For the prospects of Europe under the new international data and the situation in Ukraine, which make the re-equipment of Epirus imperative, former Vice President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas said in an interview with RES-EIA on the sidelines of the 10th Economic Forum.

Speaking to N. Drosos on behalf of RES-EIA, Mr. Schinas referred to the crucial turning point where Europe is in and renders its re-equipment, stressing that “The diagnosis is that it is a crucial focal point for Europe. The immediate consequence of this is that every time Europe is in a similar focal point with exogenous crises, it is the moment when it does better. It is the moment of pressure that makes us more effective. We saw it with the vaccines, with the pandemic, with the recovery fund with nutritional safety. At such a point we are now. But how this will happen, I think it goes through a change that Europe must make. A mutation. We have in the past, many years, decades to be obsessed with the so -called mild power. The Soft Power. I think it’s time now Europe to play the Power Power game“

Referring to the deficit of a single foreign policy on Europe, Mr Schinas stressed that “if there are two areas where this mutation is urgent from Europe of rules in Europe of power is foreign policy and defense. In foreign policy we do not do so, we have a long time. Europe to speak with one voice. halt this process ”.

Regarding the way US President Donald Trump addresses Europe and the question of whether Europe can find a coherent answer, Mr Schinas stressed that “Europe’s course does not depend on the US president’s opinion on Europe. It must and must act together because it has a community. That we need to learn to speak a voice and we need to find ways to do this effectively.

Concerning the abolition of the EU veto for a real European homosexuality, Mr Schinas stressed that “I personally believe that it is a place I have publicly expressed for at least 20 years. It is that once one resorted to the veto on such issues, we are essentially confessing to our failures. Aspirations of Member States in a European web.

Concerning the need to establish a single European National Security Council, Mr Schinas stressed that “before we get there, I think that in defense and security the sequence of events must be as follows. The first decisions have already been made, so that the first decisions have been made, so that Europe can be funded by Europe. That is, we are building a European defensive and equipment industry, which is not the case now because we do not have Community resources to act as catalysts. Military power of rapid growth, perhaps one day and a European army. But it is important to follow this sequence of events to tie our political action on a realistic basis. “

Regarding the composition of the group of willing countries, which is also supposed to participate by Britain, but possibly Turkey, for the establishment of a European Army, Mr. Schinas stressed that “”We have to separate two separate fields of action. The first is what we have just been talking about, the purely community, that is, what has to do with Community financial, community resources, the European preference. This will be purely European. Yes, it does not fit a non -European in this process. It will be something that 27 will decide and implement it 27. But next to it we have an interest as Europe to work with Greater Europe, Geographical Europe, and there this idea of ​​alliance of willingness developed, which may also require military presence in the field in critical areas such as Ukraine. This is another parallel process and in no way are these things united. Are two different species, two different different actions of action“

In the event of the presence of Turkish troops in Ukraine, Mr Schinas said that “if the willingness of the willingness, which has many more participants than in Europe, concludes with such an agreement, how the presence of the alliance of the willingness will be structured and to be structured.”

Regarding the issue of representation as a whole and not only at national level, of Europe by a specific principle in the international diplomatic and political stake, Mr. Schinas emphasized that “In the last five years I have been the honor of being a member of the College of Commissioners and Vice President, the answer to this question was clear. Anyone who wanted to talk about Europe was calling Ursula von der Layen on her cellphone or on landline. That was the answer. But, the world was different five years ago. We are now living in a time of powerful geopolitical turmoil. America is in the hands of a new political group, which, as you know, may not be interested in picking up the phone to talk. So we have to manage this new era in the spirit of the new era“