Markus Andrews

Emmanuel Macron does not want a conflict with the UK, Boris Johnson has said, as he sought to calm tensions in the cross-Channel post-Brexit fishing dispute.His comments came after Brexit minister David Frost told the European Commission that the UK is ready to retaliate if France imposes sanctions next week.Frost told Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic that any move by Paris to block access to its ports by British vessels or to cut electricity supplies to the Channel Islands would put the EU in breach of the post-Brexit trade deal it struck with the UK a year ago.Britain could step up enforcement and checks on EU boats in its waters, as well as launching formal dispute settlement mechanisms in what would be a significant escalation of post-Brexit hostilities.France’s ambassador to London, Catherine Colonna, was hauled in to the Foreign Office to explain Paris’s stance to Europe minister Wendy Morton.And Downing Street confirmed that Mr Johnson will speak with Mr Macron personally about the row in a “brush-by” meeting at the G20 summit in Rome, in what amounts to a distraction from his priority of lobbying other leaders for climate action at the Cop26 summit which he is hosting in Glasgow next week.Speaking to reporters as he travelled to Rome, the PM shrugged off suggestions that the spat could derail his hopes of securing agreement in Glasgow, telling reporters: “There are bigger fish to fry, everybody knows that.”And he signalled he will take an emollient tone with Mr Macron in the hope of soothing the bust-up, sparked by French complaints that ships which have historically fished in waters off Jersey and Guernsey are being denied licences following Brexit. The prime minister lavished affection on France as “one of our best, oldest allies, friends and partners”.He vowed to do “whatever is necessary to ensure UK interests”, suggesting France is in breach of the Brexit trade agreement.But he added: “The ties that unite us and bind us together are far stronger than the turbulence that currently exists in the relationship.“That is what I will say to Emmanuel, who is a friend I’ve known for many years.”The cross-Channel bust-up has been fuelled by the French seizure of a Scottish-registered fishing boat, held by the maritime gendarmerie at Le Havre for two days.The skipper of the Cornelis Gert Jan has been ordered to appear in court next year to answer charges of operating without a licence in French waters, and is facing a possible maximum fine of €75,000 (£63,000).But the UK insists that the case is separate from the ongoing dispute over licences. And Downing Street said that 98 per cent of applications by EU boats to fish in British waters have been approved, though numbers are far lower in the Channel Islands.The prime minister said the UK is “puzzled about what is going on”, as France protests that its fishing vessels have been wrongly denied access to UK and Jersey waters.But he insisted that it did not indicate a deeper rift between London and Paris.“There may be people, on either side of the Channel, who think they may have an interest in somehow promoting disharmony between the UK and France,” said Mr Johnson.But he added: “I don’t think Emmanuel shares that perspective.”Asked about trade becoming “snarled up”, at a time when UK supermarkets are already short of some goods, he said: “I haven’t heard that from our French friends. I would be surprised if they adopted that approach.”Speaking after his talks in London with Mr Sefcovic, a UK government spokesperson said that Lord Frost had set out the UK’s concerns about “the unjustified measures announced by France earlier this week to disrupt UK fisheries and wider trade, to threaten energy supplies, and to block further cooperation between the UK and the EU, for example on the Horizon research programme”.The spokesperson said: “Lord Frost made clear that, if these actions were implemented as planned on 2 November, they would put the European Union in breach of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).“The government is accordingly considering the possibility, in those circumstances, of launching dispute settlement proceedings under the TCA, and of other practical responses, including implementing rigorous enforcement processes and checks on EU fishing activity in UK territorial waters, within the terms of the TCA.”A European Commission spokesperson said Mr Sefcovic urged the UK to “intensify discussions with the European Commission and France in order to swiftly resolve the issue of pending fishing licences”.“All French vessels entitled to a licence should receive one,” the spokesperson said. More

George Eustice condemns France’s ‘unjustified’ threats amid fishing rights rowLord Frost has been advised by the European Commission vice-president that Britain should “engage constructively” with France in the ongoing dispute over fishing licences. Following a pre-arranged meeting to discuss the Northern Ireland Protocol, an EU spokesman said Maros Sefcovic used the tete-a-tete to tell Britain’s Brexit minister “all French vessels entitled to a licence should receive one”.A UK government spokesperson said in response, Lord Frost had warned Mr Sefcovic France would be in breach of the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) if proposed sanctions to disrupt British fishing boats went ahead next week, and ministers could launch “dispute settlement proceedings” as a result.It comes after the captain of the British scallop trawler still detained in France was summoned to appear in court on 11 August next year. The deputy prosecutor of Le Havre, where the boat is being kept, said its skipper was accused of operating in French territorial waters without a valid permit.But Scottish seafood giant Macduff Shellfish, which owns the vessel, said all its activity was “entirely legal”. Follow our live coverage belowShow latest update

