Kotzias: Greece should take initiative to organize meetings for stability in the Balkans


Greece should take initiative to organize meetings and coordinate with countries sharing the same position on stability in the Balkans regarding North Macedonia’s European perspective, former Greek foreign minister Nikos Kotzias told a conference on progressive foreign policy organized by ENA Institute for Alternative Policies.

Participants in the conference discussed aspects of Greek foreign policy, positions of the current Greek government, as well as recent developments following France’s veto on North Macedonia and Albania’s European perspective.

Kotzias voiced criticism for the policy of the current Greek government, saying that it was “looking inward, as Macron did to a large extent.” He noted that foreign policy is not conducted by looking inwards and initiatives and activities are needed.

The former foreign minister pointed out that he would personally take initiative for North Macedonia’s European perspective.

Regarding the EU Summit in Brussels, Kotzias said that the Union hadn’t reached a decision against integration, on the contrary, but in the end, the decision had been blocked by France. Therefore, he underlined, an active foreign policy was necessary, with specific goals and concrete measures.

According to Kotzias, what needed to be done ahead of the Summit was an alliance of countries supporting North Macedonia’s integration, i.e. the Visegrad countries, Balkan and Baltic countries, a solid front of 15 countries which would have taken up the position that “if France vetoes, it would face a veto from these countries.”
If Macron is expressing his anger towards Germany for not deepening European unification, if he’s expressing his anger towards the European Parliament for electing Germany’s defense minister to be European Commission President and refusing to elect his minister as member of the Commission, if he’s angry, and rightly so, that the U.S. didn’t notify him on withdrawing from Syria, If we look at France’s internal situations and the fear of Le Pen, and all things considered, then why wouldn’t he cast a veto? I asked friends in France how society there reacts to Macron’s veto, and they said everyone was happy about it,” Kotzias said analyzing the position of the French President regarding North Macedonia and Albania’s European perspective.