M. Varvitsiotis: European citizens want a strong Europe against revisionism

“It is important to realize that Europe is not just a place where we get subsidies or where we do not use a passport, it is a place that provides economic and geopolitical security and a community of principles and values ​​that we want to prevail in our country,” the deputy stressed today Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis at a conference entitled “The future of the Union after the conclusion of the Conference and the emergence of new challenges”, organized by the University of Piraeus, in collaboration with the European Information Center of the Municipality of Piraeus, under the auspices of the Region of Attica.

In particular, Mr. Varvitsiotis pointed out that Europe is not a linearly evolving but a multidimensional project, which goes through many crises and is strengthened each time through them.

“In the face of the crisis of Euroscepticism, Europe proposed supranational cooperation and with the Conference it wanted to get closer to its citizens by opening its ears and eyes to their concerns, to see how it can become better in the future,” he said. And then he informed the participants about the pan-European results of the Conference and also about Greece’s contribution to them, citing specific facts about the participation of Greeks in the Dialogue.

Afterwards, the deputy minister presented the main directions resulting from the proposals of the Europeans, underlining in particular the request for more Europe in their daily lives, but also for a Europe with an expanded geopolitical footprint.

“A Europe, where we will be able to have a political dialogue with all friends and partners in the region, so that common positions can be formed”, he noted, while also making special reference to the defense agreement between Greece and France, which, as he said, shows the way to strengthening of the institutions and ties between European countries in matters of defense cooperation.

In the same context, Mr. Varvitsiotis noted that European citizens demand from the Union more secure borders, a greater role in international crises, energy autonomy, effectiveness in the fight against climate change, strong institutions against authoritarianism and revisionism, but also dynamic protection the rule of law and human rights.

Finally, he referred to the need to deepen intergovernmental European cooperation to achieve further convergences. Referring to the discussion about the abolition of unanimity, he expressed his reservations about such a change in foreign policy matters.