1635518971Following my last post, here’s our political editor Andrew Woodcock with more detail on the meeting between Lord Frost and Maros Sefcovic.Sam Hancock29 October 2021 15:491635518218Frost says UK could launch ‘dispute settlement proceedings’ against FranceMore from Lord Frost’s meeting with Maros Sefcovic now. Britain’s Brexit minister told the EU the UK government could launch “dispute settlement proceedings” if France goes ahead with its threats over the fishing row.A UK Government spokesman said: “Lord Frost also set out to the vice president our concerns about the unjustified measures announced by France earlier this week to disrupt UK fisheries and wider trade, to threaten energy supplies, and to block further co-operation between the UK and the EU, for example on the Horizon research programme.“Lord Frost made clear that, if these actions were implemented as planned on 2 November, they would put the European Union in breach of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).“The government is accordingly considering the possibility, in those circumstances, of launching dispute settlement proceedings under the TCA, and of other practical responses, including implementing rigorous enforcement processes and checks on EU fishing activity in UK territorial waters, within the terms of the TCA.”Sam Hancock29 October 2021 15:361635516448Frost and Sefcovic discuss fishing row at meeting in LondonBack to the fishing row now. Brexit minister David Frost and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic have discussed the ongoing dispute between the UK and France today.Following a pre-arranged meeting in London, to discuss the Northern Ireland Protocol, a European Commission spokesman said Mr Sefcovic had urged the UK to “engage constructively” with proposals over the post-Brexit agreement.“In addition, the vice president encouraged the UK to intensify discussions with the European Commission and France in order to swiftly resolve the issue of pending fishing licences. All French vessels entitled to a licence should receive one,” the spokesman said.“Discussions on the protocol will continue next week. The vice president and David Frost will meet in Brussels on 5 November.” More

Brexit minister David Frost has warned Brussels that French sanctions in the row over fishing rights in the English Channel would put the European Union in breach of its post-Brexit trade deal with the UK.Lord Frost said that if Paris goes ahead with the measures as threatened on 2 November, the UK is ready to retaliate by stepping up enforcement and checks on EU fishing boats in British territorial waters, as well as launching dispute settlement proceedings under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).The move came after environment minister George Eustice warned that the UK was ready to strike back if France blocks British boats from its ports or cuts electricity supplies to the Channel Islands, telling Paris: “Two can play at that game.”With the row escalating to a full-scale diplomatic scrap, Downing Street confirmed that Boris Johnson has scheduled a “brush-by” meeting with president Emmanuel Macron at this weekend’s G20 summit in Rome, in a major distraction from his priority of persuading fellow-leaders to deliver on climate change the UN Cop26 summit which the prime minister is chairing in Glasgow next week.And France’s ambassador to London, Catherine Colonna, was summoned to the Foreign Office to explain Paris’s stance to Europe minister Wendy Morton.The captain of a Scottish-registered fishing vessel held by the maritime gendarmerie for two days in the port of Le Havre has been ordered to appear in court next year to answer charges of operating without a licence in French waters. The skipper of the Cornelis Gert Jan risks a fine of €75,000, French media reported.The row over French claims of unfairness in the UK’s award of licences to its boats overshadowed talks in London today between Lord Frost and European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic about the status of the Irish border after Brexit.Speaking after the talks, a UK government spokesperson said that Lord Frost had set out to Mr Sefcovic the UK’s concerns about “the unjustified measures announced by France earlier this week to disrupt UK fisheries and wider trade, to threaten energy supplies, and to block further cooperation between the UK and the EU, for example on the Horizon research programme”.The spokesperson said: “Lord Frost made clear that, if these actions were implemented as planned on 2 November, they would put the European Union in breach of the TCA.“The government is accordingly considering the possibility, in those circumstances, of launching dispute settlement proceedings under the TCA, and of other practical responses, including implementing rigorous enforcement processes and checks on EU fishing activity in UK territorial waters, within the terms of the TCA.”A European Commission spokesperson said Mr Sefcovic urged the UK to “intensify discussions with the European Commission and France in order to swiftly resolve the issue of pending fishing licences”.