Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, congratulated his Greek counterpart on the Prespes agreement and Greece’s strategic role in the Balkans, during his official visit to Athens.
During their joint press conference the Danish leader referenced the close relations between Greece and Denmark as partners in the European Union and other international organisations, and the long-term friendly relations between the two peoples.
Greece’s Prime Minister stressed the need for economic and social convergence in the EU and said Denmark had a ‘model’ system for welfare and social benefits.
The two leaders agreed that migration demands a coherent European approach so as to address the issue more effectively, Tsipras said stressing that Greece continues to receive migratory flows and that emphasis should be given to promoting cooperation with countries outside the EU in the field of readmission, through a coordinated use of the collective influence of the EU and its member states.
The Greek government supports the reinforcement of the resettlement procedures and the revision of the Dublin Regulation on the basis of the principles of solidarity and fair sharing of responsibilities, added the Greek Prime Minister, while Frontex was also discussed, as Denmark contributes members to the European border patrol agency’s Greek mission.
Tsipras said that, despite Denmark’s distance from Greece, “it seems to understand the problem of migration better,” and briefed the Danish prime minister on the initiatives that Greece is developing in the Western Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean region, through trilateral and quadrilateral cooperation schemes and the promotion of stability and security.
“This very vision of stability and security is precisely what we enacted in the Balkan region, through the historic Prespes Agreement, which we signed in 2018 with the Republic of North Macedonia,” concluded Tsipras.
