Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-06-21

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] All must assume their responsibilities on EU Treaty, PM says at EU summit dinner

[01] All must assume their responsibilities on EU Treaty, PM says at EU summit dinner

"We must all assume our responsibilities. In the event of failure we must examine other ways to enable Europe to forge ahead, utilising the mechanism of strengthened coooperations," he said.

Addressing, earlier in the day, the European Peoples Party (EPP) summit, the prime minister stressed the need to move forward with the European Constitutional Treaty, which 18 of the member-states had already ratified, while underlining that "we all have an obligation to honour our signatures".

"Who said that all 18 of us that have already ratified the Treaty are fully satisfied with the text that we decided on? We in Greece, for example, would like institutionally more Europe," he said.

The Greek premier reminded those present that a series of compromises had been made "so that we could arrive at a text on which we all finally agreed".

He also said that the two countries that had rejected the European Constitutional Treaty in referendums, France and the Netherlands, must be assisted in accepting it but not by making fundamental changes to the treaty negotiated:

"There must be some minor changes but on no account should those changes touch on the substance," he stressed, while underlining that no one stood to gain by raising "individual demands".

"This must not happen, to the extent that it may disrupt the general principle of the EU's operation, since this is what we are seeking with the Constitutional Treaty," he added.

If no agreement was achieved, Greece was "ready to proceed with those countries that also desire more Europe," Karamanlis concluded.

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