PM Mitsotakis: No common framework yet with Türkiye on EEZ, continental shelf

Innovation & productivity, energy, and military independence were the three sectors Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis highlighted after the informal European Council meeting in Brussels on Friday.

The meeting discussed the Draghi 2024 report on European competitiveness and the future of the European Union, in the presence of former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.

Commenting to the press, Mitsotakis reiterated his sense that the European Council realizes it is time for action, and that the issues of the European economy's competitiveness must be dealt with much more drastically than done so far.

In terms of innovation & productivity, there is a data-based realization that "Europe continues to fall behind on issues related to innovation, and creating new innovative businesses," the Greek PM said. There were many very interesting proposals in the report, he added. "Perhaps the most important one, I would say, for the Greek startup ecosystem as well, is this idea of creating a 28th European legal status that would allow startup businesses to be directly included under a European regulatory framework without having to deal with 27 different regulatory frameworks in the countries they wish to operate in," Mitsotakis said, referring to the 27 EU member states.

Security independence

Related to energy, Mitsotakis said that Europe acknowledged it faced a great competitiveness issue, despite the fact it invested a lot in renewable energy sources. The Budapest Statement explicitly referred to distortions in the energy market prices that need to be addressed urgently, he pointed out. But for that to happen, two key interventions needed to be done: "The first refers to interconnectivity - we need more inter-European interconnections, which may need to be funded through European public resources, not just private ones. And I also believe that we must now fundamentally revisit the issues related to pricing, the way electricity is priced, so that the marginal price of the system is not determined by natural gas - as is done today - since natural gas is as a rule a lot more expensive that renewable energy sources," he said.

PM Mitsotakis, outlining the third issue of strategic independence in defense, noted the following: "I have frequently spoken of the need for a greater investment in European defense industry. Obviously, we have a long way to go to discuss those European resources for defense, but I had the renewed opportunity today to talk about an intervention that could provide additional fiscal space to those countries that choose to invest significant amounts to defense. To explain it simply, Greece invests nearly 3% of its GDP in defense; I believe the time has come to discuss - despite agreeing fairly recently to new fiscal regulations - that part of these defense expenditures be exempted from the calculations of caps on expenditures. It is a proposal I continue to persist on, and this proposal does not need additional European funding."

Relations with Türkiye, US

The election of Donald Trump to the US presidency "has made it absolutely clear to all of us that this necessity to support European competitiveness becomes even more urgent, following developments in the United States," the premier added.

Asked to comment on Greek-Turkish relations following the meeting in Athens of the two countries' foreign ministers, Mitsotakis said that "normalcy must be the goal in relations between neighbors." He said he had not been briefed by FM George Gerapetritis yet, but believed there was a cordial climate one could build on after the meeting with Turkish FM Hakan Fidan. "But at the same time, yes, there is certainly no common framework yet to discuss in depth the only great difference we have with Türkiye, which is none other than the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone and the continental shelf in the Aegean and the East Mediterranean," he underlined. 

He added that "we will continue to talk, and even if we cannot find a framework to agree on our main difference, we ought to preserve the calmness, which will, in the end, prove to be beneficial to both peoples." 

Commenting on the election of Donald Trump, Mitsotakis reiterated his faith in Euro-Atlantic relations, which have a long history and could be strengthened even more under the new US president. He expressed the hope that Europe and the US do not enter a new trade war ("I hope not"), and that "there is space in which we can see a deescalation of the rhetoric for  the introduction of tariffs on both sides, because when a war like this starts, it does not stop with the actions of one side."

In addition, the Greek PM said, "Greek-American relations remain extremely strong, are relations with a strategic content, and are relationships shielded through the defense agreement we have signed, which, I would like to remind, has a five-year duration." He also referred to his address to Congress, noting he had been invited by both Democrats and Republicans, adding that as one of the oldest-serving European leaders at the European Council, he has had the opportunity to cooperate with Trump during his first presidential term as well.
 
AMNA