Maybe President Trump he was right about the defenseKyriakos Mitsotakis pointed out on Wednesday, who participated, via teleconference, in the event for the inauguration of the Chair of Strategic Autonomy at the Comillas Pontifical University of Madrid. The position of the Director of Studies is assumed by the former vice-president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas.

The Prime Minister congratulated Mr. Schina on his new duties and had a discussion with him on European defense and challenges facing the European Union.

Referring to the turning points that gave impetus to the concept of strategic autonomy, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: “I think there have already been two defining moments. The first, of course, was the pandemic, when we found our dependence on supply chains we couldn’t control. Then, of course, came the moment of “awakening”, with the war in Ukraine, when we realized our dependence on Russia for the supply of natural gas through pipelines”.

“But it was also a moment when things became clear, in the sense that we suddenly looked at ourselves in the mirror and realized that our defense capabilities were clearly not up to par, and that maybe President Trump was right when, during his first term, he turned to us Europeans and told us that we must take a greater share of responsibility for our common defense”, continued the Prime Minister.

Regarding the future of collective European defense, Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted: “The general idea is that we need common procurement, we need fewer systems, we need economy of scale in our defense industries, we need to invest in technologyto examine the changing conflict landscape in Ukraine and learn lessons.”

“I think there are some common points in terms of defense that we can explore at the European level and I hope that some of these priorities can to be included and in the next Multiannual Financial Framework”, added the prime minister.