“We are ready for a package of possible restrictive measures if Turkey returns to an aggressive attitude towards Greece and Cyprus,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis told a meeting of MEPs before attending a memorial service for the late European Parliament President. Chassis.
“I do not want you to believe that, because the tones have changed in part, that we do not continue to accept aggressive rhetoric from Turkey, which of course lacks seriousness. We must be aware of the fact that there has been no fundamental change in Turkish policy towards Greece. This is why this two-tier approach we have taken, extending a hand of friendship while at the same time we have prepared a set of possible restrictive measures that could be used if Turkey returns to an aggressive attitude towards Greece and Cyprus. This is still -in my opinion- the right approach “said Mr. Mitsotakis.
Vaccination coverage
Describing Greece’s initiatives to expand vaccination coverage, the prime minister said that today “is the first day on which fines are imposed on citizens over 60 who have not been vaccinated. “All I can tell you is that the strategy has been very successful so far. “We have increased the vaccination rate by more than 15 percentage points since we announced the strategy, so many went and were vaccinated,” he told MEPs.
We never stopped the reforms during the pandemic
Referring to the economy, he stressed that he expects that “growth will probably exceed 8%. We also had a great tourist season. I believe that there is a prospect for a long-term lasting recovery for the Greek economy. I think we are now seeing the benefits of the structural reforms we have implemented over the last 30 months. In fact, we never stopped economic reforms during the pandemic to make it more competitive. And now we have the additional funds of the Recovery and Resilience Fund “.
Regarding the increase in inflation and the rise in energy prices, he stressed the measures taken by the Greek government to support households and businesses and called for the Commission to investigate measures. “This is an area that concerns us and, of course, we will continue to encourage the Commission to explore the toolkit in support of the Member States,” he said.
“We have proved that the protection of borders with absolute respect for human rights is a strategy that works,” said Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Immigrant
Regarding immigration, Kyriakos Mitsotakis underlined that Greece has “proved that effective protection of external borders with full respect for fundamental rights is a strategy that can really work”, stressing that “this is only one aspect of the problem”. .
“One of the areas in which we need to work much more systematically is the issue of returns at European level. It is a big problem for all countries at the external borders. “But overall, I believe that we have proved that the strategy we have implemented works in practice,” he said.
He also thanked the MEPs of the EPP for their support to Greece. “And I would like to thank you all again for your support, especially when we are accused of alleged human rights abuses and these accusations come from a country that is not characterized by a” brilliant history “in terms of respect for human rights. “Of course I am referring to Turkey,” he said.
The Eastern Mediterranean region of strategic importance on the energy map
Referring to the need for strategic autonomy of Europe, the Prime Minister stressed the Greek-French strategic cooperation, emphasizing that for Greece “it is important that we decided to buy European weapons, in this case frigates, instead of looking across the Atlantic for important defense supplies.” .
Regarding Turkey’s actions, Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted that “we must be aware of the fact that there has been no fundamental change in Turkish policy towards Greece.”
“This is why this two-tier approach we have taken, extending a hand of friendship while at the same time we have prepared a set of possible restrictive measures that could be used if Turkey returns to an aggressive attitude towards Greece and Cyprus is still “In my opinion, the right approach”, he added, while emphasizing that the Eastern Mediterranean is a region of strategic importance for Europe and on the energy map.
“The Eastern Mediterranean is becoming much more important in terms of exploring alternative energy sources, such as natural gas in the form of LNG, which could be exported from Egypt. “However, we are also actively promoting electricity interconnections with Africa, in our case with Egypt,” said Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
During his presence at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Kyriakos Mitsotakis soon had a four-on-four with the President of the European Council Charles Michel, the Prime Minister of Italy Mario Draghi, the Prime Minister of Croatia Andrei Plenkovi,, the Prime Minister of Lujevlje the Prime Minister of Malta Robert Ambela, and the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Cyprus, Annita Dimitriou.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis also had a meeting with the MEPs of New Democracy.
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