Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Tasos Chatzivasileiou, who is responsible for European Affairs, met with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Strasbourg, France, during a two-day working visit tied to Greece's preparations to take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The visit was timed to coincide with a plenary session of the European Parliament, which Chatzivasileiou attended in his official capacity.
Talks with Metsola on Greek EU presidency
Chatzivasileiou and Metsola discussed close cooperation between Athens and the European Parliament as Greece prepares to assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2027, according to the Greek foreign ministry.
Metsola, a Maltese politician, has led the European Parliament as its president since January 2022. The Council presidency rotates among the European Union's member states every six months, with the country holding it responsible for chairing ministerial meetings and steering the bloc's legislative agenda during its term. Greece last held the presidency in the first half of 2014.
Meetings with parliament officials and committee chairs
While in Strasbourg, Chatzivasileiou also met with Alessandro Chiochetti, the Secretary General of the European Parliament, the institution's most senior administrative official.
He exchanged views with Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the European Parliament's Security and Defence Committee, which oversees the bloc's defence and security policy, and with Sergey Lagodinsky, vice-president of the Greens/European Free Alliance group.
Budget commissioner and party officials
The deputy minister also held talks with Piotr Serafin, the European Commissioner for Budget, who oversees the European Union's multiannual financial planning.
He met separately with senior officials from the European People's Party, the centre-right group and the largest in the European Parliament, and from Renew Europe, the parliament's liberal and centrist group.
Part of regular contacts ahead of 2027 presidency
The Greek foreign ministry said Chatzivasileiou's presence in Strasbourg formed part of a broader pattern of regular visits by the deputy minister to European institutions and European capitals, carried out as Greece prepares for its upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU.
Strasbourg hosts the official seat of the European Parliament, where the institution holds most of its monthly plenary sessions, while much of its committee work and day-to-day administration is based in Brussels.
The ministry released photographs from Chatzivasileiou's meetings during the visit.
