Greece objects to the Statement of the Heads of State or Government published today by the European Council and is accusing the Council as well as EEAS and Federica Mogherini for proceeding without Greece's consent, just minutes after the new Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras took office in Athens.
“The Statement of Heads of State and Government of the EU published today was circulated without the proper procedures being followed in order to obtain the consent of Member States and specifically Greece's consent”, announced the new Greek Prime Minister's Office, Dimitris Tzanakopoulos.
“Within this context we clarify that it does not have our country's consent. Our displeasure for this was expressed during a telephone conversation of the Prime Minister with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security PolicyFedericaMogherinias well at the proper level, by thePermanetRepresentation of Greece to the EU”, he added.
A high ranking official at the European Counciltold New Europe that"we take note of the Greek statement and regret that the Greek government cannot associate itself with the Head of State or Government statement.
As always when preparing such a statement, we consulted all Member States including a representative of the new Greek government. The overlap with the consultations and the entry-into-office of a new Greek government is unfortunate but was unavoidable in this specific case. The new Greek foreign minister will have the chance to explain the Greek position atThursday'sextraordinary Foreign Affairs Council meeting."
Earlier, the European Council published the following statement:
We express our concern about the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine. We condemn the killing of civilians during the indiscriminate shelling of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on 24 January 2015. We note evidence of continued and growing support given to the separatists by Russia, which underlines Russia's responsibility. We urge Russia to condemn the separatists' actions and to implement the Minsk agreements.
We recall the European Council conclusions of 18 December 2014, where we said that "the EU will stay the course" and that we are "ready to take further steps if necessary." In view of the worsening situation we ask the upcoming Foreign Affairs Council to assess the situation and to consider any appropriate action, in particular on further restrictive measures, aiming at a swift and comprehensive implementation of Minsk agreements.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/first-eu-greece-clash-over-ukraine