06-03-2010: “Athens Mayor receives Association of European Journalists”

Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis and Deputy Mayor for
International Relations Sophie Daskalaki-Mytilineou
today received the chairmen and members of the Association of European
Journalists and the Association's Greek Section, at Athens
City Hall, on the occasion of their
Executive Committee meeting, which was held in Athens.




Mayor Kaklamanis warmly welcomed the journalists and
noted during his address:




"According to writer Henry Miller,
good journalism is the only way in which society can converse with itself.
And the City
of Athens is a
city that knows this very well as it has pioneered in this specific field. Athens is a city that,
beyond democracy and culture, gave birth to the first independent radio station
which today broadcasts in 14 languages.




You know
very well, of course, that we live in difficult times. We live in an era where
tumultuous information overload, shallow analysis and superficial conclusions
dull our vision. And particularly in these times, this is something which
assumes even greater importance. We cannot doubt or negotiate the fact that Europe
is the destination of our political, economic and social future. Nor the fact
that, as associates, allies and fellow travelers, we must not wag our finger at
one another but find ways to reach an understanding. Besides, as we say here in
Greece,
friendship is proven when difficulties arise. Because, governments may frequently disagree but it would be a shame if these disagreements harmed relations between the peoples of Europe".




He
continued:


"At this
point, I would like share a personal experience of mine with you. When the
European Parliament voted on the common currency, the euro, I was a Euro-MP. At
the time, I did not vote in favour of the euro, but rather cast a blank ballot.
This was my reasoning. I believed, and continue to
believe, that in order for our common currency to succeed, three preconditions should have existed - genuine political
union in Europe, genuine social cohesion in Europe and, chiefly, Europe should possess its own sources of wealth
production - oil and natural gas.




At the time, Europe was attempting to conclude the matter of the customs union
with Turkey.
In the European Parliament, I had put forward a proposal, with a vote - which
did not draw a majority in the end - for the establishment of a customs union
with Russia,
either beforehand or in parallel. A country with limitless sources of wealth
production. that would have been a very useful ally for Europe.




I remind
you that the dollar's first attack on the euro occurred some two to three years
ago via the oil crisis. Europe held up then.
We are now experiencing the dollar's second attack on the euro via
international speculation, something to which US President Obama admitted a
couple of days ago. And this is why he ordered investigations. Therefore, I
believe that now, more than ever before, it is necessary for Europe to
demonstrate its great solidarity between members, otherwise not one, two or
three countries face danger. The entire European structure is at risk".




For his
part, the chairman of the Association of European Journalists' Greek section,
Athanasios Papandropoulos, thanked Mayor Kaklamanis on behalf of the visiting
journalists for his hospitality and noted:




"My
colleagues who constitute the Union's executive committee came to Athens for two reasons.
The first is that, each year, the Union
confers the Konstantinos Kalligas awards, and, for the last three years, the
European Award for Journalism".




As I carefully listened to your
observation, with which I concur, in terms of the existing level and state of
journalism, I would like you to know that the Konstantinos Kalligas award pays
tribute to the ethical journalism and European orientation of the journalists
who receive the award.




The second reason that my colleagues
are here in Athens
is that, yesterday, we held a kind of seminar on the future of journalism. It
would be my great pleasure to send you the conclusions of the meeting within
the next few weeks, so that you can see my colleagues' level of discussion and
inquiry for yourself.




I will end on an optimistic note,
saying that I believe that here, in the birthplace of journalistic Democracy,
all difficulties can be overcome".




Association of European Journalists
chairman Diego Carcedo noted:




"I realise
that Athens is
going through a difficult phase due to the difficult economic situation. On
behalf of our Association, I would like to convey our solidarity and the
assurance that you will soon overcome this situation. I am certain that, next
year, when we return to Athens,
the situation will have greatly improved. Mr Mayor, I wish you and the citizens
of Athens all
the very best".