The General Affairs Council, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Evangelos Venizelos, was held in Brussels on Tuesday (18.03). It looked at the preparations for the European Council meeting on 20-21 March.  The main focus, apart from discussions on Ukraine and the EU-Africa relations, was on the economy, including growth, competitiveness and jobs. The issues of industrial competitiveness as well as climate and energy were also high up on the agenda."These are a key priorities for the Greek presidency and for all European societies at this time", said Venizelos, following the Council.

Asked about Ukraine, Venizelos noted that "the European response is very clear and strong. Our basis is always the respect of the international legal order, but of course, also the need for stability and peace. This is our historical mission: to protect the stability and coexistence in our European continent. It is very clear that the last decision of the Council to implement some sanctions is a very clear message of our determination. On the other hand, we always keep open the different channels of political and diplomatic dialogue because we need this dialogue in order to achieve a final acceptable solution."