Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking exclusively to Breitbart News, said he believes Europe can reach a “win-win” trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump that will be “mutually beneficial” for the United States and the European Union.

Mitsotakis’ statements come at a time when the EU has just launched new trade moves against the US. These moves, which focus on steel and aluminum, were mostly planned before Trump announced global tariffs last week.

“There is a European message and there is a Greek message,” Mitsotakis told Breitbart News, when asked what his message to Trump was, in an interview from the Maximou Mansion.

“At the European level, there is the possibility of finding a win-win solution on trade, a mutually beneficial solution. This was my firm belief from the beginning, even before the tariffs were announced. There is still room for negotiations before we consider any major retaliatory response beyond what was announced today, which was the expected EU reaction anyway. I believe that, in the end, Europe and the European market are very important to the US and the US is important to Europe, and we have to find a solution.”

Mitsotakis’ interview with Breitbart News sends a message from Europe that European leaders want to work with Trump, and there seems to be a maturing awareness on the continent that the real target of Trump’s actions is China.

Regarding Greece’s specific message, Mitsotakis told Breitbart News that he considers the United States a strategic partner of Greece and specifically referred to the IMEEC corridor – a trade corridor agreement Trump has signed with countries such as India, Middle Eastern, and European nations. IMEEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor) is seen by many in the West as the American response to China’s Silk Road Initiative.

Mitsotakis described IMEEC as a corridor that connects the world’s largest democracy, India, with the strongest democracy, the United States, with Greece, the birthplace of democracy, being the bridge between them.

“As far as Greece is concerned, we have a strategic partnership with the US,” he stressed. “And when I look at IMEEC, Greece, the birthplace of democracy, can be the bridge between the largest and the strongest democracy. For geopolitical and economic reasons, Greece is an important ally of the US. I have worked with President Trump in the past and can work with him again to address regional challenges.”

Trump, Breitbart notes, has spoken highly of IMEEC and recently said the agreement represents a “group of wonderful nations” joining forces to “stand up to countries that seek to hurt us in trade.” Although he did not explicitly mention China, the implication was clear. Trump also pointed out that the US can achieve great things geopolitically through such partnerships, but also that US partners like the EU and India need to be fairer to Washington.

“We have a strong group of trading partners,” Trump told Breitbart News in mid-March. “But we cannot allow those partners to treat us poorly. In many cases, we get along better with our enemies than we do with our friends. Some who are not so friendly treat us better than those who are supposed to be our friends, like the European Union, which treats us horribly in trade. The same applies to India. But this group of nations is united against countries that are trying to hurt us commercially.”

Mitsotakis’ immigration policy and economic recovery

Referring to Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Breitbart notes that after his first election victory in 2019, he adopted strict border and immigration controls, a policy that ran counter to mainstream trends in the rest of Europe but aligned with Trump’s vision of limiting immigration.

“Greece is at the forefront of immigration,” the prime minister said in this regard. He continued: “We followed a strict but fair immigration policy, and I was the first to insist on border protection. When we launched this policy in 2020, we were the exception in the EU. Now, everyone understands the importance of border protection. It is not the job of traffickers to decide who enters Greece. I am unrepentantly strict on the issue of border protection and open on legal migration.”

Greece has also recovered economically from the crisis that preceded Mitsotakis’ tenure, thanks in large part to his conservative economic policies. As he told Breitbart News, these policies are in line with Trump’s economic vision, which includes cutting taxes and regulations to boost growth.

“We have achieved an impressive comeback after the financial crisis by implementing a strategy of cutting taxes and red tape, a pro-investment and liberal policy that supports job creation,” Mitsotakis concluded.