Europe’s EU leaders, meeting in Athens on Friday, pledged to strengthen cooperation against climate change after widespread forest fires left parts of southern Europe devastated.

“The best lesson to be learned is the catastrophic fires of summer,”Mario Draghi

“The best lesson to be learned is the catastrophic fires of summer,” Italian President Mario Draghi said in Athens when they attended the so-called Session 8 “s summit at the UMED-9.

The fires destroyed more than 1.000 square km of Greek forest land and caused substantial damage to the island of Euboea and parts of Southern Greece.

Besides climate, the agenda focused on both EU foreign policy and migration.

Alarmed by recent events in Afghanistan Greece has made clear its position on migration remains unchanged.

In their subsequent statements after the Athens Summit, almost all attended the Conference in favour of greater strategic autonomy for the EU.

During the conference, Greece and Cyprus also addressed the issue of Turkey, a neighbour with whom they have a number of disputes, including those relating to energy saving rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Portugal’s foreign minister, Augusto Santos Silva.

President of the European Commission

The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union. The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, (wikipedia)


Ursula von der Leyen

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Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen ; née Albrecht; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician and physician who has been President of the European Commission since 1 December 2019. (wikipedia)


European Commission

The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation, enforcing EU laws and directing the union’s administrative operations. (wikipedia)


President of the European Union

The official title President of the European Union does not exist, but there are a number of presidents of European Union institutions, (wikipedia)


Mario Draghi

Mario Draghi is an Italian economist, banker, academic, and civil servant who has been serving as Prime Minister of Italy since 13 February 2021. (wikipedia)


Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Kyriakos Mitsotakis is a Greek politician and the Prime Minister of Greece since 8 July 2019. A member of New Democracy, he has been its president since 2016. (wikipedia)


2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum

The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, (wikipedia)


Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron is a French politician who has been serving as the president of France since 14 May 2017. Born in Amiens, Macron studied philosophy at Paris Nanterre University, (wikipedia)