Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas attended the the EU General Affairs Council yesterday (29.09) which adopted the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR). The meeting took place as part of the Italian Presidency’s proposals on issues relating to growth, competitiveness and employment. During the meeting, Kourkoulas briefed his counterparts on Greece's positions: namely, that coordination of economic policies is a necessary tool but not enough to alleviate the negative social impacts.

The Greek foreign ministry considers that the banking union and the harmonisation of economic policies is important but, because structural changes yield results in the long term, more immediate measures are required for employment.

The Greek minister made a statement on the adoption of EUSAIR: "This new Strategy is designed to capitalize on and link the horizontal and individual EU policies in the sectors of blue growth, maritime security, protection of the environment, and promotion of tourism. More specifically, it is aimed at utilizing the advantages provided by the EU’s horizontal and sectoral policies to improve the region’s competitiveness and flexibility, safeguard the natural environment, and boost employment through the creation of new jobs...” EUSAIR is the third EU macroregion strategy after those of the Baltic and the Danube and the first macroregion that also includes such a large proportion of non-EU members (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia) in addition to the four EU member-states Greece, Italy, Croatia and Slovenia.

More information: FM Kourkoulas’ statement on EUSAIR (29.09); See also: Greek EU Presidency 2014: AIC Forum The Adriatic and Ionian Macroregion: the role of Chambers of Commerce in the new economic scenario & Conference on the EU Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region