We cannot imagine Europe without the United Kingdom, the Foreign Minister stressed
O Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis Visiting New York in the context of Greece’s high-level opening debate on maritime security, he interviewed the US television network CNN and journalist Richard Quest, including the United Kingdom-EU agreement, the economic recovery of Greece.
Answering a question on the United Kingdom-EU agreement and its benefits for tourism and trade, Mr Gerapetritis warmly welcomed the new agreement, pointing out Greece’s support and active participation in its completion.
It emphasized its importance not only for trade and tourism, two main pillars of the Greek -British relationship, but also for European strategic autonomy. As he said, Europe cannot exist without the cooperation of the United Kingdom and this agreement is a substantial upgrading of cooperation. Greece looks forward to continuing the common path.
“I believe that beyond trade, peoples’ diplomacy and tourism, this is an important step in strengthening European strategic autonomy. We cannot imagine Europe without the United Kingdom. It is a great upgrade and we look forward to working closely,” he said.
As to whether this agreement “reflects a delayed but necessary adaptation due to the US-Russia geopolitical pressure” and “could have been achieved earlier, if there was no political stiffness”, Mr Gerapetritis said that today’s geopolitical reality had imposed a Greek reality. As he explained, in times of crisis, states tend to rally, seeking common power and enhanced negotiating capacity. Today’s international risks have led to necessary convergence.
“It is important to sit on the table and discuss … When challenges appear, states, governments come closer. The more united they are, the stronger they become, they gain more influence and negotiating weapons. All of this brought us close. I think this is the beginning of a great alliance.
Asked about Greece’s economic recovery after the crisis, Mr Gerapetritis described the difficult times Greece has gone, with a decade of austerity and nearly 25% loss of GDP. He pointed out, however, the impressive recovery of the last six years, with the country leading to Europe at growth, reducing unemployment and limiting the deficit. He stressed that Greece is now borrowing in terms of corresponding or even better than other European countries, which confirms the return of market confidence. At the same time, it highlighted the importance of the government’s political stability and pro -investment policy.
“We have a stable government, investment -friendly. That is why we have welcomed in Greece leading US companies such as Amazon, Pfizer, Google, Cisco. They all found a fertile environment, ”said Mr. Gerapetritis.
Concerning the goals of Greece in the UN Open Safe debate, the Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed that 80% of world trade is marketed by sea and so sea safety is critical to the global economy.
He highlighted the need to protect the freedom of navigation and dealing with modern threats, such as climate crisis, cyberattacks, terrorism, piracy and the movement of people. As he explained, Greece will propose a new international context that will allow greater freedom of movement, as well as increased measures to protect against hybrid threats. He placed particular emphasis on the fight against trafficking in human beings, which he described as a modern threat to human dignity.
“All of these challenges must be addressed. The fact that this is a global challenge means a global answer,” he noted.