“All French vessels entitled to a licence should receive one,” the spokesperson said.Following the talks, Lord Frost said that gaps between London and Brussels over the Irish border remain “substantial”.The Commission’s proposed relaxation of checks on goods to ease frictions at Boris Johnson’s customs border in the Irish Sea were “a welcome step forward” but would not ease movements sufficiently to deliver a durable solution, said the minister.He also said that Brussels had not engaged with changes demanded by the UK to the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was negotiated and agreed by Lord Frost and Mr Johnson in 2019 and presented by the prime minister at the time as a success, despite widespread warnings that it would disrupt trade between Northern Ireland and the British mainland.Lord Frost said that “substantial” changes were needed to the terms which he and Mr Johnson agreed, including the removal of a role for the European Court of Justice. Brussels has insisted it will not renegotiate the Protocol.Lord Frost and Mr Sefcovic are due to continue talks in Brussels on 5 November. More

China’s president Xi Jinping has warned Boris Johnson in a phone call ahead of next week’s climate change summit that cuts to greenhouse gases produced by the world’s biggest carbon emitter will be only “gradual”.Speaking just two days before the start of the United Nations Cop26 summit hosted by Mr Johnson in Glasgow, Mr Xi said that China’s commitment to climate action was “unwavering” but that bringing down carbon emissions would require “extensive and profound economic and social changes” which would have to be undertaken in a “gradual and orderly” way.Commitments announced on Thursday by Beijing to reach peak emissions by 2030 and net zero in 2060 have been broadly criticised as insufficiently ambitious.And Mr Xi has come under fire for refusing to join more than 120 other national leaders in Glasgow for the opening of the summit, regarded by many environmentalists as the last opportunity to secure meaningful action to keep global warming below 1.5C.Downing Street signalled that Mr Johnson put pressure on Xi to step up Chinese efforts on emissions reductions.In a readout of the call, No 10 said the prime minister “acknowledged” Beijing’s new plan but “emphasised the importance of all countries stepping up their ambition on climate change at Cop26 and taking concrete action to cut emissions and expedite the transition to renewable energy, including phasing out coal”.China was one of the last major countries to submit an emission reduction plan – known as a nationally determined contribution, or NDC – ahead of the Cop26 gathering.The document represented only modest progress on China’s previous NDC, from the Paris summit in 2015, with new clarity that Beijing intends emissions to peak by the end of this decade with a reduction in the carbon intensity of the economy by more than 65 per cent.While Beijing has agreed to stop funding coal power plants abroad, it continues to build them in China.An account of today’s call released by the Chinese authorities says that Mr Xi told the prime minister that the new NDC reflected the fact that “extensive and profound economic and social changes require gradual and orderly progress and hard work”.The Chinese president offered Mr Johnson his support for the Glasgow summit, adding that “China’s determination to accelerate green and low-carbon development is unwavering and it has always done what it says”.Mr Xi stressed the principle, set out in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, that different countries have “common but differentiated responsibilities” on emission reductions – meaning that progress can be made at varying speeds depending on their particular circumstances.In an apparent warning to the UK not to interfere in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, the Chinese president told Mr Johnson that “mutual trust”, with a “proper handling” of any differences, should be the foundation of UK-Chinese relations.Downing Street said that the two leaders recognised “areas of disagreement and difficulty in the bilateral relationship”. A spokesperson said: “The prime minister raised the United Kingdom’s concerns about the erosion of democracy in Hong Kong and human rights in Xinjiang. At the same time, they agreed to cooperate on areas of shared interest, such as developing clean and green technology and supporting the sustainable recovery of the global economy.” More

A post-Brexit shift in trade links away from the UK’s EU neighbours to far-flung partners like Australia, China and the US could almost double Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions from shipping, according to new analysis released on the eve of a crucial climate change summit.With just two days to go to the opening of the United Nations Cop26 gathering hosted by Boris Johnson in Glasgow, Friends of the Earth said that the findings amounted to further proof that the government was “missing the mark on all counts” over the climate implications of its trade policies.The prime minister has made new “Global Britain” trade deals a centrepiece of his Brexit strategy, arguing that leaving the EU’s customs union leaves the UK free to forge partnerships with fast-growing parts of the world economy. Trade deals have been struck with Australia, New Zealand and Japan and the UK is seeking membership of the CPTPP trade bloc of Pacific nations.But the new analysis