Athens, 19 July 2021

Launch of parliamentary dimension of Slovenian Presidency with Chairpersons meeting of Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC)

The Chairpersons meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) was held today via teleconference in the framework of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The Hellenic Parliament was represented by Nikitas Kaklamanis, Vice-President of the Parliament and Chairperson of the European Affairs Committee and by Dimitris Kairidis, 1^st Deputy Chair of the Committee.

Mr. Kaklamanis said that Greece supports the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency and expressed the country’s readiness to work together with its partners in a spirit of constructive cooperation. He characterised as historic the approval of the Greek recovery plan, which coincides with the anniversary of the 200 years since the Greek Revolution, expressing the certainty that the upcoming disbursements by the Recovery Fund will allow the country to implement a plan that will create jobs and growth in the field of energy, digital modernisation and infrastructure. He then welcomed the initiatives of the Slovenian Presidency to promote the European way of life, especially the emphasis on the need to address the negative demographic trends, and expressed the view that the demographic issue could be raised in the framework of the Conference for the Future of Europe, even though it is not on the agenda. Lastly, he reiterated our country’s support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans with the prerequisite that these countries will take the necessary steps towards the European acquis and not the other way around, i.e. that Europe adjust to their reality.

In his intervention in the session on cyber security in the EU, Mr. Kairidis stressed that the pandemic further demonstrated the importance of digitalisation, estimating that the EU can be a digital superpower, which will set the global regulatory framework and the standards for cyber security globally, making good use of digital means to also reduce regional disparities. He noted the significant progress that has been achieved in the last two years in Greece in the field of digitalisation of public services. Inevitably, he concluded, these developments bring the issue of cyber security to the forefront, making it imperative to finance further protection of the EU against cyber attacks in the private and public sector.

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