Chargé d’affaires Tomasz Wiśniewski hosted a meeting of the Ambassadors of the Visegrad Group countries with Minister M. Varvitsiotis on the occasion of Poland's assumption of the V4 presidency
07.07.2020
Back on track - under this slogan Poland takes over the presidency of Grupa V4. Chargé d’affaires Tomasz Wiśniewski talked about this and other priorities of the Polish presidency during the meeting on July 7 at the headquarter of the Polish Embassy in Athens.
The meeting was attended by the Ambassador of Hungary Erik Haupt, the Ambassador of Slovakia Iveta Hricova, the Ambassador of Czechia Jakub Karfik. The honorary guest of the meeting was the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis. During the meeting, Tomasz Wiśniewski explained that the slogan "Back on track" does not refer only to economic recovery, to a simple return to projects and activities from the times before the pandemic. It is also an expression of an attempt to restore mutual trust and effective solidarity in the face of the unprecedented challenges facing Europe. During Polish presidency in the Group, Poland would like to give new dynamics to relations between the Visegrad Group member countries. All initiatives will be implemented based on three main pillars: economy and connectivity, security and society. Activities will focus on four objectives:
• a strong Visegrad Group in a strong Europe,
• return to (new) normality after the COVID-19 pandemic,
• people-to-people contacts, activities for integration and cohesion within the V4 itself,
• developing digital and innovative cooperation.
The event was also an opportunity to briefly summarize the activities undertaken by the Czech presidency of the Group. Minister Varvitiotis listened with interest to the presentation of plans for the coming year. He also stated that regional cooperation is an important aspect of cooperation within the European Union. He emphasized that despite the geographical remoteness of the V4, Visegrad Group countries share with Greece a commitment to many common values. The discussion also concerned current European affairs, such as negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework and the European Instrument for Reconstruction, migration and climate change, with a particular focus on eliminating the use of coal.
Ambassadors of the Visegrad Group countries congratulated the Minister on the effective response to the pandemic crisis and stressed that Greece remains the most popular tourist destination in their countries, even under the current difficult conditions.
