We are dealing with a very intense geological phenomenon, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, responding to a question about seismic activity in the Cyclades, upon his arrival at the informal European Council in Brussels.
“I want to ask the residents of the islands to remain calm and listen to the instructions of the Civil Protection,” he said. At the same time, “I have asked the competent ministry to make a comprehensive presentation of the geological data so that everyone knows about the phenomenon we are dealing with,” he added.
On defense
The Prime Minister is participating in the informal European Council, in a crucial meeting of leaders on the future of European Defense.
Referring to the meeting’s agenda, he said: “The extraordinary summit taking place in Brussels is taking place at a time when we are facing tectonic geopolitical changes. I have spoken many times about the need for Europe to gain greater autonomy in managing issues related to common European defense. In fact, today I had the opportunity to publish a relevant article in a major European newspaper, where I once again present the Greek proposals on how we can spend more and better funds on our common defense.”
Mitsotakis also referred to their proposals. “I want to highlight the need for greater flexibility in the fiscal rules in order to give an incentive to countries that spend more than 2% of GDP on defence expenditure not to be penalised under the existing legislation on expenditure ceilings. However, I would like to point out that in addition to the need to have flexibility at national level, it is also absolutely necessary to set up a common European fund for defence projects which are essentially European priorities,” he said.
“Specifically, I propose the establishment of a 100-billion-euro fund based on the model of the Recovery Fund which could finance common European actions, such as an air-defence shield. I believe that the conditions have matured for us to move from words to actions.”
However, he made it clear that he does not expect any concrete conclusions today. “But I believe that we will be given an opportunity to have a sincere exchange of views, taking into account what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic. In any case, the conditions have matured. Europe must assume its responsibilities,” he continued.
