Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called for more pro-growth policies in Europe during a mini-summit of southern European nations in Athens. He also urged Europe’s Mediterranean countries to present a united front.
As the leaders of France, Italy, Portugal, Malta and Cyprus descended on the Greek capital for brief talks about their respective nations’ struggles with migration and austerity, the Greek prime minister said it was time they banded together to push through their own agendas on a European level, DW reported.
“What unites us are our common sea and common problems, and faith in a European vision,” Tsipras said as the discussions began. “Our countries have in recent years been disproportionately affected by the economic crisis… and are on the front line of migratory flows.”
Portugal does not lie on the Mediterranean, but the group of southern European countries is at times referred to as “Club Med.”
Tsipras is concerned unfavorable developments in Europe, such as economic stagnation, the rise of far-right populist parties and increasing anti-EU sentiment, could have a disproportionately adverse effect on the countries invited to the meeting.
If anti-immigrant politicians in the rest of Europe manage to block more migrants from traveling north, or send them back to places like Greece or Italy, it would place an undue burden on infrastructure that is already over capacity.
Tsipras also urged European leaders to promote more pro-growth policies, saying it would be “a huge mistake to see growth as a process that creates deficits.”
