Once again, all eyes are on Greece. However, this time the focus is not at the national level. Greece is at the helm of the Council of the European Union having assumed its six-month presidency in January.

This presidency does not consist of an individual but is rather a position, given to the government of one of the member states, which changes every six months. In this case, with elections coming up in May and the last European Parliament plenary session taking place in April, the new presidency’s workload during that time will be slightly less than it is common. This implies that most of the important work has to be done in the early stages.

The challenges for Greece are not to be underestimated. The EU is still facing certain challenges that need to be addressed, such as the finalisation of the banking union and unemployment, especially among youth.

While support for the new presidency has not been unanimous across the EU, most of the political leaders within the European Parliament have welcomed the Greek presidency.

Joseph Daul, the leader of the EPP, welcomed the Greek presidency. In fact, he expressed his confidence in the Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, who has had his fair share of making difficult decisions and has thus proved to be a good leader in challenging times.

The new presidency’s motto – Europe: Our Common Quest – reflects the new leadership’s intentions of pursuing an agenda in which issues that are current and relevant to all member states are prioritised. These issues include economic growth, migration policy, a strong European financial system and reducing unemployment.

The focus of this new presidency was applauded by Council President Herman Van Rompuy. He commented on how the priorities set by Greece are indeed a clear illustration of Europe’s common goals. The goals set also reflect what citizens mostly care about.

Greece can use its power within the Council to bring the EU even closer to the people’s needs

All this can be attributed to the fact Greece is undergoing challenges that are faced across the EU. Youth unemployment, for example, is present all throughout Europe and more so in those countries that were most affected by the financial crisis.

In addition to addressing the issue of ‘jobless growth’, the new presidency seeks to increase lending to SMEs as well as deepen the European single market. They have also outlined their desire to further address issues dealing with financial supervision in an attempt to combat money laundering and terrorist financing across the EU.

In the coming months, Greece will also be pushing its national priorities, most of which overlap with Malta’s. Being another Mediterranean member state, Greece is facing challenges that are similar to ours, such as irregular immigration. Thus, under the Greek leadership, focus on a solid common immigration policy is to be expected.

In fact, in their priorities outline, they point to the need to address illegal immigration in Europe as well as legal migration and integration of third country nationals within the context of intra-corporate transfer during the term of their presidency. This can prove to become a year-long priority once Italy assumes the presidency in the second half of the year.

In the maritime policy arena, the new presidency is hoping to redefine policies concerning this area and tourism, trade and safety, among others.

They also hope to have the EU Maritime Security Strategy adopted by this June.

As a country, Greece has gone through difficult phases and has seen the dark side of the EU’s austerity measures.

Thus, one can expect these six months to be characterised by decreased spending and higher efficiency.

With its experience and with the lessons learnt, Greece can use its power within the Council to bring the EU even closer to the people’s needs.

David Casa is a Nationalist MEP.

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