Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke about the issues discussed during the Informal Summit in Budapest.
The Prime Minister focused on the issues of competitiveness and energy, which are of concern to the European Union, and he paid particular attention to electricity prices, while he also spoke about Europe’s need for strategic autonomy.
He also spoke of the importance of energy efficiency and the need for strategic energy policy.
Mitsotakis also spoke about the election of Donald Trump in the United States, hoping that a new trade war between Washington and Europe would not open, and praised the very strong Greek-American relations that exist, which have been sealed by the defense agreement between the two countries.
“We had the opportunity to have a detailed discussion with Mario Draghi and to comment on the very topical issues he highlights in his report. There is an agreement that we need to move from words to action. Let me focus on three specific areas that Mr Draghi also touches on in his report. The issues of innovation and productivity, Europe is still lagging behind on innovation issues and interesting ideas were put forward on how to bridge the gap with the US. We spent a lot of time on energy issues; Europe is facing a big problem of competitiveness, despite the fact that we have invested in renewable energy. There is an explicit reference – in the joint statement – to the distortions in the energy market that need to be addressed in an urgent manner. Two important interventions, we need more trans-European interconnections financed with public European funds and we need to rethink the way electricity is priced, so that the price is not necessarily determined by gas. I have also spoken of the need to invest in the defence industry. We are still far from discussing common resources for defence. But there must be intervention for additional budgetary space for countries investing in defence. We invest 3% of GDP in defence, the time has come to discuss that an amount of this spending should be excluded from the general expenditure ceiling. Finally, the election of Trump has made it absolutely clear to many of us that this necessity to support European competitiveness becomes more urgent after the US election”the Prime Minister said at the outset.
About today’s meeting between Gerapetritis and Fidan and the messages it sent, Mitsotakis said: “Normality must be the goal in relations between neighbours. I have met with Erdogan officially and unofficially and we have exchanged a good conversation. This is appropriate for neighbouring states. The statements of the two ministers confirm that there is a good climate on which we can build. There is still no common framework for our one major dispute, the delimitation of the EEZ and continental shelf. The progress we have made and the fact that our two peoples are getting closer together was acknowledged, as well as the good cooperation on the refugee issue. These are steps in the right direction. We come to the debate from a strong position. Of course we are talking and we will talk and we have to preserve the calm waters that flow to the benefit of both peoples.”
On Trump’s victory in the US and the next day of Euro-Atlantic relations, the PM said: “I believe in the great importance of Euro-Atlantic relations that have been nurtured over decades. We will also find a way with the new president to strengthen them further, each taking our share of responsibility. When Trump held many European states accountable for not spending even 2% on defence spending, he was right in principle. There are issues that will be of concern to Euro-Atlantic relations – whether we go into a trade war, I hope not – I hope there will be a de-escalation in the rhetoric of tariffs. Greek-American relations are exquisitely strong, with strategic content, shielded by the defence agreement that we signed. Positions that were confirmed when I was invited to Congress, the invitation came from both parties. I will have the opportunity to talk with Trump in the coming days. I’m one of the senior leaders on the Council, so I had the opportunity to work with him in his first term.”
