Athens , 3 March 2011

Mr. Delavekouras: Good morning. I’ll start with the announcements. At 13:00 tomorrow, 4 March 2011, Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas will attend the luncheon being hosted in his honor by the Hungarian Ambassador to Athens. The Ambassadors to Athens of EU member states will be attending.

At 12:00 on Wednesday, 9 March, Mr. Droutsas will receive the new Moldovan Ambassador to Greece.

On 10 March, there will be an extraordinary meeting of EU Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation in North Africa, in preparation for the Extraordinary European Council Meeting on 11 March.

On 11 and 12 March, Mr. Droutsas will be in Budapest to participate in the Informal Meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, where they will discuss EU External Relations issues and EEAS issues. There will also be a discussion with the Foreign Ministers of candidate countries on Southern Partnership issues.

Alternate Foreign Minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou will meet on Friday, 4 March 2011, with the Spanish Deputy European Affairs Minister, who will be visiting Athens.

Mr. Kouvelis will participate today in a meeting with Greek investors in Egypt and Libya.

At 11:00 on Wednesday, 9 March, Mr. Kouvelis will meet at his office with the Serbian Ambassador to Athens.

At 10:00 on Thursday, 10 March, Mr. Kouvelis will receive the Kuwaiti Ambassador, and at 12:00 he will receive the new head of the FYROM Liaison Office.

The Foreign Ministry’s Secretary General, Ambassador Zepos, will meet on 9 March with the Secretary General of the Netherlands Foreign Ministry.

Let me also say that this morning there was a meeting on the situation in Libya and North Africa and the Middle East, with the participation of the political and diplomatic leadership of the Foreign Ministry, as well as the special envoy for the Middle East and representatives of the academic community.

This meeting looked at all the issues concerning the situation at this time in Libya and the wider region, the potential for sending humanitarian aid, the matter of migration, preparation for the ‘day after’: how things are taking shape in the wake of all these developments in the countries of the region. There was also a discussion of the idea we have for founding a Center for Democracy that will be able to help civil society in these countries as they move towards building democratic institutions. They discussed the Greek business presence in the region and issues concerning Israel and Turkey, and it was decided to set up a working group to prepare recommendations that will be presented to the Minister on Wednesday, ahead of the extraordinary meeting of EU Foreign Ministers. Academics and foreign service personnel will participate, including Mr. Dokos, Mr. Rousos. Others may be added, along with competent Ministry Directorates, under the special envoy for the Middle East.

Regarding the postponement of the census in Albania, I would like to say that on 27 February, the Albanian Minister responsible for the census announced its postponement – it was set to take place in early April. Assessments put the new date some time in the autumn. As for the reasons for the postponement, the Albanian government points to the closeness of the 8 May local elections and the problems this might cause for the smooth conduct of the census.

For our part, we note the decision of the Albanian government, as well as the reasons they have put forward for the postponement. However, we need to point out that the date for the local elections has been known for some time now and is not a recent development that would justify a change in plans. This, in combination with the strong reactions of nationalist circles – as well as state functionaries, unfortunately – in Albania against the inclusion in the questionnaire of optional questions on national origin, faith and mother tongue raises questions as to the real motives for the postponement, particularly since the postponement was welcomed by these circles as a victory: the Albanian government backing down following their demands that what they consider problematic questions be removed from the questionnaire.

In any case, we note with satisfaction the assurances of the competent Minister – who is also the President of the Central Committee for the Census – that the Albanian government continues to support the conducting of the census with a questionnaire that will contain the optional questions I mentioned. Obviously, we will continue to monitor the situation.

I remind you that the conducting of the census within 2011 – with a questionnaire including optional questions on national origin, religious convictions and mother tongue of members of the population – is seen by the EU as a prerequisite for Albania’s meeting its obligation to compile precise data on minorities, including the Greek National Minority. Moreover, the Albanian government needs to ensure that the census is conducted in an environment that allows each person to provide the data for the questionnaire unhindered. The creation of such a climate is inconsistent with the activities of extremist national circles, which have a longstanding tactic of targeting the Greek National Minority and Greece, which does not strengthen the climate of trust that we want to maintain and deepen with Albania.

Finally, I would like to read a Foreign Ministry announcement regarding the funding of non-governmental organizations.

