Wrapping up his visit to the Western Balkan countries, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Evangelos Venizelos met today (21.2.2014) in Tirana with Albania’s Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati.

In statements, following the meeting, Venizelos noted inter alia:

Today Friday, 21 February 2014, the first Competitiveness Council/Research and Space part, during the Greek Presidency of the European Council, was held here in Brussels. The Council was chaired by the Secretary General for Research and Technology of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs Dr Christos Vasilakos.

The main Agenda items, discussed today, were the Annual Growth Survey 2014, the European Research Area (ERA) progress report, and issues related to Space Policy and the frame of cooperation between the European Union and the European Space Agency.

The informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers took place on 20 and 21 February in Athens, chaired by Greek Minister of National Defence Dimitris Avramopoulos on behalf of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. It consisted of three working sessions dedicated respectively to the follow up to the European Council on security and defence, ongoing EU operations, and the situation in the Central African Republic. The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the UN Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Herve Ladsous attended parts of the meeting.