Greece to mark 40th anniversary of EU membership on Thursday

The 40th anniversary of Greece’s accession to the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor to the European Union, will be commemorated at a special event to be held in Zappeion Hall on Thursday.

The event will also mark the official launch of the European Commission’s Conference on the Future of Europe, which is a citizen-led series of debates and discussions of ideas about the bloc’s future.

President Katerina Sakellaropoulou will attend the event, while speeches are expected by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, European Parliament President David Sassoli and European Council President Charles Michel. Portuguese Prime Minister and EU Council President-in-office Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will both address attendees via recorded messages.

It is organized by the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Alternate Minister for European issues Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, who will address attendees, with the support of the European Parliament Office in Greece and the European Commission Representative Office in Athens.

A photography exhibition marking the occasion will also be inaugurated on the same day.

The event, scheduled at 7 p.m., will be covered by national broadcaster ERT and live-streamed on the official Facebook pages of the Greek Foreign Ministry, of the European Parliament Office in Greece, and of the European Commission Representative Office in Athens.

[ANA-MPA]