DW: A message of cooperation in difficult times from the Mitsotakis – Soltz meeting

Olaf Solz’s first official visit to Athens included a beautiful walk on the Acropolis, a rather harmonious discussion with Kyriakos Mitsotakis and a press conference that highlighted the difficulty in formulating a European solution to the problem of the energy crisis.

It was the first joint press conference of one Greek prime minister and of a German chancellor since the start of the Eurocrisis in 2010, when the greatest pressure from journalists was felt by the German and not the Greek. And not only because Kyriakos Mitsotakis was playing at home.

THE Olaf Solz he was the one who had to answer – to his internal audience – for the decision to give a percentage of a wharf in the port of Hamburg to COSCO, but also for Germany’s reluctance to cooperate in order to provide a European response to the energy crisis. And his answers, especially on the subject of the energy crisis and skyrocketing gas prices, were rather vague. Instead, the Greek prime minister has been for months – along with 15 other EU leaders – in favor of a cap on the price of gas, and is arguing to his own domestic audience that if the proposal is adopted by Europe, the problem will be solved. .

In fact, in his introductory remarks, Mitsotakis even invoked a saying of Willy Brand from the distant 1975, when he was honored by Panteion University, to show how necessary a European response to the energy crisis is even today. “The development of a common European energy policy has absolute priority,” said the first post-war Social Democrat chancellor after the 1973 oil crisis.

Mitsotakis and Soltz have made an honorable attempt to show solidarity on the issue of managing the energy crisis, stating that “our aim should be to lower prices, but also not to threaten energy sufficiency” and claiming that progress had been made at the last EU summit .E. However, the Greek prime minister set the bar high, inviting the EU energy ministers. to make the decisions quickly – and for the European Council not to deal with the issue again, while the German chancellor played it down, saying that there is still a long way to go to tackle speculation in the energy markets.

The success of the “circular exchange” of arms

For Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the main thing was to talk to the side of the German chancellor about the end of the European commission, the economic successes of Greece, the increase in investments, the reduction of unemployment and the reduction of public debt. To make a show of confidence. In his understated way, Olaf Solz praised the recovery of the Greek economy, saying that its momentum is palpable.

The chancellor, for his part, wanted to promote the success of the so-called “Ringtausch”, the circular exchange of arms, that is… an invention of the German government to send heavy weapons to Ukraine through third parties, in order not to send – at least for now – the modern armored vehicles requested by Kyiv. Greece is one of those third parties and is sending forty of its own Soviet-made BMP-1s to Ukraine to get a matching number of Marders from Germany. The first six Marders have arrived in Northern Greece and will be paraded tomorrow in Thessaloniki in the October 28 celebrations, while Mitsotakis clarified alongside Soltz that the Marders will be installed in Evros.

Difficult balance with Turkey

For the Greek audience, it is important that the dignitaries are clearly positioned against Turkey, and that is why Soltz was repeatedly asked about it. Finally, when the question was put to him by the German newspaper Bild, in contrast to the clear stance of Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock, Solz said, “there is no way that member states of the Alliance can question national sovereignty” and Mitsotakis hastened to expressed his satisfaction with the “very clean”, as he said, attitude of the German chancellor.

Soltz: It is in everyone’s interest to utilize energy in the Southern Mediterranean

The clearest thing in Soltz’s statements, however, was that the Eastern Mediterranean is full of – and energy – potential, and it is in everyone’s interest to exploit it. That is why he added that “good neighborly relations with Turkey are not only important for Greece, but also for Europe”, while he reiterated that everything can be resolved through dialogue and based on international law.

Western Balkans and war reparations

Soltz and Mitsotakis also briefly mentioned the… compulsory of every bilateral meeting. The chancellor recalled Berlin’s commitment to the Thessaloniki Agenda since 2003, namely to the enlargement of the EU. with the countries of the Western Balkans, while the prime minister brought up the issue of German debts, mainly the home loan, stressing that it remains open for Greece. In addition, Mitsotakis asked Soltz for an invitation to the Berlin process table on Libya – “we want to have a view on Libya”, he said, while he has accepted the invitation to the corresponding process on the Western Balkans next week.

Kaki Bali, Athens

Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.