The two Prime Ministers are expected to sign a joint declaration regarding the future of Europe and the cooperation between the two countries. A joint press conference will be held in the afternoon.
On the sidelines of Costa’s visit, Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva will meet with Greek Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Yannis Mouzalas.
After his visit to Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Antonio Costa said Greece should not bear the burden of the refugee crisis on its own and once again expressed Portugal’s support also with a bilateral agreement to move refugees from Greece to Portugal.
During the European Union summit on February, Costa sent a letter to Tsipras and other leaders of European Union member states to inform them that Portugal is ready to receive another 6.000 refugees from Greece, in addition to those who will resettle to Portugal under the European relocation scheme.
Antonio Costa has been leading a coalition government supported by Bloco de Esquerda, the left bloc and Portugal’s communist party since November 2015. His visit to Athens is also interpreted as an expression of support regarding the first evaluation of the Greek program. His government recently passed a budget that ends austerity in Portugal, which however triggered a conflict with Brussels. In the mid-time, the IMF warned that additional measures may be required.