The Prime Minister met today at the Maximos Mansion with Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience, and a Competitive Circular Economy.
During the meeting, they discussed issues within Ms. Roswall’s portfolio, with a focus on the European Strategy for Water Resilience, the protection of marine biodiversity, and the European strategy for firefighting.
According to the Maximos Mansion, the Prime Minister placed particular emphasis on Greece’s plan for fire prevention and forecasting, which incorporates innovative technologies. He also stressed that the European Civil Protection Mechanism (RescEU) is a model of European solidarity and underscored the need for the EU to commit more resources to forest firefighting and to strengthen the fire prevention framework. The Prime Minister also briefed the Commissioner on the government’s water management strategy.
At the start of the meeting, the Prime Minister and the Commissioner had the following exchange:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Over the past four years, we have invested more than 600 million euros in protecting our forests for the first time, by implementing sound forest management practices. And the results have been, I believe, quite impressive. Of course, the challenge we now face is to secure adequate funding, as the Recovery and Resilience Facility—a key source of resources—is coming to an end, so that we can continue to support initiatives of this kind.
I am very pleased that you are here. I understand that you have a very good relationship with the Minister. We face many common challenges, especially regarding adaptation to climate change, which is unfortunately a reality for the countries of the South, but I believe for the entire European continent as well.
One of the issues I know is very high on your agenda is water management. I believe this will be of critical importance as we move toward the next programming period, and I am particularly interested in hearing your views regarding funding options for water management projects. In our case, 85% of our water is used for irrigation. There is still significant waste in this sector, which must be addressed.
I believe we have done a very good job in addressing the issues we inherited from the past. In waste management, which was a thorny issue, there are still unresolved matters, but we are taking them very seriously.
And, of course, another issue we are taking very seriously is the protection of our natural environment, especially regarding Marine Parks. I believe we are at the forefront when it comes to important announcements regarding the protection of our seas, especially highly sensitive natural ecosystems such as the Ionian Sea and the Southern Cyclades.
Welcome back, then, and I am very much looking forward to this discussion. I would like to point out that in 2007, as a humble member of Parliament, I served as Chair of the Parliament’s Environment Committee. At that time, our party—as you know, the main center-right party—had very limited interest in environmental issues. Therefore, I have been a champion of environmental policies, with a pragmatic approach, for more than 20 years.
I am particularly pleased to welcome you and to hear your views.
Jessika Roswall: Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister. I would also like to thank the Minister for the warm welcome. He “revealed” to me that you have this experience. Thank you very much; I am truly looking forward to spending these two days here in Greece, discussing these important issues.
If I may start with Antinero regarding the forests, where we went together, one of the things we’ve been trying to do—both Greece and the Commission—is to connect them and link the dots. To some extent, as you said, 20 years ago, the concept of the environment was limited to the environment itself, but that is no longer the case. It naturally also concerns water, the obvious link between the environment, security, and competitiveness.
But since we are here, given that climate change and environmental degradation are hitting Greece very hard and have been doing so for a long time, it is important for me to hear about and see Greece’s close, historical relationship with nature. I am very happy to see it; this isn’t my first time in Greece—as you know, I’m from Sweden. I’ve been here many times. So that’s one issue.
Another issue we need to discuss concerns, of course, funding. From our side, and in this case it is important, we have a connection to investing in nature, as I call it, since it is not a cost, it is an investment. Because it is linked to our safety, water safety, and clean air is linked to health as well as competitiveness. If we do not make these investments, then we will not have energy production or whatever else we are discussing.
I am therefore looking forward to our discussion, and I am also looking forward to hearing about your preparations for the upcoming presidency, which is not far off. I have served as Minister responsible for EU affairs, and that was the last time I was in Greece—during the Swedish presidency—I am speaking now of my past experiences. I know how much hard work the preparations require, but I also know how important a presidency can be for the European Union. After all, we are living in challenging times, and it is important that we work together.
So thank you very much for this warm welcome, and thank you also to the Minister.