Athens, 2 May 2023

Members of German Bundestag and members of Konrad Adenauer Foundation visit Hellenic Parliament

A delegation of Members of the German Bundestag, headed by Mr Carsten Körber and accompanied by members of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Greece and Cyprus Office, visited the Hellenic Parliament. The delegation was welcomed by the 2nd Vice-President of the Parliament Charalambos Athanasiou. During the meeting, which aimed to inform the delegation on the Greek economy, the management of the migration issue and the upcoming national elections, Mr Athanasiou, after praising the historic relations between the two countries, presented the achievements of the Greek economy during its exit from the economic crisis, which are reflected in the national economy’s growth indexes and referred to the upcoming announcement on the decrease of the Greek public debt to GDP ratio. 

Mr Athanasiou referred to Greece’s successful management of the migration issue, i.e. border protection and preserving legitimacy on the one hand, and respect for human life and dignity on the other, pointing out at the same time the need for the EU to assume initiatives in the direction of a balanced allocation of burden regarding the refugee issue, through the review of the Dublin II Treaty, but also through the creation of a Public European Union Agency for Granting Asylum.

Summing up, Mr Athanasiou raised anew the issue of German reparations as perhaps the only pending issue in the otherwise excellent bilateral relations, expressing the hope that Germany will reconsider its stance on it. 

Taking the floor, both the Head of the German delegation Carsten Körber and the Vice-President of the Bundestag Yvonne Magwas, and after praising Greece’s impressive performance in the field of the economy and the management of the migration issue, recognised its remarkable advantage over Germany, in the field of the digital transformation of the state, which makes it an example to follow.  

Then, the chairperson of the Greece-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group during the previous parliamentary term Theodoros Roussopoulos delivered a greeting. Mr Roussopoulos, referring, inter alia, to the issue of the German reparations, recognised a dynamism in the relations of the two countries, as they have been shaped in the years of the financial crisis and then evolved in the years of the pandemic, with joint initiatives to address the impact of the now health crisis, through the establishment of the Recovery Fund. He made special reference to the War in Ukraine and Turkey’s controversial stance, expressing the view that Germany is in a position, due to its increased influence over the neighbouring country, to seek Turkey’s accession to the path of respect for the rules of democracy and international law.

 

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