In the presence of the Defence Ministers of Greece and Italy, Nikos Dendias and Guido Crosetto, the two countries’ intergovernmental agreement for the acquisition of two FREMM frigates (Bergamini class), with a total cost of €460 million, was signed in Rome at noon.
The implementing agreement was signed by the General Directorate for Defence Investments and Armaments of the Greek Ministry of National Defence and the corresponding Italian Directorate for Armaments. Representing Greece were the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Dimitrios Choupis, and the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Dimitrios Eleftherios Kataras.
Before the implementing agreement was signed, Mr Dendias and Mr Crosetto met at the Ministry of Defence in the Italian capital, where they discussed the close defence cooperation between the two countries and the latest developments in areas of common interest.
After the meeting, Mr Dendias said in remarks to the press:
“On September 29, 2025, in La Spezia, with the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation and the Declaration of Intent, we formalised the shared determination of Greece and Italy to pursue cooperation with a strategic and operational impact. Today, we are building on those foundations.
The first FREMM frigate, Carlo Bergamini, is expected to be transferred to Greece in the first half of 2028, and the Fasan in the first half of 2029.
But the objective for Greece and Italy is not merely the transfer of the two frigates. It is close cooperation, it is strengthening our deterrent capability, and it is Italian cooperation in adapting the Hellenic Navy to the requirements of the new era.
The FREMMs are high-specification vessels, and with the modifications we will make — which we are already discussing with the company that built them, Fincantieri — we will make them extremely powerful. Together with the FDI frigates and the MEKO-class frigates, they will form the core of the power of the Greek fleet in the new era.
As you know, I am also here to discuss broader cooperation with Italy. First of all, the possibility of acquiring two additional FREMM vessels, as well as our shared assessment of developments.
Greece and Italy are maritime nations. We share the same vital maritime space in the central and eastern Mediterranean and, together, we account for approximately 90% of the European merchant fleet.
Our shared geography therefore creates a shared responsibility: for the security of maritime routes, freedom of navigation, the protection of commercial and energy flows, and the stability of our wider region.
Today’s agreement also reflects an approach we have adopted concerning the involvement of Greek shipyards and the Greek defence industry — the Greek defence ecosystem — in adapting the new systems acquired by our country.
This is an integral part of Agenda 2030, so that know-how remains in the country and creates Greek national productive capital.
In conclusion, I would like to say that today’s agreement forms part of a consistent path towards a strategic connection between Greece and Italy. It is a consistent course.
In 2020, we delimited our maritime zones, consolidating our relationship on the basis of international law and the international law governing the law of the sea. I was very proud to sign that agreement at the time as Foreign Minister.
And in 2025, together with my esteemed colleague, Minister Guido Crosetto, in La Spezia, we established the framework for our new strategic defence cooperation.
Today, here in Rome, we are giving concrete substance to the agreement we reached in La Spezia.
Minister, dear Guido, thank you for your trust, seriousness and consistency. From La Spezia to Rome, we have kept our word. Today, that word becomes a concrete commitment.”
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