| Sarkozy: Serbia must be offered EU perspective |
| 7 June 2008 | 11:02
| Source:
Tanjug |
ATHENS --
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says his country will do everything in its powers during its EU presidency to offer Serbia a European perspective.
 | Nikolas Sarkozy (Beta)
|
Addressing the Greek parliament in Athens yesterday, Sarkozy outlined Paris’s priorities for its presidency, including the establishment of a common European policy on immigration and asylum, as well as on defense, whose role would be different to that of NATO’s.
With regards to the “name” dispute with Macedonia, the president said that Greece and France both wanted that country to enter the EU and NATO, but that that issue first had to be resolved, report international news agencies.
He said that Greece’s position on the issue was legal, responsible and open to dialogue, and expressed his hope that the two countries’ governments would be able to reach a compromise. The former Yugoslav republic is insisting on its constitutional name, the Republic of Macedonia, which Greece opposes as its northern province carries the same name.
After his speech to Greek MPs, at a dinner held in his honor, Sarkozy called on President Karolos Papulias to create a “new alliance” between the two countries.
Papoulias had earlier called the French President a “strategic ally” and a “true friend”, pointing out that Sarkozy’s maternal grandfather came from Thessaloniki.
Sarkozy was on a one-day trip to Athens as part of a European tour ahead of France’s assumption of the six-month rotating EU presidency, which begins on July 1.
|
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