President von der Leyen and Vice-President Schinas in Greece, HR/VP Borrell and Commissioner Lenarčič in Turkey*

Today, President Ursula von der Leyen and Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life Margaritis Schinas are travelling to Greece, together with the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in view of the ongoing situation at the Greek-Turkish border. They will be received by the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Croatia, Davor Božinović, will join them as they visit the border, where they will be briefed by the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. A press conference will follow at +/- 14:30 CET which will be available on EbS. The President’s remarks will be available online after the press conference. Also today, High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič are on their way to Ankara, Turkey. They will hold talks on the ongoing escalation in the north western Syrian province of Idlib and the humanitarian consequences for the civilian population on the ground, as well as the situation of Syrian refugees in Turkey. The visit takes place ahead of the informal meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers (Gymnich) and the extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council chaired by High Representative Borrell in Zagreb later this week. Commissioner Lenarčič on his side will continue his trip to Turkey by visiting the refugee facilities in Turkey’s south eastern Gaziantep. Audiovisual coverage of the visit will be available on EbS.