Varvitsiotis to Osmani: Full implementation of the Prespa Agreement for support in the EU


Greek alternate Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis in a letter to Deputy PM Bujar Osmani said Greece supports the country’s EU integration bid, noting that full implementation of the Prespa Agreement is an imperative. “The European integration process of the Western Balkan countries is a strategic priority of the Republic of Greece. We support the EU …

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Greek Defense Minister: Only way to challenge the Agreement is to create a legal argument if one of the parties violates its terms


Once the agreement has been signed and ratified in Parliament, it creates a plethora of legal responsibilities which make it difficult for anyone to disengage, Greece’s Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said in an interview with Parapolitika newspaper, in an answer to a question about the Prespa Agreement. The Greek Minister, also a lawyer, says the …

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Pyatt: United States supports North Macedonia to become an effective NATO member


The United States Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt, in an interview with Greek daily Kathimerini, said that the US focus is to support North Macedonia to become powerful and effective NATO member state. Concerning signaling from new Greek government on Prespa Agreement, he said that “he will leave the Greek government alone to speak about …

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Mitsotakis and Tsipras clash in Parliament ahead of vote of confidence


A three-day parliamentary debate of the newly-elected New Democracy government’s policy program for the next four years got underway in Greek parliament on Saturday. The debate will culminate in a vote of confidence in the Kyriacos Mitsotakis administration on Monday night. Addressing MPs for the first time as premier, Kyriacos Mitsotakis outlined his conservative government’s …

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Philip Reeker to visit North Macedonia and Greece


Acting Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip T. Reeker will travel to Greece and North Macedonia July 21-27 to engage with government representatives, civil society, and business leaders. In Athens, Ambassador Reeker will meet with Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and other new government leaders to discuss core issues for the bilateral relationship including …

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Mitsotakis: The conduct and cooperation of our neighbors will define their path to the EU


Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in a speech related to the government’s confidence vote, said that he conduct and cooperation of our neighbors will define their path to the European Union. Mitsotakis briefly referred to the Prespa Agreement and Greek-Turkish relations. “As we have said on several occasions, a priority is to mitigate the negative …

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Zaev: We expect strategic partnership with Greece to continue


Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev says he expects strategic partnership and good neighbourly relations with Greece to continue even after the arrival of a new government in this country. Zaev stated this last evening in a televised interview. He said that the new Greek PM, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is careful with the Prespes Agreement. …

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The sky closed in on Halkidiki


A day later, the footage from Halkidiki, where the storm on Wednesday night took seven lives, look apocalyptic, and these recordings are maybe the best proof of the dreadful events that devastated the region. Snapped trees, ruined cars, torn down rooftops, broken glass everywhere, all kinds of objects scattered along the coast and in the …

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Wilson: Mitsotakis will need to demonstrate that Greece can stick to its commitments to North Macedonia


Greece’s new Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis would need to demonstrate that Greece can stick to its commitments, including support for North Macedonia’s potential EU accession, Atlantic Council Executive Vice President Damon Wilson said, commenting on New Democracy’s victory at the early parliamentary election held in Greece on July 7. “Tsipras was instrumental in reaching an …

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Zaev congratulates Greece’s new PM Mitsotakis on his victory


North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has congratulated Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a phone call on Monday for winning the elections, and the two of them have jointly voiced hope for continuing cooperation between North Macedonia and Greece. PM Zaev said on his Facebook profile that he has congratulated New Democracy’s President and also new Prime …

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New Democracy’s Mitsotakis sworn in as Greece’s new PM


The leader of the conservative New Democracy party Kyriakos Mitsotakis was sworn in as Greece’s new prime minister on Monday, just 15 hours after voting ended. In a swift move, the result of Sunday’s elections was formally submitted to President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Mitsotakis was prime minister by 1 pm (1000 GMT). Mitsotakis was expected …

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How will Mitsotakis’ win affect relations with North Macedonia?


The victory of New Democracy party in yesterday’s parliamentary elections held in Greece was the focus of political debate in North Macedonia. What will the country’s new PM, Mitsotakis, do about the Prespa Agreement signed between Tsipras and Zaev, a deal which put an end to a long lasting dispute between Athens and Skopje? Former …

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Pyatt: I didn’t meet with Zoran Zaev, don’t believe everything you read


I didn’t meet with Zoran Zaev, don’t believe everything you see in the press, said U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt, commenting on speculation reported by some Greek media over an alleged meeting between the two in Halkidiki. A news website published an article with the headline “Zaev and Pyatt spend the weekend in Halkidiki”, …

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Merkel: Leaders in the region should follow Zaev and Tsipras’ example of courage


“Many German citizens have personal relations with people from the Western Balkans, many people from the Western Balkans live in Germany and represent a bridge between the countries. The people of these countries are our neighbors and their perspective is to join the EU while meeting all criteria,” Chancellor Merkel told Sunday’s video-podcast regarding this …

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Greek PM Tsipras: Our neighbor meets the required criteria for starting the accession process


In an interview with ERT3, Greece’s Prime Minister Tsipras says the delay of North Macedonia’s accession negotiations is owed to the German Bundestag’s impossibility to give the green light “because of the summer break”. “The delay of North Macedonia’s accession negotiations is not a result of the country’s failure to implement reforms, but mainly because of …

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