An invitation to young people to actively participate in the dialogue being held in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe, addressed the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, addressing the inaugural event of Europe Direct Crete. At the same time, he stressed the need for the Regions of the country, and in particular Crete, to play an active role in this pan-European dialogue, saying that it is a “big bet” both for its geographical position and its potential, as Crete should not be solely geared towards tourism. “We hope, the Alternate Minister said, that it will be one of the regions that will lead the recovery and transformation of the national economy, harnessing its scientific potential, its natural environment as well as Cretan entrepreneurs, who can invest in innovations and productive processes”.
Opening the proceedings of the online event, the Alternate Minister underscored that it is time for citizens to talk about what kind of Europe they want, reminding that we, Greeks have proved that “Europe is our home” as “we have gone through very tough programs in order to remain at the core of the Union “. Mr. Varvitsiotis added that it is important for Europe to become even more democratic, to rely on transparency even more, to support the periphery, to deepen the European convergence objective and to offer young people more opportunities.
Referring to the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Mr. Varvitsiotis characterized it as “the biggest bet for our generation”, as following last year’s negotiations we managed to secure support funding reaching 90 billion euros after using leverage, namely approximately half of the country’s GDP. Therefore, the effort we will make should be brave and “there is no other way to achieve any transformation unless we turn to digital capabilities in order to highlight the special feature of our country that is none other than its human resources”.
The Alternate Minister referred to the energy efficiency based on green energy as another great challenge of our time, emphasizing that “we should use natural resources (sun, air) so as to ensure sustainability, and of course to leave the younger generation our planet and our country much cleaner than we inherited it”.