PM on North Macedonia: ‘Getting closer to Europe means respecting the European acquis’
“You need a big fence and you also need a big door,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis commented in an interview for the British podcast “The Rest is Politics.”
“By big fence, I mean you protect your borders. I am unapologetic about this. But at the same time, we also need legal pathways to migration,” the prime minister added, addressing UK journalists Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart, who traveled to Athens to record the episode.
Campbell, in a stark comment on recent British migration policies, added, “As far as I’m aware you don’t have a plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda…” with Mitsotakis responding, “No, that is not what we have in mind.”
“We will make it difficult for people to enter Greece. I am being very, very clear. We have worked with Turkey reasonably well over the past months. But at the same time, we also need legal pathways to migration,” the prime minister explained, adding a third leg to his migration plan of creating opportunities for young people to stay in their countries of origin when possible.
EU ENLARGEMENT
Challenged on his stance on EU enlargement, Mitsotakis defended Greece’s efforts to include its immediate neighbors in the Union. “We have been big supporters and big proponents of the Western Balkans joining the Union. It is in our interest after all,” he claimed.
“One of the things that we will eventually do in the next European cycle is to rethink the enlargement process and what it actually means to become a member and what are those maybe intermediary milestones that we can set for those countries in order for them to understand that as they make progress there will be benefits. Because right now, we have to be honest, people in the Western Balkans don’t believe they will be part of the European family. That’s a big problem,” Mitsotakis commented.
NORTH MACEDONIA
Regarding Greece’s bordering Balkan neighbor, North Macedonia, and the recent challenges caused by its elected far-right nationalist government, Mitsotakis highlighted he had some issues with the 2018 Prespa Agreement, which changed the country’s constitutional name from “Macedonia” to North Macedonia.
However, he expressed commitment to respecting the agreement in order to work with North Macedonia and help them in their European journey. “But getting closer to Europe means respecting the European acquis and making progress on issues regarding the rule of law,” Mitsotakis stressed.
TEMPE ACCIDENT
Was the tragic 2023 Tempe railway accident that took 57 lives and injured many another privatization policy byproduct, Campbell asked.
“The network itself is still state-controlled. It’s a hybrid model, and we are the ones actually investing. When I make a mistake, I have no difficulty acknowledging it, and I think a mistake only becomes a real mistake if you repeat it,” Mitsotakis commented, adding, “we had human errors which were compounded by systemic failures in our railway. And I said, ‘I cannot bring those people back, but I can do my best to ensure that our railways are going to become safer.’”
PARTHENON SCULPTURES
The conversation inevitably included Rishi Sunak’s last-minute cancellation of a meeting with Mitsotakis back in November due to a comment the latter had made on the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures.
“You need to take one look at the Acropolis Museum to realize why it is important to bring them together. So I basically said what I always say, and I guess that caused some sort of reaction and my meeting was canceled at the last moment,” the prime minister said, adding that he did not take the matter to heart.
“We have such great relations between our two peoples and our two countries. This is what I have to do frankly, not to take it personally. And one of the things you learn in politics is sometimes you need to leave your personal preferences or your personal opinions outside the room.”
EURO ELECTIONS
For the upcoming European elections on June 9, Mitsotakis expressed hope for the “reasonable center-right” candidates in their ability to fight against the rise of populism and enforce reforms.
If the center-right family, the European People’s Party, does well in the upcoming elections, then Mitsotakis thinks “this will be important for Europe going into its next cycle. I am not pessimistic about the future of reasonable, data-driven, results-oriented policies.”
