By Penelope Galliou

In Granada, Andalusia, the heart of Europe beats for two days, as the third is hosted there today European Policy Summit Community, with the participation of 47 European heads of state and government, at a time when Europe is discussing its strategic orientation and the strengthening of geopolitics, while tomorrow the extraordinary European Council will be held.

The European Political Community is a forum for political and strategic discussions on the future of Europe established in 2022 on an initiative launched by the French President Emmanuel Macron to pursue cooperation agreements with states that have decided to remain outside the EU bloc, such as the United Kingdom, Norway or Switzerland, as well as those who aspire to join the club, such as Moldova, the Balkan countries and Ukraine.

Today the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, will co-chair with the President of Switzerland a panel on multilateralism in the light of security and geostrategic issues. The High Representative of the EU will participate in the same panel. for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell, and, among others, the leaders of Finland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia. At the same time, on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit, the prime minister will have meetings with his Armenian and Georgian counterparts.

The informal European Council

After the European Political Community Summit, the 27 EU leaders they will meet again tomorrow, Friday, for an informal European Council whose agenda is high on EU enlargement, European institutional reform and open strategic autonomy.

Regarding the enlargement of the EU, Hellas is in favor of enlargement as an investment in the future: however, a fixed Greek position is that the process of joining the EU is a process based on reforms and the performances of the candidate countries themselves, that is, it is a process with rules and optionality and in any case, the basic criterion remains respect for the Rule of Law.

On his agenda European Council the durability and competitiveness of the EU and the priorities for the next period are also discussed, while there will also be a discussion on Immigration.

Greece, a member state that is at the core of the E.U. and the Eurozone, is a country that went through and overcame a major crisis and can contribute to the relevant debate and with this experience, the prime minister is expected to emphasize.

However, the EU takes precedence. to discuss Immigration, and climate change, two crises, at the center of which are his countries European South. As the Prime Minister emphasized from the MED9 Summit in Valletta, more must be done to support frontline countries, while underlining the importance of the external dimension of migration, he stressed the need for Europe and not the traffickers – to set the terms with which one will enter the European Union.

As far as dealing with natural disasters and adaptation to climate change are concerned, these are issues that should be included in the discussion on the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework and in the new architecture that is now being designed. This issue was highlighted by Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a letter addressed to its leaders MED9asking for coordination and joint action in the European Council, which is expected to be done by a joint letter of the 9 leaders to the President of the European Council.

Regarding the revision of the fiscal rules, a debate that is ongoing, the Greek position is close to the European Commission’s proposal, as it needs a balance, between flexibility and ownership, so that member states can draw their own fiscal “path” to achieve fiscal adjustment.

Official decisions at both summits in Granada are not expected as the European Political Community does not have fixed structures but according to political analysts it is a forum during which there are many opportunities for meetings without an agenda, where the leaders of the countries, who under other circumstances they rarely see each other, they can exchange views at the level of heads of state and government without the pressure of negotiations aimed at a final declaration.