by the UK Trade and Business Commission found that replacing EU trade lost since 2018 with imports and exports from more distant countries would increase annual emissions from UK-linked shipping by 88 per cent.The release of an additional 6.5m tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year by container ships making long voyages around the globe with goods for the UK market and exports to overseas customers would be the equivalent of 44,000 transatlantic flights, the Commission found.Offsetting the emissions would require planting a new forest the size of Northern Ireland.The cross-party, cross-industry Commission said that the issue cast doubt on the government’s commitment to climate action, just as Mr Johnson pleads with the international community to halve carbon emissions by 2050 in the hope of limiting warming to 1.5C.Green Party MP and Commission member Caroline Lucas said: “This would be a staggering increase in emissions – and one entirely driven by this government’s ideological opposition to the European single market.“Time is running out in the race for our future, yet the government is taking us further down the track towards climate chaos, rather than comprehensively decarbonising our economy in line with climate science and demonstrating authoritative global leadership in advance of the UN climate summit in Glasgow next week.”And Friends of the Earth trade expert Kierra Box told The Independent: “A map of the globe isn’t needed to note that chasing trade deals with countries as distant as Australia will increase climate costs of transporting goods all the way back here.”She added: “But it’s not just transport emissions. With crunch climate talks starting in a matter of hours, the government should be adamant that UK imports aren’t responsible for destroying forests, polluting waterways or perpetuating the burning of more fossil fuels overseas. It’s not just about distance, it is also standards, and climate ambition. And the government has missed the mark here on all counts.“A real commitment to the aims of climate talks would have seen the UK prioritise support for sustainable farming here, invest in relationships with nations sharing similar high standards to the UK, and prioritise trade talks with nations that meet or exceed their commitments under the Paris Agreement – rather than those trailing the pack by a very long way.”According to the Office for National Statistics, trade in goods between the UK and EU fell by 23.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period of 2018. Over the same period, trade with other countries fell by just 0.8 per cent, suggesting that the change was due to Brexit rather than the Covid pandemic.This equates to around 45.5m tonnes of goods, according to the Commission’s calculations. Moving the same weight of cargo to and from the UK’s five largest non-EU trading partners would increase the carbon footprint of UK shipping by 88 per cent – at a rate of 16.14g of carbon for moving each tonne of goods 1km by container ship.The director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, Professor Paul Ekins, said: “It’s quite simple, the farther you need to move goods, other things being equal, the more emissions you create and so increasing our carbon footprint is pretty much baked into increasing trade with countries like Australia and the US over countries in Europe.“To avoid this outcome, the government should look at ways to improve trading arrangements with EU nations, so that we trade with EU nations where this makes sense from a combined commercial and environmental perspective.”The report came as the Office for Budget Responsibility found that Brexit barriers to trade will reduce UK prosperity by more than Covid-19 over the longer term, inflicting a 4 per cent hit on GDP, compared to an estimated 2 per cent “scarring” from the pandemic.Commission chair and Labour MP Hilary Benn said:“This projection from the UK’s fiscal watchdog chimes exactly with what we’ve been hearing from industry experts and business leaders for the last six months. The government’s wilful obsession with making trade with the EU more difficult will leave us poorer and we will be picking up the pieces for many years to come.“As with any recovery process, the first step is admitting that you have a problem. Ministers must stop using the pandemic as an excuse, acknowledge these findings, and work with business to improve their bad deal.”Naomi Smith, chief executive of internationalist pressure group Best for Britain, which provides the secretariat of the UK Trade and Business Commission, said:“The government needs to come clean and admit that the two possible outcomes from their current strategy involve either massively increasing our carbon footprint or failing to replace the trade they lost, meaning less business, fewer jobs and lower incomes across the UK.“If they can move past dogma, the way forward is clear. We need to rebuild trade with Europe by improving the government’s dud deal and the UK Trade and Business Commission has made 64 proposals on how to do just that.”A government spokesperson said: “The UK’s climate change and environment policies are some of the most ambitious in the world, reflecting our commitment as the first major economy to pass new laws for net zero emissions by 2050.“Our independent trade policy takes a bold, comprehensive approach to environmental issues and we continue to work with our partners to tackle climate change – including at Cop26 next month.” More

