COSTAS SIMITIS The Greek Prime Minister and the President of EU Council Yunanistan Başbakanı ve AB Konsey Başkanı THE MAJOR GOALS OF THE PRESİDENCY The fight against recession, the reduction of the unemployment rate and the control of immigration should not be put on hold in case of a conflict in Iraq. That would be a mistakeÈ, noted the Greek Prime MinisterÊon the occasion of the commencement of the Greek Presidency. Mr. SIMITIS emphasized the need to promote the European integration so as the EU of 25 member states will not be ÇparalyzedÈ. As regards the current problem of immigration, the Greek Prime Minister noted the need to integrate the incorporation policies as well to promote the effective control of EU borders. Why is this Presidency more important than the last three held by Greek govern-ments? Since 1994, year of the last Greek Presidency, the EU has radically changed. The EMU is the most characteristic example of those changes. The scale of problems is very different today. Following the decisions taken in Copenhagen begins the last stage of the largest venture of EU enlargement until today. A venture which has special quality characteristics, the integration of many countries which until recently belonged to the existing socialism world but also have a standard of living considerably lower than the EU's. The Greek Presidency must lead this venture to the signing of the Accession Acts of these ten countries. This would entail the solving of all the matters which result from the Copenhagen agreements. It means the continuation and comple-tion of the procedure. Does this mean there will be new negotiations on the Cyprus issue? Of course not. The accession has been decided, but we need to be alert, since the Cyprus issue remains open. We must avoid any obstacles and maintain the Copenhagen dynamic in order to find a solution. A solution is feasible. Is the enlargement the only main concern for this Presidency? On the contrary. The other issues that concern us differentiate this Presidency from other Presidencies. We are living in a difficult, painful conjuncture of global economic recession. It is blocking deve-lopment rates, impedes national eco-nomies to fulfil the criteria of the Stability Pact and aggravates social problems. Europe cannot endure this reality without reacting. We have to act with compe-titiveness and entrepreneurship policies, with policies that will ensure social cohesion. We have to fight recession. All these issues will be discussed during the spring European Council. We are also in the process of speculation on the future of Europe. It has been accused of ineffectiveness, inflexibility, as well as of keeping its distance from the citizens' problems. A Europe of 25 will multiply these weaknesses. We have to prevent and surpass these obstacles. Everyone is asking for a new model of organization for the Union, which will be more democratic, more effective and closer to the European citizen. The answer as to how this will be achieved differs according to the political and ideological convictions. In the same way, the answer as to how the Union can have a more powerful presence to the international system for more peace, cooperation and justice, also differs. We want to give a substantial impetus to the discussions, because if there are no answers in due time, the 25 member states will be paralyzed. Finally, I would like to mention a main issue for Greece. We all have the experience of how the immigration inflow is putting all the more pressure on local societies. We need to intervene in order to avoid phenomena of xenophobia and racism, new areas of social exclusion and breaches in the cohesion of the societies we live in. Europe has to integrate these incorporation policies for those it offers hospitality to, but also to effectively control its borders in order to avoid the influx of economic immigrants that societies can no longer bear. This will be the main issue at the Thessaloniki European Council. Which particular issues of economic and social policy that also concern the Greek citizen is the Greek Presidency in position to promote considering the conditions of recession that prevail in Europe? First of all, I need to clarify something. A Presidency is placed in the framework created by previous Presidencies and most of all, by the work and proposals made by the Commission. The area of new initiatives is not limitless. For example, we cannot determine a new vision for the Union or a different economic policy, as some people may be demanding. The stake for the Greek Presidency is to effectively promote economic and social reforms for faster development, for more and better jobs within the already existing framework of the Union. The recession can be surpassed if we are daring in our reforms. This, however, does not depend solely on us. Will Germany want to liberate resources? Will Britain want for economic policies to be better coordinated? Today, Europe lacks entrepreneurship and the need for investments. Therefore, as regards the economic field, the Greek Presidency will focus its attention on the political initiatives for the support of enterpreneurship and small businesses, the expansion of trans-European networks of transport, energy and telecom-munications and the creation of a European knowledge-based economy. As to the social field, the major issue is how to face the quantitative and qualitative deficit of employment in Europe. We have to promote the revision of the European strategy on employment in order to achieve a more dynamic, effective yet safe employment market. At the same time, we need to promote policies which help social integration and limit social exclusion, as well as the directions for the future durability and sufficiency of the insurance schemes in Europe. The question is whether, despite the recession or, should I say, because of the pressure caused by the recession, we can promote policies that also concern the Greek citizens. How will the expected attack to Iraq stand in the way of the presidency? Will it subvert its program and objectives? Can Europe intervene, in order to change the seeming course of events? The European Union believes that Iraq should implement the Security Council's decisions, so as to have a peaceful resolution of this difference. If the Security Council ascertains that Iraq has not responded to the UN decision, the Union will take a stand on the issue within the framework of the discussions made in the Security Council. The presence of England, France, Germany and Spain in the Security Council gives the European approach the possibility to be taken under consideration. The Presidency will see that the Union takes a stand on the issue and plays an active role to the developments.Ê The events cannot subvert our program nor our objectives during the first semester. Our priorities are of great importance in our effort to deal with current and future problems. The fight against recession, the reduction of the unemployment rate, the control of immigration cannot be put on hold in case of a conflict in Iraq. That would be a mistake. DÖNEM BAŞKANLIĞININ TEMEL HEDEFLERİ Yunanistan Başbakanı Costas SIMITIS, Dönem Başkanlığı açılış konuşmasında, Kopenhag'da alınan kararları takiben AB'nin en kapsamlı genişleme girişiminde son aşamaya gelindiğini ve söz konusu ülkelerin yaşam standartı AB'nin oldukça altında seyrettiğinden bu girişimin özel nitelik taşıdığını belirtti. 25 üyeli bir AB'de mevcut sosyal sorunların katlanacağını hatırlatarak, Dönem Başkanlığı'nın ekonomik durgunlukla ve işsizlikle mücadele etmeyi ve göç olgusunu kontrol altına almayı hedeflediğini açıkladı. Irak'taki anlaşmazlık sorununa bağlı olarak bu hedefin ertelenmesini yanlış bulduğunu da vurguladı.