With regard to the funding of development programmes in past years, the following is noted: From a preliminary inquiry carried out on the instructions of Foreign Minister Droutsas, it was ascertained that the data submitted to Parliament regarding the funding of NGOs was inaccurate due to errors of the electronic records system. This data does not represent the actual disbursement of funds within the framework of implementation of programmes. The disbursement of sums by the Foreign Ministry for the funding of development programmes is done following very thorough vetting of documentation and in accordance with State Accounting procedures.

It is to be noted that an Evaluation Committee has been set up by decision of Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis – uploaded on http://diavgeia.gov.gr/ on 21 January 2011 (Number 4A9ME-B) – which will have examined all the pending programmes by the end of March, so that this  can be completely cleared up. The procedure provides for the vetting of all funding programmes of past years, so as to ensure complete accuracy of data. When the audit has been completed, the verified data will be submitted analytically to Parliament.

By decision of the competent Deputy Foreign Minister, Spyros Kouvelis, a call was not issued for funding proposals in 2010 and 2011, and as a result, no new programme has been funded for that period. The goal is for all pending matters to be wound up within 2011.

As announced by the Foreign Ministry at the recent meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Institutions and Transparency, the Ministry is drawing up a new legislative framework that will ensure complete transparency of actions and funding, as well as the effectiveness of activities, bearing in mind both the international obligations of Greece as well as our national interests. New funding will be carried out based on the new legislative framework.

Main points:

[On the postponement of the Albanian census]

·       “The Albanian government points to the closeness of the 8 May local elections and the problems this might cause for the smooth conduct of the census.”

·       “We need to point out that the date for the local elections had been known for some time now and is not a recent development that would justify a change in plans. This, in combination with the strong reactions of nationalist circles – as well as state functionaries, unfortunately – in Albania against the inclusion in the questionnaire of optional questions on national origin, faith and mother tongue raises questions as to the real motives for the postponement, particularly since the postponement was welcomed by these circles as a victory: the Albanian government backing down following their demands that what they consider problematic questions be removed from the questionnaire.”

·       “In any case, we note with satisfaction the assurances of the competent Minister – who is also the President of the Central Committee for the Census – that the Albanian government continues to support the taking of the census with a questionnaire that will contain the optional questions I mentioned. Obviously, we will continue to monitor the situation.”

·       “The conducting of the census within 2011 – with a questionnaire including optional questions on national origin, religious convictions and mother tongue of members of the population – is seen by the EU as a prerequisite for Albania’s meeting its obligation to compile precise data on minorities, so that  the appropriate policies can then be formulated.”

·       “It is our position that only through giving all members of the population the option of stating their national origin can Albania meet its obligations to its citizens with regard to respect for minorities, including the Greek National Minority.”

·       “Moreover, the Albanian government needs to ensure that the census is conducted in an environment that allows each person to provide the data for the questionnaire unhindered.”

[On NGO funding]

·       “From a preliminary inquiry carried out on the instructions of Foreign Minister Droutsas, it was ascertained that the data submitted to Parliament regarding the funding of NGOs was inaccurate due to errors of the electronic records system.”

·       “This data does not represent the actual disbursement of funds within the framework of implementation of programmes. The disbursement of sums by the Foreign Ministry for the funding of development programmes is done following very thorough vetting of documentation and in accordance with State Accounting procedures.”

·       “It is to be noted that an Evaluation Committee has been set up by decision of Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis and will have examined all the pending programmes by the end of March, so that this can be completely cleared up. The procedure provides for the vetting of all funding programmes of past years, so as to ensure complete accuracy of data. When the audit has been completed, the verified data will be submitted analytically to Parliament.”

·       “By decision of the competent Deputy Foreign Minister, Spyros Kouvelis, a call was not issued for funding proposals in 2010 and 2011, and as a result, no new programme has been funded for that period. The goal is for all pending matters to be wound up within 2011.”

[On the Libya repatriation operations]

·       “We have completed the repatriation of Greeks from five different locations, under very difficult conditions; Greeks who were essentially in every corner of Libya, in what were essentially conditions of war, and we really are satisfied at the fact that everyone got back safe and sound, with the exception, of course, of the member of our Embassy staff who was wounded while working on this operation.”

·       “There are still some Greeks in Libya. We are in contact with them, naturally, and operations for the repatriation of foreign nationals are continuing. Crete has hosted thousands so far and is functioning as a transit center from where evacuees can continue on to their countries. We are coordinating with many, many countries. We are collaborating well. Naturally, there are problems that we are dealing with constantly.”

·       “Greek shipping once again functioned as a lifeline for thousands of people, and we are taking care – precisely because we have this important position – to help as many as we can to get back.”