Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gave conditional guarantees for his support to the new nominees for the positions of President of the European Council, European Central Bank and European Commission on Wednesday during the EU Summit.
The nominees for the top EU positions are Ursula von der Leyen for European Commission President, Christine Lagarde for European Central Bank President and Charles Michel for European Council President.
According to sources, Tsipras assured the socialist Prime Ministers and German Chancellor Angela Merkel of his support for the proposed nominations for the top EU jobs and back a unanimous decision of all 28 leaders at the EU Summit on the following conditions:
1. That the EU continues the same EU policy on Turkey (targeted measures, Cyprus issue, and dialogue), North Macedonia and Albania.
2. That Greece keep the crucial migration portfolio, which is of huge importance for Europe and particularly for Greece, as a major recipient of the migration flows.
According to the same sources, Greece received the necessary assurances from the socialist leaders and Merkel during conversations held on the phone.
Additionally, Tsipras had earlier spoken on the phone with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and they agreed that, regarding the new president of the European Commission, the initial indications from her visits to Greece and Cyprus were largely positive in relation with the two countries' positions and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The socialist leaders informed the Greek Prime Minster that a consensus for the selection of a progressive candidate to lead the European Commission had proved impossible and spoke with him about possible alternatives in order to avoid a total impasse, finally arriving at a compromise "that averted much more unfavourable proposals," the sources said.
