in fundamental areas of the EU acquis, such as the rule of law, the functioning of democratic institutions and public administration, as well as its alignment with the common Foreign and Security Policy” .
Kosovo & energy crisis
To the question of “Politika” about Greece’s position regarding his status of Kosovo and Athens’ relations with Pristina, PtD reports: “The position of Greece, one of the few EU members that did not recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, remains the same. At the same time, Greece, beyond its known position on the status of Kosovo and faithful to its policy in the Western Balkans, follows a realistic and constructive approach in relation to Kosovo, which aims to strengthen stability and security in the region” .
Also, in the interview he mentioned energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as Greece’s pivotal role for the energy security of NE Europe.
“Given the current crisis in the energy sector and gas supply chainGreece is developing into a reliable energy hub – contributing the most to increasing the energy security of the countries of S/E Europe – promoting projects to diversify natural gas sources and routes.
With two floating storage and regasification units in Alexandroupoli, the creation of another one in Corinth and probably in Volos, the role of Greece as a guarantor of energy security for the Western Balkans and the wider region is expected to be further strengthened,” emphasized Mrs. Sakellaropoulou.
The program of the President of the Republic in Serbia
THE President of the Republic this evening will meet at Belgrade with Greek businessmen active in Serbia.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) he will have talks with the president of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and then with the prime minister Ana Brnabitz. In the afternoon of the same day, he will visit the Parliament, where he will meet with the president of the Parliament Vladimir Orlich.
Her visit to Serbia will end on Wednesday with laying a wreath on the statue of Rigas Feraios and the tour to “Neboisa Tower» where the Greek revolutionary was killed and today functions as a memorial, exhibition space dedicated to Revolution of the Greeks and the Balkan peoples for shaking off the Ottoman yoke.
Source: News Beast
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