If Europe wants to shield itself defensively it should consider new ways of financing defense spendingand I refer to ability to issue Eurobonds exclusively for its defense armourPrime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said while attending the summit in Brussels today.

In his statement, the prime minister emphasized that the debate on how Europe will be able to secure its strategic autonomy in practice has returned to the table.

This means, he added, more investment in equipmentwhile stressing that Greece has been exceeding the 2% limit of defense spending as a percentage of GDP for decades, which is not the case with other European countries.

“The time has come to be able to surround the very ambitious discussions we are having about the need for Europe, at the European level, to be able to ensure the defense and security of all European citizens with substantial content. And I hope that today’s Council will be an opportunity to start a meaningful discussion around these issues,” he said.

Referring to situation in the Middle East, the prime minister noted: “Regarding Gaza, I want to hope that this time we can reach concrete conclusions, which will recognize that what is happening today in Gaza is a humanitarian disaster. Greece insists on a ceasefire, which obviously must be accompanied by the full release of all hostages currently held by Hamas.

And I want to believe that we will be able, at the European level, to reach conclusions, which will also discourage Israel from attacking Rafah, which will certainly cause an even greater humanitarian disaster.

And of course, Greece remains firmly committed to the logic of solving the Palestinian problem through the framework of a two-state solution. I believe that this issue will also be reflected in the conclusions of the European Council”.

In closing, it was also mentioned in the primary sector saying: “Finally, I want to express my satisfaction because we will discuss the issues that concern the primary sector and especially our farmers. The European People’s Party is that European political family, which has the potential to put a brake on some people’s possibly over-ambitious plans for a green transition, which will ultimately hurt our farmers in the short term.

I am glad that this debate will take place and because I hope that the Council’s conclusions will reflect the need to support our farmers in the short term and help them make this ambitious green transition a reality, but at a pace which ultimately does not jeopardize their incomes and ultimately the very sustainability of agricultural production”.

In a question about her Turkey the prime minister emphasized: “For Turkey, I believe that there will be a discussion. There is a chapter on foreign relations and I think we could come to conclusions that reflect the current framework of Euro-Turkish relations. We would see something like that positively.”

The Greek positions

In the debate on the European defense strategy and the European defense industry, Greece has a weighty voice, as it is among the EU and NATO member states with one of the highest per capita defense spending rates in the Alliance. The prime minister has already taken a position on the need for common steps in EU defense procurement. and for joint efforts to strengthen the European defense industry. As he has said, Europe needs to find a way to spend smarter on defence. Among other things, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to emphasize that the EU must find a way for joint supplies of defense material to Ukraine with compensation to member states for defense material of European origin.

In the European Council the economy will also have a dominant position, with our country stressing that it is not enough to just exempt defense spending from the excessive deficit process, but other concerns are also needed. At a time when EU member states are required to invest in various fields, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to underline that there should be a serious discussion on how these funds will be found, i.e. how European defense will be financed .

As far as Ukraine is concerned, the position of Greece is declared and fixed in terms of its continued support. In fact, it is the first summit after the recent visit of Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Odessa and his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, so he is expected to inform his European counterparts about his contacts in the war-torn country as well for an attack he received with rockets during his stay in Odessa.

Concern about Gaza

A few days after the signing of the historic EU-Egypt agreement to stop a new migration crisisthe Greek Prime Minister is expected to take a position on the latest developments in Gaza, their effects on migration, while stressing that it is important to prevent further destabilization of the wider region, reiterating that Greece is ready to contribute to any effort that will lead to achieving regional stability.

Greece’s concern about the war in Gaza remains about the high civilian casualties and the humanitarian crisis and in this light, Mr. Mitsotakis will underline the need for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and the opening of all avenues for the provision of humanitarian aid, in order to relieve the innocents suffering in Gaza.

The agricultural issue

Regarding the primary sector and the agricultural issue the Greek prime minister was supported by the previous European Council in favor of ending the fallow regime and is expected to stress that it must be realized that some of the steps taken in the last five years in terms of the green transition have put too much pressure on farmers. A fact which means, from the point of view of the Greek side, that the green transition should be ensured and implemented at rates that will not significantly affect the income of farmers.

European farmers expressed their concerns and communicated it emphatically to the leadership of and now European leaders are called to act decisively on the challenges they face. This means taking stock of the work that has been done so far and ensuring that progress is made without delay, particularly on the place of farmers in the food supply chain and fair competition, both within the internal market and globally.