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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 14-01-14Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] France will support Greece's EU presidency, Fabius tells Venizelos"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: ANA-MPA -- Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos met in Paris on Monday with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius, for an one-hour discussion that primarily centred on Greece's agenda in the rotating EU presidency during the first half of 2014. "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Speaking during a press conference after the end of the meeting, Venizelos told reporters he had the chance to present Greece's main priorities, with a focus on growth, jobs, the social state, illegal migration, border protection, integration of economic governance and specifically the banking union, which would result in "a real single banking market." "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Discussion between the two men also focused on a priority issue highlighted by Greece "on a horizontal maritime policy, expanding from the environment and energy to the delineation of sea zones, in accordance with international law, especially in the Mediterranean," Venizelos said. "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Referring to the crisis in Syria, he pledged that Greece's EU presidency will work for a successful outcome at the "Geneva II" peace process, adding that Greece wanted to draw attention to the humanitarian aspects of the specific issue since "Syria is an ongoing humanitarian crisis." "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Venizelos also briefed Fabius on Greece's diplomatic initiatives on environmental security in the Mediterranean during the operation to destroy Syria's chemical arsenal. "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Other issues discussed included Iran, the Middle East peace process, developments in Arab states, such as Egypt and Libya, and the Eastern Partnership with Russia and the Ukraine. "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: While Venizelos described Greek-French bilateral relations as "excellent", Fabius also called for "a more active economic and investment presence by French businesses in Greece.""Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New"; Fabius: 'France will be at Greece's side'"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: In his own statements after meeting Venizelos, Fabius stressed that France will be "at Greece's side" and support the country's EU presidency, expressing certainty that this will be "exercised successfully". "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: The French foreign minister underlined that the next six months will be very important, since there were a number of outstanding issues that had to be resolved, as well as being politically significant due to the upcoming European Parliament elections. "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: He said that Greek and French views "fully coincided" on many of the issues ahead, adding that priority must be given to growth and jobs, the banking union and labour issues. "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: With respect to international affairs, he said the discussion was dominated by events in Syria and the Geneva II talks to set up a transition government. The French side also raised the issue of the Central African Republic, where Fabius said that France hopes for greater European involvement in the issue, which is due to be discussed in Brussels on January 20. "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Fabius described bilateral relations with Greece as "excellent in the cultural and economic sectors," and accepted an invitation from Venizelos to visit Greece. "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Normal 0 false false false EL X-NONE X-NONE DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99" /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |