THE Kyriakos Mitsotakis was found in Odessa for the 4th Ukraine – Southeast Europe Summit And speaking on the margins of the meeting – as he pointed out it was an idea of the Greek government – he referred to what is at the moment on the Ukraine front, but also of Europe’s defense spending.
The prime minister spoke to the newspaper “Ta Nea” by initially saying that “Right now what urgent is to go to a ceasefire of fireas President Zelenski has accepted it, but unfortunately, President Putin has not yet accepted it and then begins the negotiations on a peace, which should be done in fair terms, under the terms of Ukraine, and not in conditions of absolute capitulation. “
Regarding EU defense moves, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: “It is very important that Europe now realizes that it has to invest in its common defense. But that is not enough. We have said many times that a supplementary additional European financial tool will be needed, to borrow Europe, as it did in the case of the recovery fund, in order to support common projects that concern Europe defensively, as a whole. “
The interview of Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Mr Prime Minister, tell me first, what is the general feeling from this meeting?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: First of all, I would like to remind you that this meeting between the states of Nethe -Eastern Europe and Ukraine was an idea of the Greek government. The first meeting had taken place in Athens in August 2023 and was established as an institution and I am very pleased to be in Odessa for the second time.
As you know, Odessa is a city that is identified with Greek history and therefore my presence here sends a multiple message of support to Ukraine to this very difficult circumstance.
I think it is commonplace that at this time what is urgent is to go to a ceasefire, as President Zelenski has accepted it, but unfortunately, President Putin has not yet accepted it and then to begin the negotiations for a peace, which should not be done with the fairness, which should not be done.
The Greek proposal for a common European defense seems to be slowly accepted by other countries. Will we see some practical steps in this direction next time?
CYRiakos Mitsotakis: First of all, the fact that the Rearm Europe – as proposed by the European Commission – is now reality, is also due to a degree to the great pressure that the Greek government has exerted over time in order for Europe to take more seriously the issues of European defense.
Greece has already activated the national escape clause. We will have 500 million additional costs that will not be taken into account in the deficit objectives for the next year and we are considering other financial tools to see whether and how we may use them.
It is very important that Europe now realizes that it has to invest in its common defense. But that is not enough. We have said many times that a supplementary additional European financial tool will also be needed to borrow Europe, as it did in the case of the recovery fund, in order to support common projects that relate to Europe defensively, overall.
It is not just national budgets or even the safe where we are essentially talking about loans, not grants, to fill the defensive gap that Europe has today.