The Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Katrougalos, participated today in a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council, at which discussion focussed on the multiannual financial framework – the EU budget for 2021-2027 – the developments around Poland’s justice system , and preparations for the informal Summit Meeting in Salzburg. Remarking on the EU budget, Mr. Katrougalos maintained that, in spite of its positive points, it needs to be more ambitious if it is to meet the existential challenges Europe is facing, and that it fails to respond adequately to the need for growth to have a social profile and combat the inequalities within and between states. The Alternate Minister welcomed the increase in funding for policies on research and development, migration, digital economy, the Erasmus plus programme, and European defence. He noted, however, that this increase cannot be achieved at the expense of the traditional policies for Cohesion and the Common Agricultural Policy. For this reason, the establishment of real, new Own Resources is the European Union’s only option, for fiscal reasons and reasons of redistribution and social justice. Such new Own Resources, which will not burden European citizens, include, for example, taxation of financial transactions and taxation of large internet companies in the countries where they provide their services, in tandem with establishment of a common corporate tax base. Solidarity and respect for the rule of law should be reflected in all of the EU’s policies and, from this perspective, Greece is not opposed to linking the budget to the respect for the rule of law, particularly if this is combined with other bold and necessary measures, such as the EU’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter. Our country’s position was similar on the matter of the implementation of article 7 of the Treaty in the case of Poland. Before the Council session, Mr. Katrougalos participated as an observer in the preparatory meeting of the European Affairs Ministers of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.
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