Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ meeting with his French counterpart Manuel Valls at the Maximos mansion focused on Greece-France’s bilateral relations.
After their meeting and the signing of the roadmap of Greece-France’s strategic partnership relation, the premier referred to France’s stance in the period Greece’s harsh negotiations with its lenders and underlined that the French government stood by Greece and the Greek people and resisted to blackmails and extremities which set the eurozone in danger.
Referring to the recent Eurogroup decision, Tsipras said that it “marks a new start for the Greek economy” and the decision for the debt relief which “constitutes a significant step towards the restoration of the markets and investors’ trust” a trust that will be become stronger after the necessary radical reforms for the restart of the economy and growth.
Referring to Greece-France’s cooperation, Tsipras said that we set the priorities in sectors regarding the investments in infrastructure, energy, tourism, research, public administration, know-how and culture.
Both officials agreed their cooperation towards a more democratic and social Europe to intensify. They also discussed the regional developments and the refugees issue for which the prime minister noted that France holds the first place in the refugee relocations from Greece.
Complete support
Valls expressed complete support for Greece with regard to the refugee crisis, announcing that France – which already accepts the highest number of refugees under the relocation programme – has made a commitment to raise this number to 400 a month. Tsipras and the French prime minister also noted the need to implement the EU-Turkey agreement.
Tsipras said that the NATO operation in the Aegean must be allowed to unfold without obstacles, indirectly referring to problems created by Turkey in the area.
The Greek prime minister also referred to Greek-French cooperation with regard to the negotiations on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement, saying the two governments must coordinate their actions “because it is clear we cannot consent to a free trade zone without fair rules.”
Tsipras said that attempts to abolish protection for products of geographic origin and protected designation of origin must be resisted and that the rights of consumers and states against multinationals must be protected.
With respect to the Cyprus issue, the Greek prime minister said it was discussed during his meeting with Valls and noted that the Greek side supports the intercommunal talks on achieving a fair and viable solution to the Cyprus issue, based on the decisions of the United Nations and the laws of the European Union.
“A solution that, as I have repeatedly underlined, cannot but contain the abolition of guarantees,” Tsipras added.
Source: ANA-MPA
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