George Eustice has suggested Britain would retaliate if France imposes sanctions in an escalating row over post-Brexit fishing rights, with the cabinet minister warning: “Two can play at that game”.The environment secretary insisted, however, that the UK had done “nothing wrong” and wanted to “defuse the issue” — just hours after Liz Truss summoned the French ambassador to the Foreign Office over the seizure of a British fishing boat.French ministers have also warned they will block British boats from some French ports and tighten checks on vessels travelling between France and the UK if the issue is not resolved by 2 November — as well as threatening the electricity supply to the Channel Islands.Addressing the flare-up in tensions, Mr Eustice told Sky News the comments from French authorities authorities were “completely disproportionate”, “unacceptable”, and “inflammatory” during a series of interviews on Friday.On the measures threatened by France, the cabinet minister said: “We don’t know what they will do. They said they wouldn’t introduce these measures until Tuesday — probably at the earliest.“But obviously if they do bring these in to place, well two can play at that game. We obviously reserve the ability to respond in a proportionate way.”Boris Johnson is set to discuss the row with French President Emmanuel Macron in a “brush-by” meeting on the margins of the G20 summit in Rome this weekend.According to the Daily Telegraph, UK retaliatory measures have been considered in an “options paper” drawn up by officials, and include further restricting access to British waters and dispatching the UK ambassador in Paris.The newspaper added that Boris Johnson could also confront Emmanuel Macron, the French president, at the G20 summit in Rome this weekend — a possibility hinted at the environment secretary on Friday.Mr Eustice also claimed: “There are elections coming up in France, I’ve seen suggestions that might be a factor.“But we have to deal with what we’re faced with here, which is France threatening us and actions that are completely disproportionate, are not acceptable, and would be a breach of the agreement that we have with them.“That’s why we’re going to be raising that with their ambassador, raising it with the (European) Commission.”He added: “We want to defuse this issue, but the truth is we’ve not done anything wrong. We’ve abided by the terms of the trade and co-operation agreement. Nearly 1,700 EU vessels have been licensed to fish in our waters.“There’s a small percentage, just two per cent of applicants who don’t qualify. So the reaction France has come up with is totally disproportionate.”In a rare move for an allied nation on Thursday evening, the foreign secretary said she was summoning the French ambassador to the UK, Catherine Colonna, to the Foreign Office amid threats of sanctions.Ms Truss said: “I have instructed Europe Minister Wendy Morton to summon the French Ambassador to the UK for talks… to explain the disappointing and disproportionate threats made against the UK and Channel Islands.” More

Britain and France once again find themselves at loggerheads over post-Brexit fishing rights in the English Channel.The latest installment of the feud kicked off on Wednesday when French maritime authorities seized a Scottish scallop trawler, the Cornelis-Gert Jan, and detained it at the port of Le Harve in Normandy, accusing it of fishing without a licence and fining a second boat for obstructing vessel checks.The trawler is owned by Macduff Shellfish out of Dumfries and Andrew Brown, the company’s director of sustainability and public affairs, responded by saying: “It appears our vessel has been caught up in the ongoing dispute between the UK and France on the implementation of the Brexit Fishing Agreement.France fishing row – latest: UK warns it will retaliate if sanctions imposed as post-Brexit tensions mount“We are looking to the UK government to defend the rights of the UK fishing fleet and ensure that the fishing rights provided under the Brexit Fishing Agreement are fully respected by the EU.“We will vigorously defend ourselves against any claims.”The captain has now been summoned to a French court and could face a fine. While Boris Johnson’s Cabinet were scrambling to respond to the episode, France’s European affairs minister, Clement Beaune, appeared on the domestic news channel CNews and said: “We have been extremely patient… our fishermen have been extremely responsible… And so, from November 2, it’s over: we will engage in dialogue if the British want to, but we are taking retaliatory measures.“Now we need to speak the language of force because, unfortunately, that seems to be the only thing this British government understands.”His deadline would mean UK boats being banned from French ports from Tuesday and rigorous vessel inspections enforced if licensing issues are not resolved, with France also threatening to disrupt power supply to the Channel Islands out of spite.French fishermen have said they feel deceived by the UK government for failing to grant them enough post-Brexit fishing licences to access British waters.Mr Beaune’s colleague, maritime minister Annick Girardin, ramped up the rhetoric by telling domestic radio programme RTL Matin that the UK’s “failure to comply” with the terms of the Brexit deal was “unacceptable”.