Athens Toes the EU-Russia Line

Along with its economic policies, the new Greek government’s foreign policies are also attracting attention. The alleged rapprochement between Greece and Russia has caused alarm in both European and American foreign policy circles: German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, for instance, said in a Reuters interview in February 2015 that Berlin “does not like” this development. Initially, the Greek government was seen as being ready to block new European Union sanctions against Russia. But this did not happen; instead, the country stuck to Brussels’s line. After the extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council on Ukraine of 29 January, High Representative Federica Mogherini stressed the constructive stance taken by the Greek government in forging EU unity.