Press Release
25/06/2009EPP Group Study Days in Athens: Leading European politicians debate the political challenges of the EU for 2009-2014
The analysis of the election results, the forthcoming challenges of the newly-elected European Parliament, the political priorities of the Swedish Council Presidency and the strengthening of relations with the national parliaments will be the main focus of the EPP Group Study Days which will take place in Athens on 29 June-2 July 2009 at the Astir Palace Hotel in Athens.
Over the next five years, the EPP Group, the biggest political Group in the European Parliament, will focus on the immediate adoption of the Lisbon Treaty to ensure the smooth functioning of the European institutions; the reform of the financial markets to avoid a new crisis; climate change, ahead of the Copenhagen conference in December; and on improving the security of European citizens.
On Monday, EPP Group members will be welcomed by Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and the speaker of the National Parliament Dimitris Sioufas. The meeting will also be addressed by the outgoing Head of the Greek Delegation in the EPP Group Ioannis Varvitsiotis and his successor Marietta Giannakou, who has been elected for the third time since 1984.
The re-elected Group Chairman, Joseph Daul, EPP President, Wilfried Martens, along with EPP Group Vice-Chairmen Jaime Mayor Oreja and Othmar Karas and the Heads of National Delegations, will be first to analyse the results of the European elections.
Prominent Greek government figures will attend the meeting, including Foreign Affairs Minister Dora Bakoyanni, Minister for the Economy Yannis Papathanassiou and Minister of the Interior Prokopis Pavlopoulos.
Hans-Gert Poettering, European Parliament President, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and Commissioners Vivian Reding, Stavros Dimas and Jacques Barrot will give keynote speeches.
A press conference will take place at the beginning of the meeting in the Astir Palace Resort Room Cosmos in the Westin Hotel at 14.30 hrs.
To find out more about the Study Days, click here.
For further information:
Theo Georgitsopoulos, EPP Group Press Service, Tel: +32-475-750566