“It’s not war, it’s a fight,” she said. “The French and the fishermen have rights. An agreement was signed. We must enforce this agreement. We have fishing rights, we must defend them and we will defend them.”Responding in the House of Commons, environment secretary George Eustice told MPs the UK would not “get into a retaliatory tit for tat on this kind of thing”, adding: “It’s important that everyone remains calm.”He said there was no reason to be concerned about the welfare of the Cornelis crew (who remain in “good spirits”, according to Mr Brown) and that the vessel had been included on a list provided by the Marine Management Organisation to the EU, meaning it had been granted it a licence, adding: “We are seeing some reports that, for some reason, they were subsequently withdrawn from the list; it’s unclear why that might have been at the moment.”Mr Eustice warned that French attempts to block their ports could breach international law and said the UK had licensed 98 per cent of EU vessels that have applied for access to its waters post-Brexit and that more are expected to be granted following “constructive” talks with the European Commission.A UK government spokesperson reiterated the secretary’s stance, saying: “The proposed French actions are unjustified and do not appear to be compatible on the EU’s part with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement or wider international law.“We regret the confrontational language that has been consistently used by the French government on this issue, which makes this situation no easier to resolve.”Brexit minister Lord David Frost subsequently held a crisis meeting with senior cabinet colleagues over the issue on Thursday before the Foreign Office summoned French ambassador Catherine Colonna to Westminster for urgent talks on Friday.Foreign secretary Liz Truss said Ms Colonna would be expected “to explain the disappointing and disproportionate threats made against the UK and Channel Islands”.Before that could take place, Mr Eustice appeared on Sky News to say that the UK had done “nothing wrong” and expressed a wish to “defuse the situation”, only to then undermine that position by warning France that, should they impose arbitrary regulatory measures to the disadvantage of British fishing vessels, the UK would retaliate.“Obviously if they do bring these into place, well two can play at that game. We obviously reserve the ability to respond in a proportionate way,” he said. More

Greece’s often-strained relations in past years with European economic powerhouse Germany took center stage in a meeting in Athens Friday between outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greece’s president. Katerina Sakellaropoulou was Merkel’s first official meeting during her visit to the country whose financial crisis marked much of her 16-year tenure and Germany’s relationship with Europe.“There were times of difficulty and tension,” Sakellaropoulou told Merkel, referring to their two countries’ relations. “The financial crisis that many countries of Europe faced put mainly Greece, which was called on to pay a heavy price, in a difficult position. It was an unprecedented situation … and Greece felt — we justifiably often felt alone.”Greece’s decade-long financial crisis, which began in late 2019, saw a quarter of the country’s economy wiped out and Greece almost crashing out of the euro, the joint currency used by many European Union members.Germany was the largest single contributor to three successive international bailout packages Greece received from 2010 to 2018. But the rescue loans came with strings attached. Greece’s economy was put under strict supervision and a series of deeply resented reforms were imposed, including repeated tax hikes and cuts in pensions, salaries and public spending for everything from health care to infrastructure.While the Greek economy had suffered years of poor management and the overspending of public money which contributed to its dire financial predicament and triggered the crisis, the terms imposed in return for the rescue were particularly harsh.Many Greeks blamed Merkel — and her finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble — for the enforced austerity which led to plummeting living standards and an economic depression. At one point the jobless rate reached 28%, with youth unemployment exceeding 60%.But as the country’s financial situation gradually improved, so too did relations with Germany, and the general public sentiment toward Merkel herself.“I believe that the time that has passed and the experiences we lived through during this period contributed to mutual understanding and the drawing of useful conclusions for the present and the future,” Sakellaropoulou said. “It is important that Europe maintained its cohesion, and this was shown in its handling of the pandemic and in the Recovery Fund.”Merkel responded to the Greek president that “you referred to our relations which went through some ups and downs, but are based on strong foundations. Dialogue was always the key to searching for and finding a solution.”She said there had been varied challenges, including the destabilization of the euro currency “and the reforms that had to happen in all countries and in Greece,” and also touched briefly on the migration issue for Europe.“What gave us strength in this period was the fact that we always had the feeling we belong together,” Merkel said. “And I believe this is the basic feeling we must have.”After her meeting with Sakellaropoulou, Merkel headed into talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at whose private residence she dined Thursday night after arriving in Athens. More