Illegal migration was the focus of discussions Prime Minister, Kostas Karamanlis, held in Rome with his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi last week.
In brief statements after the meeting, Karamanlis said that the EU should act for the solution of the problem, in particular towards the signing of repatriation agreements with the migrants’ countries of origin and transit and the strengthening the EU’s border agency Frontex.
“The European Union must take action for the solution of problems shared by both countries,” Karamanlis stressed.
Berlusconi struck a similar note, calling on all member states to contribute to efforts to tackle the problem.
The two Prime Ministers also discussed energy issues, especially the progress made in the two major projects currently underway, the South Stream and the Turkish-Greek-Italian (ITGI) natural gas pipelines.
“The agreement just signed between Greece and Bulgaria for an offshoot of ITGI gives this project even greater importance,” said the Greek PM.
The Italian premier underlined the excellent relations between Italy and Greece during his statements.
Berlusconi also referred to the possibility of developing joint holiday packages in Greece and Italy that might attract visitors from the Far East, in particular.