Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis paid a visit to the headquarters of the Portuguese Navy in Lisbon on Monday, where he was welcomed by the Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa, Navy Chief of Staff Antonio Maria Mendes Calado and the Commander of the Maritime Police, Luís Carlos de Sousa Pereira.
The Portuguese Maritime Police has been since 2014 part of Frontex’s operation “Poseidon”, in the eastern part of the Aegean Sea, where it has rescued more than 7,000 people, thus contributing to the safeguarding of the Greek and European frontiers, demonstrating in action Portugal’s solidarity towards Greece.
The operations coordinator described to Kyriakos Mitsotakis the work of the Maritime Police. It is worth pointing out that a Greek flag is prominently displayed in the interior of the hall, signed by the first Portuguese officers who participated in Frontex operations in Lesbos, while the blazon of the Greek Coast Guard hangs on the walls.
“One of the best examples of real solidarity”
Kyriakos Mitsotakis had the opportunity to talk to a unit of the Maritime Police which is operating in Lesbos in the framework of Frontex. He thanked the Portuguese uniformed men and women for the services they have been offering to Greece. “On behalf of the Greek people and on behalf of the Hellenic Coast Guard I would like to thank you, your team, the Portuguese government for all the support they have provided Frontex, and to Frontex Greece, in our common effort to guard our border, which is also the European border. I think this is one of the best examples of real solidarity in the field”.
“We are very proud of this mission. Both our countries share a long part of the external border of the European Union. Thus we know and understand very well the importance to protect our external border. We started this mission in 2014 and we are continuing developing it,” Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said.
The Prime Minister’s full remarks during his discussion with the Portuguese coast guard unit in Lesbos
“First of all thank you, thank you very much. It is a privilege to be able to speak to you from Lisbon on behalf of the Greek people and on behalf of the Hellenic Coast Guard I would like to thank you, your team, the Portuguese government for all the support they have provided Frontex, and to Frontex Greece, in our common effort to guard our border, which is also the European border. I think this is one of the best examples of real solidarity in the field.
You know how difficult and how challenging it has been to protect our borders, while at the same time also saving people at sea, always in accordance with international law. The Portuguese teams that have been present in Lesbos have saved more than 7,000 people at sea all the past seven years, which is an admirable number. Many more have been saved by the Greek Coast Guard but also by other countries that are supporting the common effort of Frontex.
So, I think that we can do more as a European Union to protect our external borders and of course we can do more to put forward the common migration and asylum act, which should serve as a legal bedrock determining our common policy in dealing with the very complicated problem of migration.
So, on behalf of the Greek people, here from Lisbon, using this wonderful technology, I would like to thank you again. I ve been speaking to my team back in Greece. I can tell you the cooperation with the Greek Coast Guard is excellent. We are two seafaring nations. I think we know what it means to be at sea. It is our natural habitat. So once again dear Antonio, my deepest appreciation to Portugal, to the maritime police, to all the assets that are currently deployed in Greece in our common effort to protect the European border.
Before departing, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited a short exhibition of the technological equipment deployed by the Portuguese Coast Guard in its mission, as well as vehicles and crafts.
Visit to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)
The two leaders later visited the headquarters of the European Maritime Safety Agency, where they were welcomed by Executive Director Maja Markovčić Kostelac.
The European Maritime Safety Agency is the competent authority charged with surveilling the seas that border the littoral member states of the European Union, in order to ensure safe seafaring. It cooperates closely with agencies such as Frontex, exchanging data and information.
Ms. Markovčić Kostelac and other executives briefed the Prime Minister on EMSA’s operations, and Kyriakos Mitsotakis also had a short conversation with Greeks who work at the Organization, among them an executive who has been working for EMSA for 16 years, ever since the service was established.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis then visited the operations room, where he praised the Organization’s invaluable work on preventing and tackling hazards and environmental disasters at sea, while also expressing his gratitude for the services EMSA offers to the Greek-owned commercial fleet.
