Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-09-09

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] EU Med '7' adopt Athens Declaration, hold joint press conference in Athens

[02] President Pavlopoulos receives visiting French President Francois Hollande

[03] EU's Mediterranean leaders adopt Athens Declaration for 'new vision' of Europe (full text)

[04] Greece's economy is recovering, FinMin Tsakalotos tells Eurogroup

[05] EU Mediterranean leaders' visit ends with tour of SNFCC

[06] New gold for Greece in Rio after Stefanoudakis prevails in javelin event

[01] EU Med '7' adopt Athens Declaration, hold joint press conference in Athens

'Our aim is to unite, not divide, Europe,' Tsipras says

The presence of the seven countries in Athens, the summit itself and the joint declaration they adopted showed a common desire to enhance Europe's cohesion and unity, making an active contribution to the extremely important dialogue on the future of Europe that will begin at the informal Bratislava European Counil of '27', Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after the EU Mediterranean Countries' Summit on Friday.

"It is a dialogue that must lead to a new vision for Europe," he said, during a joint press conference with the seven EU Med leaders that attended the meeting in Athens. He then announced that the second meeting of the seven countries will be held in Portugal, a country with "the same problems, the same temperament and the same philosophy."

Tsipras made it clear that the initiative to hold the summit aimed to promote dialogue, not division, in Europe:

"We are not and do not aspire to become another 'grouping' or initiative to divide Europe. We want and will continue to be an initiative for dialogue that aims to unite Europe even further, not to divide; to promote a new unity - and unity arises through convergence, through fighting inequality," he said.

He announced that the meeting ended with adoption of the Athens Declaration, which was focused on three topics: the challenges to security in the broader region, the economy and proposals for fair and sustainable growth and social cohesion and, lastly, the refugee and migration issue.

Europe is at a crucial crossroads, it must once again inspire its peoples," Tsipras said, noting that this could not be achieved by wishful thinking alone but required tangible actions to improve the lives of Europeans and enhance Europe's role on a global and regional scale.

"We must take measures that will boost employment and growth, which will contribute to a sense of security for citizens, by upgrading foreign policy and our security policy through active initiatives to defend peace and security in our turbulent region, with a humane and efficient management of refugee flows and solidarity in sharing out the burden of their reception," he said.

Citing a statement by French President Francois Hollande, Tsipras said that the future of Europe was currently largely being decided in the Mediterranean.

"As countries on the front line of the EU, the Eurozone, pro-European countries where the EU continues to symbolise something important to us, we are obliged to submit our own approach to handling the challenges that we face, replying to the trends for nationalist resurgence and entrenchment, replying to the forces of xenophobia and nationalism that are once again arising on our continent," he said.

The Greek prime minister's statement was followed by those of the other participants in the summit, starting with French President Francois Hollande, who also stressed the need for unity and cohesion and said that Mediterranean countries could contribute to the launch of a dialogue that was useful for Europe, contributing to its security and prosperity.

"We need a programme for growth and it is important to send a message of cohesion at a time of Brexit and the rise of populism in Europe," Hollande said.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the meeting was not an effort to create a group within the EU and noted that Mediterranean countries had much to contribute to dialogue in Europe.

"It is time to take specific and substantive decisions to deal with the causes of the alienation our citizens feel," he said, noting the need to adapt policies to tackle the challenges in security, migration and growth.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said the real challenge presented by the meeting was to outline Europe's future at the upcoming Bratislava summit of '27' member-states - excluding Britain. He stressed that the future Europe must be a social Europe, a Europe of ideals, and that the Athens Declaration was an added value toward a "different Europe".

Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa called for greater support of the EU's relations with Africa and also greater sharing of responsibility for refugees arriving in European territory. He said terrorism must be fought through the cooperation of the coast guards and border police and social integration, while calling for investments to boost growth and employment.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the summit had arrived at solutions on how to move forward, while expressing support for the European Commission and the Juncker Plan.

"The idea of 'social Europe' was forgotten for a long period of time and we say that we will support the development of the Union toward the return of this idea," he added.

Spain's acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was represented by the country's State Secretary for the European Union Fernando Eguidazu, who said Rajoy had wanted but been unable to attend. He described the summit as an important initiative and said that Spain is "an inseparable part of the Mediterranean Sea and will always support such meetings that address common problems."

[02] President Pavlopoulos receives visiting French President Francois Hollande

Hollande said that Greek authorities the Tsipras government had made major efforts to find a solution and said that France, if all the commitments are met, will always stand at Greece's side for the payment of loan tranches so that the country can return to growth.

