In response to a question about Donald Trump’s second presidential term and Europe’s level of preparedness, the Prime Minister noted:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Frankly, we should have gotten the wake up call, even before the US presidential election. And if you read through the Draghi report, this is a very loud warning now in terms of what Europe needs to do in order to ensure its strategic autonomy and enhance its competitiveness. And these suggestions and these recommendations, which are broad recommendations, have already been discussed at the level of the European Council. And I sense an increased momentum that we are at an inflexion point and that we need to take some critical decisions.
For example, are we gonna spend more on our defence, not just individually as member states, but possibly also collectively? Will we be able to create a new joint European facility to complement our defence budgets at a time when defending ourselves is becoming a critical priority? Will we be able to do the Green Deal while at the same time addressing the underlying issues of the European competitiveness? How will we get access to cheaper energy?
All these are questions which we have discussed in the past. We have not been very successful in taking decisions, but now is the moment to really push forward. And the new European Commission, and the President Ursula von der Leyen, I think is fully on board and recognises that this is really the time for bold action.
Richard Quest: But the sticking point is not going to be the Commission. The sticking point is gonna be the Council. I was talking about this to Dr. Draghi last week in Portugal when he said, “look, the Commission’s on board with the proposals. They’ve endorsed them. It is the Council and therefore the individual member states that will become the drag on implementation of Draghi”. So can we assume you’re in favour of that and will push for it at Council?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Absolutely. And I need to remind you also that four years ago, when we were struggling with the pandemic, we did create the Recovery and Resilience Facility, NextGenerationEU. Many “frugal” sort of countries thought that this would never happen, and it did happen because the times demanded it. And I think we’re at a similar inflexion point right now.
So some decisions would entail thinking about additional common borrowing and common funding. Others are strictly related to regulatory simplification or in other cases, we need to overcome objections such as regarding Capital Markets Union, which is an absolute necessity.
Richard Quest: Are you in favour of more decisions being taken by majority vote, so that while consensus is desirable, if necessary, you’ll move forward regardless?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Look, I’ve been arguing in favour of looking at the Draghi report in its entirety. So we can’t just pick and choose what is convenient for us. And if this means that certain decisions will have to move to majority votes, while I think we can make sure that countries can retain their objections on critical issues, for example, around national security, foreign policy or defence, this may need to be a topic that we will discuss honestly.
Richard Quest: Is President Trump’s ascension back into the White House, Is this the, my words, not yours, but you know what I mean, is this the crisis that Europe always needs to actually get something done? President Stubb’s famous line about, crisis, chaos and suboptimal. But is this, the change in administration, the impetus, maybe that’s a better word, than crisis, that Europe needs to get its act together?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Well, you know Richard, I think the crisis was already here, but many possibly didn’t want to address it. Energy, prices of energy, not being able to foster an ecosystem of startups to harness artificial intelligence, not investing enough in those clean technologies where we can really play a leading role. I mean, the bells were ringing very loud. Some of us were making these points even before the US election. But yes, I do think that this change in administration can act as an impetus to address underlying problems, which have been there for quite some time that we have unfortunately chosen to ignore.
Richard Quest: Right. On this point, the leadership of Europe, the new President of the Council, Ursula von der Leyen is back, but Germany is going to be in political limbo for some time, France looks like it’s going to be in difficult political waters with President Macron, do you see yourself, as now an elder statesman, if you will. You’ve been there maybe not as long as Viktor Orbán, but you’ve been there a while. Do you see yourself now taking more of a leadership role within, an informal one, to bring together coalitions of agreement?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Well, I’m one of the few Council members who has actually worked with President Trump. I’m experienced enough to understand how the Council works, and I think I have the privilege of representing a country that, I think has achieved a pretty remarkable comeback. If you think of the fact that now there are many countries that are faced with budgetary issues, you mentioned some of them, but Greece is actually going to be producing primary surpluses, there are countries that are raising taxes at a time when we’re lowering taxes. There are countries that are struggling with the decline in manufacturing at a time when manufacturing is increasing in Greece. So at least we come to the table having put our own house in order.
Second Part
Asked about the opening of the Thessaloniki Metro, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated:
It was a very complex project because as we were digging for the metro, we encountered essentially layers upon layers of the ancient city of Thessaloniki. So the real challenge was to make sure that we built the project while preserving this unique cultural heritage.
And basically, what we had to do is to painstakingly remove every single piece that you are probably showing your viewers as we as we speak and then put it back. And what we have now, especially in one metro station, is a completely unique experiment of an underground museum. People walk past it while they actually go to take the train to go to work.
So we’re very proud of the project, and we’re happy that finally it was completed. Long overdue, but finally done.
Richard Quest: When these things are finished, once again, they’re overdue and over budget. But I’m guessing the beauty of what you’ve now got is a testament to the modernity of today’s Greece married beautifully with the ancient history.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Exactly. I think it’s probably the best example of a country that is confidently looking into the future while at the same time being very proud of its past. And again, we’re talking about the second largest city of Greece and a project that many believe would never be built because it did face also significant reactions. Many people thought that we would not be able to actually build the metro while preserving our cultural heritage, and we’re very, very glad that we proved them wrong.
Richard Quest: What do you make of Anthony Albanese in Australia and the Australian government’s banning of social media. Is there room for such thought either in Greece or in Europe? Do you find it intriguing, interesting, or not for you?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Absolutely interesting and intriguing. On the one hand, we’ve come up with an artificial intelligence strategy that wants to place Greece at the forefront of regulation in terms of inviting companies to develop AI applications. On the other hand, in issues such as the mental health of children and teenagers, I come down very strongly on engaging with the tech companies. And if we cannot convince them to actually change the way they hook up our kids and teenagers to their applications, regulation should possibly be the way to go. But I guess, we need to be careful that whatever we do, we actually have the capacity to implement it. In this case, we operate verification technologies.
In Greece, we actually banned mobile phones in schools. Many people thought that we wouldn’t be able to do that, but because we had a very clear plan, so far it’s working very well. So whenever necessary, protecting the mental health of our children and our teenagers is an absolute priority, and I would like to play a role not just within the context of Greece but also within the European Union to go down that path.
