Kotzias blasts EC over ‘Cham’ matter

EC position on Cham issue could harm Greece’s relations with the body, Kotzias warned

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias blasted the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Johannes Hahn on the “non-existent” “Cham” issue, as Kotzias dubbed the matter raised by the Commissioner recently when commenting on the bilateral relations between Greece and Albania. In a letter sent to Hahn, Kotzias left the diplomatic etiquette aside and accused the Commissioner of acting in an ‘irresponsible and careless’ manner. Kotzias pointed out that the Commission’s stance on the matter was of great concern, as it undermined the bilateral efforts underway between Greece and Albania to strengthen their ties. Kotzias added in his letter that he was surprised that, given the ongoing process between the two countries to find common grounds -a goal theoretically shared by the Commission- that it would raise obstacles in realising this aim. ‘I want to take this opportunity to repeat, once more, our steadfast position on the matter. There is no ‘Cham’ issue for Greece”, Kotzias said in his letter. The Minister reproached the Commission for expressing an opinion on the matter in such an “irresponsible and careless manner” without previous deliberations or a detailed examination of the issue, especially in light of the fact that Greece’s position on the matter was quite clear to the Commission. Kotzias continued by warning that if the Commission adopted the nationalistic arguments put forward by those aiming at bringing an non-existent matter to the forefront, it would effectively be accepting a revisionist narrative of European history. The Greek politician called on Hahn and the Commission to issue a corrective statement, stressing that any ‘deceptive report’ in Albania’s EU accession progress report would seriously harm Greece’s relations with the Commission.