2023-12-04 20:38:28
Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen will receive Greek President Katerina N. Sakellaropoulou on an official visit to Vienna on Tuesday. In addition to the working meeting with Van der Bellen, there will also be a conversation with National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP). Sakellaropoulou’s two planned visits in 2021 and 2022 had to be postponed due to Corona.
Austria and Greece both support the accession of the Western Balkan states to the EU. Unlike Austria, however, Greece has not recognized Kosovo as an independent state. According to the presidential office, another topic will be the EU reconstruction program after the corona crisis and the optimal utilization of the “recovery fund”. Greece, which fell into severe economic distress due to its debt crisis in 2010, is now again classified as investment-worthy by the rating agencies.
Another issue that affects both countries is the climate crisis. Greece has also been severely affected recently. Two Austrians were among the numerous fatalities in the flood in mid-September. According to local media, the Styrian couple were staying in holiday accommodation in the hard-hit region of Pelion near Volos on the Greek mainland, which was washed away. In the summer, dozens of Austrians were affected by serious forest fires in Greece.
Sakellaropoulou is the first female president of Greece. In January 2020, the non-party former supreme judge was elected to this office by parliament. She has been Head of State of the Hellenic Republic since March 13, 2020. The daughter of a Supreme Court judge comes from the port city of Thessaloniki. Sakellaropoulou studied in Athens and at the Sorbonne University in Paris. In October 2018, she became the first woman in the country’s history to become President of the Council of State – the Constitutional and Supreme Administrative Court in Greece. Her areas of expertise are constitutional and environmental law. She travels to Vienna accompanied by her partner Pavlos Kotsonis.
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