“We are now becoming the United States of Europe or we have lost the train definitively,” former Minister Dora Bakoyannis said, speaking at the meeting organized by the Hellenic Industries Association (SEB) in collaboration with the Delphi Economic Forum in Thessaloniki.

Mrs Bakoyannis pointed out that “the alarm clocks have rang, the bells have hit, now the bell tower is ringing and it is time for Europe to realize its weaknesses and to read seriously what are being said and written for a long time, that is, to apply them. proposed by the Draghi exhibition and the Letta Report.

He also referred to specific changes at the level of industry, trade and overall policy, saying: “It is not possible for example, as the IMF estimates the internal barriers in Europe equivalent to a 45% trans -European duty for manufacturing and 110% for services. Trade between the countries of the European Union cannot be less than half of the trade between US states. We cannot sit on trillions of savings that do not accomplish any purpose when Europe needs billions of defense industry and new technologies. “

“If Europe does not escape this trapped path and is undoubtedly a path of decline, then we will have permanently lost the train. This will be largely decided in a week by the elections in Germany and shortly after the elections in France. Because it is necessary to overcome rooted taboos, to assign countries national sovereignty to central European planning. In addition, we now need a common perception of what we call defense and strategy, ”he added.

“Common defense means cooperating industries, it means investment in common weapons and defense systems. It makes no sense to build 10 different weapons when we basically need one. This cooperation must exist and so far we have only seen a cowardly step by Mrs von der Laien, who announced the European position that the defensive cost would not be counted on the central budget. But we need to take many more steps to have a common European defense. It means, for example, that you cannot sell European weapons to non -European countries that may be used against European countries. If anyone did not understand, I mean Meteor, “Mrs Bakoyannis said.

Concluding, the former minister stressed: “It is time for the alarm. Now is the time for Europe to decide and we cannot hide behind the excuse that there are no leaderships that existed after World War II. Every crisis produces the leadership it needs and at the moment Europe is undoubtedly in crisis. This crisis has to see it as an opportunity. We can, it is enough to raise stature. “