Dimitris Gatsios (ERT): Mr Prime Minister, good afternoon. I would like to take you to today’s dominant topic of the discussions, which was that of European competitiveness. You and your counterparts discussed Mr Draghi’s report in detail. “It is time for Europe to ‘wake up’ from its geopolitical naivety”, you stressed yesterday, and I would like to ask you what is the sense you got from the talks you had with your counterparts, what are Greece’s positions on an issue that seems to be wearing the colours of urgency? Thank you.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: We had the opportunity to have a detailed discussion with Mr. Draghi himself and to comment on the very relevant and critical issues that he highlights in his report.
As I had the opportunity to say yesterday, I believe that there is now an agreement in the European Council that we need to move from words to deeds and that the issues regarding the competitiveness of the European economy need to be addressed in a much more drastic way than we have done so far.
I will briefly focus on three specific areas that Mr Draghi touches on in his report. Firstly, the issues of innovation and productivity: there is a general feeling, confirmed by data, that Europe is still lagging behind on issues regarding innovation, with the creation of new innovative businesses, and very interesting ideas have been put forward on how we can start to bridge this gap with the United States.
Perhaps the most important, I would say, for the Greek startup ecosystem as well, is this idea of creating a 28th European legal regime, which will allow startup companies to be able to be directly integrated into a European regulatory framework, without having to deal with 27 different regulatory frameworks in the countries in which they want to operate.
We have dealt a lot with energy issues and I think it is common ground that Europe today is facing a big problem of competitiveness in the energy sector, despite the fact that we are investing a lot in renewables. And I think it is extremely positive that in the Budapest Declaration there is an explicit reference to the distortions in energy market prices that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
But for the European energy market to be able to work for the benefit of all European consumers, two important interventions need to be made. The first is interconnections. We need more trans-European interconnections, which may need to be financed with European public and not just private resources.
And I believe that we must now fundamentally revisit the issues that have to do with pricing, the way the price of electricity is priced, so that natural gas does not determine the system’s marginal price, as it does today, because natural gas is generally much more expensive than renewable energy sources.
Finally, we obviously discussed the issues of military autonomy, of defence. I have spoken many times about the need for greater investment in the European defence industry. Obviously we are still a long way from a discussion on common European defence funding. However, I have had the opportunity again today to talk about an intervention that can give more budgetary space to those countries that choose to invest significant amounts in defense.
Let me explain it in simple terms: our country invests almost 3% of GDP in defence. I believe that the time has come to discuss, even though we agreed relatively recently in the new financial rules, that an amount of this defence spending should be excluded from the calculations of the expenditure ceilings.
It is a proposal that I will continue to insist on. This proposal does not need additional European money, it just needs a slightly different perspective on the way we calculate the budgetary rules from now on.
And finally, I would like to say that in relation to the discussion we had last night, I think the election of Donald Trump in the United States has made it very clear to many of us that this need to support European competitiveness becomes even more urgent after the developments in the United States.
Giannis Kantelis (SKAI): I would like to bring you to today’s meeting between Mr. Gerapetritis and Mr. Fidan in Athens. First of all, to pick up the thread from the meeting you had with Mr. Erdoğan yesterday, whether that was also a sign of normality, the way we saw this conversation, at least from the few shots and photos, but also whether after today’s meeting you are more optimistic or more pessimistic about whether eventually the two countries can find a way to discuss their fundamental difference. We see that Turkey insists on talking about an all-inclusive package solution for the Aegean.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I believe that normality should be the goal in relations between neighbours. I have met with President Erdoğan many times officially and whenever we have the opportunity to meet informally, we will always exchange a polite word, because I believe that this is appropriate for neighbouring states, which should have good relations despite the great differences they may have.
I have not yet been briefed in detail by the Foreign Minister, but I have seen the statements of both Mr Gerapetritis and Mr Fidan, and I think that both statements confirm that there is a good climate on which we can build. But at the same time, yes, there is certainly not yet a common framework in order to discuss in depth our one major dispute with Turkey, which is none other than the delimitation of the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.
But the fact that there has been a comprehensive record, which has been recognised by both sides, of the progress that we have achieved, which progress also concerns the way in which our two peoples are coming closer together, for example, the very successful granting of express visas to the islands of the Eastern Aegean, which has greatly supported tourism on these islands, the good – which can become even better – cooperation that we have on the refugee issue, our cooperation in international organisations, all these are steps in the right direction.
And I will repeat what I have said many times. To those who are concerned, I want to say again that Greece comes to this debate from a strong position. We are a country with a strong Armed Forces, with a stable and growing economy, with a framework of geopolitical alliances that recognizes the justice of our positions, with European Council decisions that shield Greece’s positions.
Therefore, of course we are talking and we will talk. And even if we cannot find a framework to agree on our main difference, we must preserve the calm waters, which, I think, will ultimately be to the benefit of both peoples.
Sofia Fasoulaki (MEGA): Good evening, Mr. Prime Minister. You had the opportunity to talk to your counterparts today, two days, three days after Donald Trump’s victory in the United States. I wanted to ask how you and your counterparts see the next day of Euro-Atlantic relations, if you think there is anything that could disrupt them. And if I may ask one last question, if you intend, and when, to have a communication with the new President. Thank you.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I believe, and all of us in the European Council believe in the great importance of Euro-Atlantic relations. They are relations that have been nurtured over many decades, and I believe that we will find a way, with the new President, to strengthen them even further, each of us assuming our share of responsibility.
I had the opportunity to say in the European Council that when President Trump held many European countries accountable for not spending even 2% of GDP on defence, he was essentially right. And I think it was his encouragement that led European states to increase their defence budgets. And, of course, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the geopolitical instability in the world in general, we all understand that this is now a necessity.
There are issues that will concern Euro-Atlantic relations as a whole, whether we will enter, for example, into a new trade war. I hope not. I think there is some room to be able to see a de-escalation in terms of the rhetoric about imposing tariffs on both sides. Because, obviously, when a war like this starts, it doesn’t just stop at the actions of one party.
And of course, let me repeat that as far as Greek-American relations are concerned, they remain extremely strong. They are relations with strategic content. They are relations shielded by the defence agreement that we have signed, which, I would like to remind you, now has a five-year term. These are positions, moreover, which were confirmed by the fact that when I was invited to speak to the US Congress, the invitation came from both Democratic and Republican Members of Congress and Senators.
Now, regarding your question, I believe that I will have the opportunity to talk to President Trump in the coming days. After all, as you know, I am one of the most senior European leaders on the European Council, so I am one of those who had the opportunity to work with him during his first presidency.
