Press Releases
Athens, 22 September 2021
Official visit by France – Greece Parliamentary Friendship Group of French National Assembly
Europe and its prospects, in view of France assuming the EU Councli Presidency in the first semester of 2022, were discussed during the meeting held today between the delegations of the France – Greece Parliamentary Friendship Group of the French National Assembly and the European Affairs Committee of the Hellenic Parliament, with the participation of the latter’s Deputy Chair Dimitris Kairidis, the Secretary Chara Kefalidou and the members Ioannis Bournous and Babis Papadimitriou.
They discussed the need to adopt an effective European Asylum and Migration Pact that will compel all member states to actively show their solidarity to the countries of first entry of migrants and refugees, the need to relax the Stability Pact, which will allow the financing of major European policies, such as addressing climate change, and the need to strengthen the common defence policy and the guarding of European borders, while they also exchanged views on the impact of the pandemic.
The close, historical Greek – French relations were confirmed at the strategic, economic and cultural level, while the issue of Turkey’s misconduct was also discussed at length, with Mr. Kairidis pointing out the “question at the heart of this issue is simple, will Turkey respect International Law or not and will 21st century Europe tolerate such misconduct against its members states”.
The French delegation included the Chairwoman of the Friendship Group Marietta Karamanli and the members Hugues Renson, Vice-President of the French National Assembly, Sacha Houlié and Geraldine Bannier. The discussion took place in a very cordial atmosphere and both sides emphasized that parliamentary diplomacy plays a great role in the ongoing communication between the two peoples. Mr. Houlie advocated a more dynamic EU policy towards member states that do not meet their obligations in ensuring the rule of law, a position that the Greek MPs share.
During their 3-day visit the French MPs also met with a delegation from the Educational Affairs Committee of the Hellenic Parliament, in particular the Committee’s Chairman Vassilis Digalakis, the Secretary Christina Alexopoulou and members Sia Anagnostopoulou, Chara Kefalidou and Ioannis Delis. The issues that dominated the discussion were the expansion of the Erasmus Programme, student exchanges and strengthening academic cooperation, as well as initiatives for the recognition of ancient Greek and Latin as intangible cultural heritage.
The delegation of the France – Greece Friendship Group of the French National Assembly also met with a delegation from the Greece – France Friendship Group of the Hellenic Parliament. It was in fact the Chairman of the Friendship Group Christodoulos Stefanadis who extended the invitation for their official visit in the Greek capital.
The two delegations reaffirmed the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries and expressed their will to further develop inter-parliamentary cooperation. The discussion focused on issues of security, migration, social policy, education and the health crisis, but also on the stakes of the 2022 French elections.
In addition to the parliamentary meetings, the French delegation was also received by the President of the Hellenic Republic and met with the Minister of Climate Change and Civil Protection Christos Stylianidis, the Minister of Education Niki Kerameos and the Mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis.
The French MPs will conclude their visit tomorrow after a guided tour of the Delphi archaeological site and Museum.
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