Ministers, dear colleagues

Ambassadors,

Dear Presidents of the Chambers of Industry and Commerce from all participating countries,

Dear representatives of the business communities,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all in Athens today.

I would like to congratulate the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises for taking the initiative of convening this important Conference entitled “Bridging the Mediterranean: The Athens Business Forum”. 

Last year, the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs was second only to France in organizing a Conference of the representatives of our economy. In that first Conference, we called upon our entrepreneurs to make valid the framework of the new Union for the Mediterranean. This is - to use a favourite expression of President Sarkozy - a Union of projects, primarily.

And I am grateful and profoundly satisfied that the Greek business community and all of you responded so promptly and so efficiently to the call of the times for a new era in the Mediterranean.

You form an impressive assembly of the creative forces of our societies.

You find yourselves together under the same roof and you discuss concrete projects; New business partnerships and new opportunities for the Mediterranean. 

I congratulate you all for your pioneer Conference.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please allow me to give you an outline of the political background in which Greek and European policy in the Mediterranean region is formulated.

Let me start with my country’s policy and priorities in the region:

Greece has always emphasized the importance of bridging the Mediterranean. After all, the first culturally and commercially unified period in its history was the Hellenistic era.

Today, in parallel with our firm European orientation, we nevertheless remain a country of southern Europe. A Mediterranean state. And we know all too well that the sea that meets the shores of all our countries is not the only bond linking us together. We are also bonded by common characteristics, common problems, common challenges for today and for the future.

The main objective of our policy in the region is to maintain and further develop friendly, and good neighbourly relations of creative cooperation with all of our neighbouring states on a bilateral and multilateral level. What's more, Greece has traditionally friendly relations with all of the Mediterranean countries. As a reliable power for peace, stability and development in the wider region, Greece proves, through its policy, that it can have a positive contribution to addressing the issues confronting the region. It is no coincidence, that Greece is considered to be an honest and reliable partner by all the parties of the Middle East question. This is why that the states of the Middle East region and the international community put such trust in Greece, so that during the Greek Presidency of the Security Council a special meeting of the Council on the Foreign Ministers’ level on the Middle East issue was held. This is why we were invited to take part in the Annapolis Conference on the Middle East peace process.

We are all well aware of the fact that the Mediterranean is a region of critical importance for the international community as a whole. Historically, it has been – and still is – a crossroads of peoples, languages, religious faiths, and cultural traditions. But it is also the point where the so-called "developed North" and the "developing South" meet – the point where geographical proximity highlights the development gap even further.

Fortunately, we – the region’s states – are not alone in recognizing that the Mediterranean region is of such importance. The international community and, of course, the European Union also share this view. It is a fact that in recent years the Mediterranean has moved dynamically to the forefront of the EU's interests. The cooperation between Europe and the Mediterranean states has taken on new, greater momentum. The European Union and its member states are looking increasingly to the South and developing policies and initiatives aimed at ever-closer cooperation with all the countries of the region.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Bridging the Mediterranean today remains an equally important priority: bridging cultures, societies, and our economies. It is a priority for both the EU and its Southern partners.

Most countries in the region enjoy privileged status with the EU. The level of economic and cultural interaction is high. Large communities from the countries of the Southern side reside and work in the EU countries. Millions of Europeans visit the Mediterranean countries annually.

And yet, Ladies and Gentlemen, the politics of the region, and the EU instruments for developing and applying such policies, have, until now, proven inadequate.

European policy for the Mediterranean has mostly taken the shape of two political instruments: the European Neighborhood Policy and the Barcelona Process.

The European Neighborhood Policy is an instrument engaging the whole of the EU with each country of the region separately. The vision of the European Neighborhood Policy is to bring our neighbours as close to the EU as possible. It is a policy, which, though not lacking a political component, is mainly aimed at helping each country to reach higher levels of economic development and interaction with the EU. Considerable EU economic assistance is extended, though the levels of this assistance are not satisfactory.

