The Diplomat
The Greek Ambassador to Spain, Ilias Fotopoulos, presided over the reopening of the Honorary Consulate of Greece in Barcelona, which will be headed by Juan Ignacio Navas Marqués.
The event, held at the Hotel Catalonia Rambla, was attended by a large group of career consuls or honorary consuls from different countries in Barcelona.
As the ambassador explained, Barcelona is one of the oldest consular authorities in Greece, as the Consulate General was founded in 1843, nine years after the establishment of diplomatic relations with Spain, due to the great development of the port of the Catalan capital at that time and the rapid advance of the Greek merchant navy.
In 1991, it was established as a career consulate until, in 2008, the economic crisis led the Greek government to suspend its operation. Subsequently, Greece had an honorary consul, in the person of Fernando Turro, but was forced to dismiss him on 17 October 2018, following complaints from the Spanish government for his pro-independence activities and for “insulting the flag” of the Spanish State.
Now, the Greek authorities have decided to reopen the Honorary Consulate, which will serve some 5,000 Greeks residing in Catalonia.
