There are three issues that will be on the agenda of the European Council. We will have the opportunity to talk to President Zelenskyy and to hear his proposals on the victory plan he has formulated.
I want to repeat Greece’s longstanding position, which is also the position of the European Council: it will be Ukraine that will choose when it will start peace negotiations with Russia. But it must be able to do so from a position of strength and not from a position of weakness.
We will have an initial discussion on competitiveness issues, which we will also examine in more detail at the informal European Council in Budapest. I want to reiterate the full support of the Greek government for the proposals that Mr Draghi has put forward in his report regarding the issues of competitiveness in the European Union.
I also want to say once again that, as we stand today, the ambitious goals of the European Union are not in line with the economic means we have at our disposal to be able to achieve them.
We will also deal extensively with the issue of migration. Greece, for the past five years, has been at the forefront of implementing a very strict but fair policy to deal with illegal immigration issues. And I am pleased to note that gradually both the European Council and the European Commission have come very close to the Greek position, giving great importance to the external dimension of the issue of illegal immigration and the effective management of EU borders.
What is missing from our European strategy is an effective policy of returns. I am particularly pleased because this is something that is also recognised by the President of the European Commission, whom we will empower, it seems, to be able to present innovative proposals to the Council on how we can make the return of those who are not entitled to asylum to their countries of origin more effective.
On this point I want to remind you that returns must also be made towards Turkey, because this is also within the framework of the EU-Turkey Agreement from 2016.
Therefore, I look forward to a very substantive debate on an issue that is of great concern to Europe, but an issue that, I want to stress, is not high on the list of problems that our Greek citizens say they are concerned about, because quite simply Greece has been very effective in dealing with the issue of illegal immigration. Therefore, I believe that we can also make a substantial contribution to this debate by bringing the Greek experience to the European Council.
Journalist: What is your position on return hubs?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Returns are the missing link in our migration policy. As you know, Greece has been implementing for the past five years a very tough, but we believe, fair migration policy. I’m happy about the fact that gradually, the European Council has recognised the importance of the external dimension of migration and the need to effectively protect the European border. But of course, as you know, the Pact on Migration and Asylum does not address a question of returns.
We cannot accept the fact that we are not effective to deal with those who are not entitled protection status in the European Union. I’m eager to find out more about the innovative solutions proposed by the Commission, and I’m happy about the fact that we recognise that we need to think out of the box in order to address this pressing concern. Thank you.
