EU’s Schinas seeks to reset EU-Australia relations with soft power
Source: NEOS KOSMOS
The European Commission’s vice-president, Margaritis Schinas, is in Australia. He’s meeting politicians and many in the Greek Diaspora, using “soft power”, to recalibrate EU-Australia cooperation, especially after the recent collapse of the free-trade talks.
While here Schinas has been peppered with questions about the heated war of words between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the EU’s response to post-conflict Gaza.
The Sunak snub of Mitsotakis
Sunak cancelled a meeting with his Greek counterpart Mitsotakis last week, accusing the Greek PM of “grandstanding” after he said in a BBC television interview that Greece wants back the Parthenon Marbles. Sunak has been roundly criticised, and the leader of the Labour opposition, Keir Starmer, questioned on Wednesday, said the British PM had “lost his marbles”.
Sunak said, “When commitments and specific assurances on that topic were made to this country and then were broken … It may seem alien to him [Starmer], but my view is when people make promises, they should keep them.”
The idea that any Greek, let alone the prime minister of Greece, would not raise the issue of the Marbles has been labelled absurd by Greek insiders.
“This is an incredible situation,” said Schinas, who studied in the UK and lived there.
“It is mind-blowing how a British prime minister can reach a stage where he refuses to talk to someone with whom he might disagree.”That’s so unBritish. I’m lost (sic.) for words about what happened, and yes, in my mind, there’s no doubt that the Marbles should go back where they belong, which is the Acropolis Museum,” said the Vice President of the EU.
No room for Hamas in post-conflict horizon
As the Israel Defense Forces resumed combat in Gaza after the fragile truce expired on Friday, the IDF accused Hamas of violating the terms of the ceasefire by firing towards Israeli territory.
Schinas told Guardian Australia that regarding a post-conflict horizon –”Australia and the European Union view things similarly”.
He called for the international community to assist in creating conditions for stability “so that Israel and Palestinians can live in peace and security in the clear perspective of a two-state solution”.
Schinas said the EU had tripled humanitarian aid to Gaza and would play a supportive role after the conflict and that “Australia is on the same wavelength”.
However, the commissioner said there can be “no role for Hamas in any post-conflict horizon”.
“Hamas lost the right to be part of a post-conflict horizon on October 7.”
Schinas, whose responsibilities include fighting antisemitism, vowed to step up the fight to counter growing prejudice.
“The Holocaust and the Shoa are the stain in Europe’s history; these are the darkest chapters of our history books, and we are determined not to relive them,” he said.
EU-Australia trade deal collapse
In Sydney on Friday, Schinas was hosted for lunch by the European Australian Business Council CEO Jason Collins at NSW Parliament. The commissioner met with representatives of the Diaspora and the Sydney business community there.
After negotiations for a free trade agreement between Australia and the European Union broke down, Schinas wants to look for new ways of cooperation.
Neos Kosmos asked Schinas what he could do to deepen economic, social, and cultural relations given Australia’s large Greek Diaspora after the failed trade talks.
He said the failure to reach an agreement on a free trade agreement “is disappointing and unfortunate” but noted that there were “three ways of going about this; the first is to cry over spilled milk, the second is the blame game, you did this, and we did that, the third is picking up the broken glass and starting again.”
“My presence in Australia is to serve this third way, that we will get to this free trade agreement that we will not allow bees, cheese, and sugar to be a stumbling block on a partnership which is so deep, so intense, and so long-standing,”,” Schinas said.
Neos Kosmos asked if the EU can do more to harness Australia’s deep and historic relationship with Asia, particularly in Greece’s new engagement with India. The commissioner said Europe and Australia “share the same view of the world as democracies that stand together.”
“We have no major differences on issues of geopolitics; we have a very deep, profound, long-standing partnership in trade investments.
He also flagged Australia’s participation in Europe’s flagship research and innovation funding program, Horizon, which has a budget of some $160 billion.
European way of life
Schinas is vice president for “Protecting our European Way of Life”, responsible for law, migration, and internal security issues. He said the European Way of Life “isn’t a binary”.
“It’s not Trumpian, it’s not exclusive, it’s not a bulldozer approach that would crush everyone who is not like us.
“The European way of life is a mirror that reflects the diversity of what Europe stands for, the richness of our traditions, cultures, languages, architecture, democratic and economic achievements.
“It’s an encompassing term, it’s not meant against someone else here, and this is what we try to apply in the policy areas of my responsibility, mainly migration, security, health, and education,” Schinas said.
Neos Kosmos asked if Greece has fully utilised its Diaspora, or as effectively as Israel its diaspora, in negotiations with other EU members, England, the United States and Asia.
Schinas said that the Greek Diaspora has “unique features.”
“We are everywhere. I’ve been everywhere, and there was always a Greek community wherever I went.
“For us, the Hellenic communities abroad are not like a vector for an aggressive projection of Hellenism, and Hellenists; it’s not a lever; it has soft power appeal.
“For us, the Hellenic communities abroad are not like a vector for an aggressive projection of Hellenism, and Hellenists; it’s not a lever; it has soft power appeal.”
“It projects Hellenic values and principles, the way we are and think. It’s not something we can use as a lever to intervene, shape, or dictate policy,” the commissioner said.
Neos Kosmos suggested Greece may have used Diaspora during the Financial Crisis, especially from the Anglosphere and Western Europe, to negotiate with EU members better and reform the Greek economy.
He said the Diaspora “helped Greece; they explained some of the things that were misunderstood.”
“The Diaspora welcomed hundreds of thousands of young Greeks, the brain-drain generation, that left the country to acquire more opportunities, and most returned.
“The Diaspora are everywhere; they’re well connected to the country’s importance, which makes them a huge asset for the motherland.”
Neos Kosmos reminded Schinas of his joke when visiting the Greek Community of Melbourne, telling him he was considering retiring in Melbourne.
Conscious of talking from Sydney, the commissioner said he was joking; but added, “I fell in love with Melbourne, I like the city so much, I said something about spending some of my retirement time there.”
Given the challenges facing Europe, such as the rising cost of living, irregular migration, the war in Ukraine, the Hamas-Israel conflict, and Greece’s strategic role in maintaining a finely tuned balance in the eastern Mediterranean, it’s unlikely that Schinas will retire soon.
The following attendees were at the Sydney lunch
Graham Bradley AM Chair of Infrastructure NSW
Dr Stephanie Fahey the Chair of the Australian Design Council
Professor Allan Fels AO from The University of Melbourne
Yannis Mallikourtis the Greek Consul General of Greece in Sydney
His Excellency Gabriele Visentin the European Union Ambassador in Australia
John Weber Chair of Airservices Australia
Paul Nicolaou Executive Director of Business Sydney
Maria Kanellopoulou Member of Cabinet of the European Commission
Greg Medcraft former Chair of ASIC and Director of the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs of the OECD
The original article: belongs to NEOS KOSMOS .