Pavlopoulos hailed Hollande as a great friend of Greece, adding that the two countries share concern about the future, completion and unification of Europe.

The Greek president noted a need for greater solidarity between the EU member-states, though noting that this should not be underestimated or overlooked, since it was a principle built into the EU treaties.

The French president pointed out that this was his second visit to Greece in a few months and said it would be inconceivable to France for Greece to be excluded from the Eurozone, stressing that Europe needs Greece and Greece needs Europe.

Hollande also referred to the issue of protecting Europe from extremists and the need to guard its borders, noting the effort made by the Greek side to deal with the refugee issue.

[03] EU's Mediterranean leaders adopt Athens Declaration for 'new vision' of Europe (full text)

The full text of the Athens Declaration is given below:

"We, the Heads of State and Government of the Republic of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain, have gathered in Athens, with the aim of enhancing our cooperation and to contribute to the dialogue on the future of the EU.

We underline our strong commitment to European unity and our firm conviction that, by acting together, our countries are stronger and European citizens in a better position to control their future.

We respect the desire of the British people expressed in the recent referendum. The notification of the UK intention to withdraw from the EU should be done as soon as possible. In the future, we hope to have the UK, as a close partner of the EU.

We are convinced that the European Union needs a new impulse in order to address the common challenges the Member States are facing, upholding its values of freedom, democracy and rule of law, as well as tolerance and solidarity.

This vision for Europe must be based on concrete measures that will contribute to the security of European citizens and improve their lives, assert Europe's global and regional role, improve the functioning of European Institutions and ensure their democratic accountability. Culture and education should be at the core of Europe's actions, in this framework.

Furthermore, we firmly believe that, in the interest of Europe as a whole, our common European project be built upon a perspective for the Mediterranean as a region of peace, stability and prosperity

We believe that the informal Summit in Bratislava on 16th September should lay the political basis for this new vision, the essential priorities for the future, as well as an agenda with concrete initiatives to be adopted.

In this framework, our countries propose the following priorities and measures:

1. Ensuring the internal and external security of Europe

The EU must strengthen our capacity to guarantee the security of our citizens and our territory and live up to our responsibility to respond to crises and act for peace and stability in our environment and in the world, in support of a Common Security and Defence Policy and in full compliance with the UN Charter. To this end, we need to enhance our cooperation and our commons means in the areas of security and defence, in a spirit of solidarity.

Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states as well as the inviolability of borders must remain fundamental principles for the EU.

In this respect, we support the negotiation process, for a just, viable and comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem, without guarantees, based on the relevant UNSC resolutions and the status of Cyprus as an EU member state.

In particular, the European Union should:

- Ensure the protection of its external borders, through systematic controls, necessary technologies, the interconnection of relevant databases and the effective establishment of the European Border and Coast Guard before the end of the year;

- Decisively strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism, by providing the necessary tools, especially in the fields of police and justice, as well as developing cooperation to address the phenomenon of radicalization, including through promoting a concrete initiative to enable investment in the regeneration, planning and adequate policies for the peripheries of European urban cities. Intelligence sharing should be enhanced, notably by creating a dedicated platform for real time and multilateral exchange. We will also strengthen cooperation with Mediterranean partners;

- Re-energize its Common Foreign and Security Policy in line with the Global Strategy for strategic guidance and scale up diplomatic initiatives for conflict-resolution and crisis-management, also taking into consideration lessons learned;

- Develop European military capacities and the defence industry with a view to reach strategic autonomy, notably through a European research program and a fund for security and defence and set up progressively a EU planning and conduct capability for European CSDP missions and operations. Full use should be made of the Lisbon Treaty's potential.

2. Reinforcing the cooperation in the Mediterranean and with African countries

Our partnerships with Mediterranean, and with African countries, are essential for our common security, stability and prosperity.

The EU should:

- Scale up all its cooperation and financing with a view to support the efforts of our partners to ensure their own security, to fight against irregular migration and to foster their economic development;

- In particular, upgrade the external dimension of EU Migration Policy and integrating it into EU external and development action. On this basis, and taking into account the La Valetta Action Plan and other relevant frameworks, efforts to implement the Partnership Framework on migration and conclude compacts with countries of origin and transit, must be stepped and adequately financed ;

- Enhance diplomatic efforts to solve crises and to contribute to peace and stability in its neighborhood.

