Brexit was the focus of today’s meeting between Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis and UK Ambassador Kate Smith.During the meeting, which took place a few days after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU Single Market and Customs Union, the excellent level of bilateral relations between Greece and the United Kingdom was reaffirmed.More specifically, Mr. Varvitsiotis stressed that the two countries will have to work hard together in the coming period to further strengthen bilateral cooperation and the institutional framework that governs their bilateral relations. Shipping, financial services and social security coordination were mentioned as cooperation sectors of special interest for joint monitoring, and the need to update the bilateral education and culture agreement was also highlighted. Moreover, Mr. Varvitsiotis expressed his satisfaction at the protection of existing Geographical Indications by the recent EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, underscoring that similar attention will have to be paid to protect any new Geographical Indications. Finally, he pointed out that the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union must not lead to its disengagement from developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.Mrs. Smith thanked Mr. Varvitsiotis for the Greek administration’s intensive preparations to respond to the immediate consequences of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU Single Market and Customs Union. She also expressed her satisfaction with the Greek-UK Action Plan on migration and stressed the need to draw up a strategic framework for Greek-UK bilateral relations and for strengthening the cooperation between the two countries on defence, among other sectors. In addition to bilateral cooperation and regional issues, they discussed the United Kingdom’s engagement on the Cyprus problem.Finally, it was agreed that visits will be exchanged between the two countries when public health conditions permit. Read the tweet (https://twitter.com/MVarvitsiotis/status/1346443691599269891?s=20).
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