“It is very important to bring together the leaders of two southern countries and two northern countries, as well as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, to discuss what challenges we face together. It was very constructive for us to understand what are the issues facing Finland, especially in terms of managing the 1340 km long border with Russia. But it was an opportunity for me and for Georgia to present some of the security and migration challenges we face in the Eastern and Central Mediterranean,” he stressed. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis after the completion of the work of the North-South Synod in Finnish Lapland.

“The first is that border protection is an integral part of the migration strategy, as well as a shared priority, regardless of whether we have any land or water borders. Better management of these challenges should be a common European concern, and this is what we discussed at the European Council. And I would like to reiterate from here in Lapland how important and necessary it is to provide additional funding at the European level, not only for border management, but also for the physical structures that allow us to manage our borders more effectively. In terms of security there is a common understanding that we need to do more and we must to also be smarter about the allocation of defense and security resources; whether it is at the national level or at the European level. I have personally advocated for more flexibility in Europe’s fiscal rules. And how are we going to be able to use those and then defense spending, but we also need to explore all the possible means that will allow us to collectively strengthen European defence. It is an issue that will be discussed at the extraordinary European Council in February, where we will also discuss the challenges we face and the need to think a little more innovatively. It is very important, especially at this time when we have to convince our transatlantic allies and our transatlantic partner that we take our security seriously and responsibly,” he added.

Concluding, the Prime Minister thanked the Finnish Prime Minister for the hospitality and said: “I would like to say that these informal meetings are always very constructive and thank you for giving us the opportunity not only to visit this wonderful part of your country, but to understand better and what are the security concerns that the Nordic countries face.”