3. Fostering Growth and Investment in Europe

Europe must keep its promise of prosperity and social justice. We need more growth and more investment to overcome the economic crisis, create jobs, protect our social model and prepare the future of our economies. We are determined to uphold the European social acquis and to promote social cohesion and convergence.

We assert our commitment to the process of European integration and the sustainable development of Europe īn the basis of balanced economic growth, price stability, and a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress.

In particular, the EU should:

- Foster investment by doubling the financing capacity of the European Fund for Strategic Investment ("Juncker Plan"), focusing on key priorities such as digital economy, low-carbon projects for energy, including energy interconnections and transport, infrastructure as well as research and training.

- The issue of bottlenecks, where they exist, should be addressed in order to promote investment and foster economic growth for the benefit of all citizens.

- It should be complemented by European policies supporting financing and investment, including the completion of the Banking Union and incentives for investment at national level, as well as policies and regulations for the digital single market, the energy Union and an industrial strategy.

- Promote employment and improved living and working conditions. To this end we need to pursue decisive growth-oriented structural reforms in order to improve the functioning of markets, enhance competitiveness and create jobs.

- Furthermore, investment projects in high unemployment member-states, and cross-border projects of common European interest that foster innovation and market integration, should be promoted.

- Combat tax evasion, aggressive tax planning as well as fiscal dumping.

- Fight against social dumping, by addressing issues related to fraud, abuses and circumvention of rules.

New steps should be taken to increase growth, convergence and stability in the Euro area.

The process of ratification of the COP21 Paris Agreement by the EU and its member states, must be accelerated so that they become parties to the Agreement as of its entry into force.

4. Strengthening programmes for youth

We need more ambitious initiatives at European level to facilitate mobility as well as access to training and jobs for young people. Europe should in particular extend and amplify the Youth Employment Initiative and broaden the Erasmus program.

5. Addressing the challenge of migration

The effective protection of EU external borders and the orderly management of the asylum and migration policy constitute key challenges for Europe's future. It should be based on international and EU law and the principles of solidarity and responsibility. Racism and xenophobia cannot be tolerated.

A comprehensive EU migration policy should include:

Making the European system for asylum more effective and more convergent, by reviewing the Dublin system on the basis of the principles of responsibility and solidarity, in particular towards the front-line states;

- Stepping up the secondment of personnel to FRONTEX and EASO for the support of the asylum systems of front-line states ; implementing European Council's conclusions regarding the need to accelerate relocation, which is still advancing at very low rate; pursuing the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement in order to continue to prevent tragic deaths and migration flows in the Aegean;

- Developing our migration policy by fighting against irregular migration, establishing robust readmission and returns arrangements, advancing legal migration and mobility possibilities and addressing the root causes of irregular migration.

We agree to continue our exchange on the priorities for the future of Europe as well as on cooperation in the Mediterranean.

The 2nd Summit of Mediterranean EU countries will be held in Portugal.

[04] Greece's economy is recovering, FinMin Tsakalotos tells Eurogroup

They also confirmed that the Eurogroup had called for a rapid completion of remaining milestones by the end of September so that the remaining 2.8 billion euros in bailout loans might be disbursed, with Tsakalotos agreeing that it was in everyone's interests for the prior actions to be completed soon.

With respect to Greece's debt, the Greek delegation noted that short-term measures to make this sustainable must be taken immediately and medium-term measures decided.

The Greek side also reported a rapid rate in settling the state's outstanding debts to the private sector, noting that 1.7 billion euros of the 2.8 billion euros due to be disbursed will be spent on settling these debts. According to finance ministry figures, even though the public sector initiated payments in mid-July, debts amounting to 1.45 billion euros had been paid by the end of August from the June sub-tranche of 1.8 billion euros, meaning that 80 pct of these funds reached the real economy.

[05] EU Mediterranean leaders' visit ends with tour of SNFCC

With the exception of Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, who had to depart earlier, the group arrived at 18:00 on Friday afternoon and posed for a group photograph. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi also left immediately after the family photo, though he seemed greatly impressed by the venue, citing another engagement in Bari later the same day.

The EU leaders were given a tour of the new facility and discussed cultural issues in a very relaxed atmosphere. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Maltese counterpart Joseph Muscat departed shortly before 19:00.

[06] New gold for Greece in Rio after Stefanoudakis prevails in javelin event

Congratulations for the athlete's achievement were sent by President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis but also the regional authority governor of his native Crete, among others.

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