Greek Police Ban Rallies In Athens On Friday Over EU Mediterranean Nations Summit

Umer Jamshaid Published September 16, 2021 | 08:12 PM

Athens police have prohibited all outdoor gatherings from 6 a.m. local time (03:00 GMT) until midnight on Friday in some areas of the city due to a summit of heads of state and government from EU Mediterranean countries (EUMED 9)

ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2021) Athens police have prohibited all outdoor gatherings from 6 a.m. local time (03:00 GMT) until midnight on Friday in some areas of the city due to a summit of heads of state and government from EU Mediterranean countries (EUMED 9).

Rallies are prohibited in central Athens and areas adjacent to the summit venue, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, south of the capital.

"The ban was imposed due to serious risks to public safety and disruptions of socio-economic life in the wake of the EuroMed9 summit in Athens and the planned visits, movements, and stay of officials in our country," the police explained in a statement obtained by Sputnik.

Several organizations have announced a gathering at 7 p.m. in the central Syntagma Square to protest the summit, the statement added.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is set to meet on Friday with his Croatian counterpart, Andrej Plenkovic, before the summit, and then his Italian counterpart, Mario Draghi, at the venue of the meeting, according to his office.

The summit on climate change and its consequences for the Mediterranean Sea will begin at 3:30 p. m. local time. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will attend.

The EUMED 9 summit will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Friday and will be attended by Mitsotakis, Draghi, Plenkovic, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, and Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva.

After the summit, the officials will make press statements and attend the working dinner, according to Mitsotakis' office.