The Issue of the European Union's Credibility he asked, as he approached the Summit At noon on Thursday, the Prime Minister, referring to the issue of Turkey and the decisions that are to be made. The Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a clear message to the Anchor that he must stop provoking others.
«What is at stake is very, very clear: the credibility of the European Union. At the October European Council, we—all the heads of state and government—decided that If Turkey continues its unlawful behavior, there will be consequences. »And we have jointly agreed that the decisions will be made at this European Council meeting in December," Mr. Mitsotakis emphasized.
«Now, then, we will see whether we, as Europe, are truly trustworthy when it comes to the things we ourselves have agreed upon.". Pacta sunt servanda »(Agreements must be honored),” the prime minister pointed out.
The Prime Minister's statement in full
«Among the extremely packed agenda of the European Summit, I would like to highlight two issues that are of particular importance: The first concerns the the pending veto imposed by Hungary and Poland regarding the approval of the budget and the Recovery Fund. I believe that the compromise proposal that has been reached is a step in the right direction and that this issue, this outstanding matter, will be resolved today.
As you know, Greece is one of the first countries to have already submitted its own detailed plan on how it will utilize the resources of the Recovery Fund. It is extremely important, given the extent of the economic crisis, that the money from the Recovery Fund reach Europe’s real economies as soon as possible.
The second issue we will address concerns the situation in Eastern Mediterranean and our relations with Turkey. Here, what is at stake is very, very clear: the credibility of the European Union. At the October European Council, we—all the heads of state and government—decided that if Turkey continues its non-compliant behavior, there will be consequences. And we jointly agreed that the date for making those decisions would be this European Council—the December European Council.
Now, then, we will see whether we in Europe are truly trustworthy when it comes to the agreements we ourselves have made. «Pacta sunt servanda.».
It should be recalled that yesterday, speaking at the European People’s Party Summit, the prime minister had taken a similar line, emphasizing that Greece is asking the European Council to abide by the decisions of October 2 «and send a clear message to Turkey,» which is also a matter of credibility for Europe.
Referring to Turkey’s behavior, the prime minister noted that Turkey had rejected Europe’s offer to pursue a positive agenda, choosing instead the path of unilateral actions, while reiterating that Ankara had had many opportunities to withdraw the research vessel from the Greek continental shelf, but chose to do so «ostentatiously ten days before the European Council summit.».
Athens is not opposed in principle to the idea of a positive agenda toward Turkey—an issue that was, in fact, raised in October— but for this to happen, Ankara itself must first demonstrate that it wants to change course.
Along the same lines, sources from the Maximum They note that the government does not want the sanctions to punish Turkey, but rather as a means of pressure to change its behavior. That is why Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated yesterday that Greece always seeks dialogue and the normalization of relations with Turkey, but added that «we cannot expect it to change its behavior unless pressure is applied.».