The Barcelona Process, on the other hand, is a policy for engaging the Mediterranean collectively. Engaging our countries politically, economically and culturally: political consultations, projects on a regional basis, as well as cultural institutions, such as the, very successful, Anna Lindh Foundation, are some of the instruments included in the Barcelona Process.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There is no lack of initiatives for the Mediterranean; However, one thing is clear: whatever the initiatives and their good intentions, the results achieved are far below our expectations. Greece has always believed that we need a far-reaching, bold and effective, new policy for the Mediterranean. The need for an integrated, all-embracing initiative for the region is paramount. It is absolutely imperative that we streamline the EU with its Southern partners both politically and economically in an all-inclusive political umbrella. “The Union for the Mediterranean” has the ambition of doing just that.

This is why we embraced President Sarkozy’s proposal from the very start.

But we did not only support the French idea: we have also contributed strongly in its development.

•              We introduced the notion of complementarity, that is the necessity for creating infrastructures and projects in a way that would integrate the entire Mediterranean by complementing projects in the North with the new ones in the South.

•              We gave a new significance to the notion of regional co-ownership.

•              We emphasized the need for a balance between the East and West Mediterranean in the adoption and implementation of projects.

•              We underlined the need for inclusiveness, and, therefore, for the participation of the countries of the Adriatic Sea as well.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Following the Paris Declaration, the Ministers of the Union for the Mediterranean met in Marseilles.. Among others we decided on the joint Presidency, on placing the Seat of the Secretariat in Barcelona, on the title of the Union, and on the Secretary General and his five Deputies. As the Seat of the Secretariat will be in the North of the Mediterranean, in Barcelona,  the Secretary General will permanently come from the South.

It was in that same meeting that we decided to include the Arab League as an observer in all the meetings of the new Union. Minister Moratinos and myself put a lot of effort in taking this decision.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We wanted this new Union to avoid the political entanglements that have occasionally plagued the Barcelona Process; but due to the grave situation in the Middle East, we have been facing long delays. The situation in the Middle East remains uncertain still. However, our joint efforts towards the revitalisation of the Union for the Mediterranean were finally rewarded.

I am particularly pleased with the latest development, the decision for the official resumption of the works of the Union for the Mediterranean taken by the Senior Officials Euromed Meeting in Brussels on the 7th of July. I strongly believe that the considerable efforts under way in order to establish the Secretariat will be further accelerated. This is of particular importance for the promotion and implementation of the projects, under the six priority areas decided upon in Marseilles.

All priority areas are important for Greece but, given the magnitude of our merchant marine and the extreme length of our sea frontiers, it is natural that we place special emphasis on the ‘Motorways of the Sea’.

In this context, we have also put forward an important proposal:

Establishing the ‘Eastern Mediterranean Observatory of Transport’ in Greece. The observatory will complement its equivalent in the Western Mediterranean, whose seat is in Spain. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The political process for establishing a Union for the Mediterranean is neither simple, nor unclouded: important political balances have to be kept; difficult decisions to be taken. Political problems in the Middle East do not make our task any easier.

But I believe that political problems can be eased and solutions easier found, when determination to move ahead with the economic and social integration of the Mediterranean is strong.

The Mediterranean Union will not be just another international organisation. It will essentially be a body for the implementation of programmes to strengthen and promote entrepreneurship between Mediterranean countries. And I am positive that Greek businesses have a lot to offer to this initiative. Their successful record in the Balkan markets, where Greek investment capitals play a leading role in the economic development of our neighbours, is enough evidence of their potential. The creation of new business opportunities in Mediterranean markets is a challenge that I am sure they will successfully rise up to, in cooperation with all of you, their Mediterranean partners.

Your presence here today, testifies to the great strength of our region. To its enormous potential for moving forward to a future of stability and prosperity for all. You participate in concrete, pragmatic discussions on projects. You open new opportunities for business and financial cooperation. 

You pave the way for the Mediterranean of the future:  Economically advanced, politically and socially stable, and-once again- a fertile ground for the flourishing of our rich cultures and traditions.

Your Conference is an important step ahead. I wholeheartedly wish you, complete success in your efforts to bridge the Mediterranean once more.

Let me welcome you again in Athens and wish you a pleasant and fruitful stay.

Thank you very much for your attention.