Two days before the 60th anniversary of the European Union which will be celebrated in Rome with a summit, the Greek government continues to block the celebratory joint statement on the grounds of lack of solidarity in the EU today.
At the meeting with representatives of the heads of EU member states who prepare the summit in Rome, the Greek prime minister’s representative Vangelis Kalpadakis argued that Athens could not support the text referring to the values of the EU and solidarity between member states, while Greece is asked to meet the unrealistic demands of the International Monetary Fund in the bailout program review negotiations.
The Greek side wants to include a paragraph with an explicit reference to EU achievements regarding labor laws and social benefits in the declaration that will be made.
As Athens persists for the reference to be included, the Rome Declaration remains in draft form. Final decisions on the exact wording of the statement and whether Athens will maintain its stance that it will not sign it if the specific paragraph is not added will be taken on Thursday (today).
The state leaders can not go to Rome on Friday until the declaration is completed. However, it is alleged that the paragraph the Greek government demands will not be included.
German government spokesman Steffen Zeibert said that Greece’s bailout program is an issue not at all related to the EU joint declaration and the celebration of its anniversary.
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