Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had a meeting today in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. This was followed by extended talks between the delegations of the two countries and afterwards the two leaders held a joint press conference.
The Prime Minister’s introductory statement:
“Mr Chancellor, dear Friedrich, I too am delighted to be here today and to meet you in Berlin. It is a great honour for me, but it is also a great pleasure. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate you.
Thank you very much for the welcome, but also for the honour, as I am the first European partner whom you are welcoming to Berlin as Chancellor. And I think this has a deep symbolism for the course we have travelled in our relations, but also for the course Greece has travelled. Relations that were once tested, but today have matured. They are now based on mutual respect, on sincere dialogue, but also on very close cooperation.
Greece, like our entire continent, dear Friedrich, is relieved that Germany now has a new strong government. Your country’s role, after all, is crucial in Europe and in the world, especially in the turbulent times in which we live. It is something that I believe brings both Athens and Berlin even closer together, with common challenges strengthening our ties as two states that are partners in the European Union, allies in NATO, but also partners in many fields.
The Chancellor is well aware that in the last six years Greece has been writing a new chapter. After a harsh ten-year crisis, our economy is now one of the most stable in the eurozone, with dynamic growth rates, a steady decline in unemployment, an increase in industrial production and in exports. In tourism, we are breaking record after record, with German visitors preferring our country en masse, which is expected to happen again this year.
And this prudent policy that we follow is reflected in the large primary surpluses that we achieve, in the rapid reduction of public debt, in the effective fight against tax evasion, which creates fiscal space in order to be able to support the disposable income of citizens.
As a result of this effort, we were finally able to regain investment grade status. And of course, this is important because it is a springboard for more investment.
German businesses have trusted my country, they have stayed there even in the difficult years of the crisis. They are investing more in Greece, in airports, in telecommunications, in digital, in green technology. And I hope that this visit will also send a clear message that Greece is now turning the page and that it will continue the reforms that will make Greece an attractive destination for German investment.
Our ties, of course, are not limited to economic and diplomatic relations. For decades they have been embodied by the thriving Greek community in Germany, which numbers over half a million. Expatriates who are active and vibrant ‘cells’ of German society, their success being a testament to the values that run through both peoples: hard work, resilience and optimism.
We discussed with the Chancellor, of course, the many crises that are currently facing Europe. Regarding Ukraine, in the light of both Saturday’s conference and the Chancellor’s visit to Kiev, we agree on an immediate and unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
We reaffirmed our support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country and underlined that the European Union must be at the centre of any peace settlement, always on the basis of International Law. As, of course, in the titanic task of reconstruction.
And in this new geopolitical reality, Europe must be united, diplomatically, economically, militarily, assuming its responsibility for its own defence, but also helping to cover the defence needs of the Member States with appropriate funding.
And I want to welcome the fact that Germany, under the new Chancellor, has also taken important decisions to boost its own defence spending. Something that our country has also done, and something that opens up new opportunities for cooperation in the defence sector as well.
We need to strengthen the European defence industry, but to do this we have a responsibility to choose our partners carefully in this field. They must be aligned with European foreign policy, otherwise the security interests of individual Member States will be jeopardised, but so will the autonomy and credibility of Europe itself.
Finally, I want to stress that our cooperation with the United States is also essential. After all, defence policy on our continent has been linked to transatlantic relations for a long time. A course which, in any case, Greece has consistently followed.
We also discussed, of course, the migration issue. Germany is aware of the challenges. I am aware that the Chancellor recognizes how difficult it is for a country to be at the forefront of the migration crisis and he also recognizes the effort to protect our national and European borders night and day.
As I told the Chancellor, migration is not only a humanitarian issue, it is a major issue of national security and that is why an even closer partnership between Athens and Berlin is necessary, with priority given to effective cooperation between the two states.
We must place emphasis on the external dimension, returns and the proper implementation of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum.
I conclude, dear Chancellor, with the thought that Berlin is a city that has experienced both the division and the reunification of a nation and reminds us that the real strength of Europe is not the “walls” but the “bridges”.
And this meeting confirms that the Greek-German bridges are now becoming even stronger, connecting the North with the South and with them the Europe we inherited and the Europe we want to build, more united, more resilient and more secure.
Thank you again for this warm welcome”.
In response to a question on the possible development of new, additional financial instruments regarding the defence spending of EU Member States, the Prime Minister stated:
“I think we have already made very significant progress, Mr. Pappas, in activating the national escape clause for the financing of defence spending and I want to thank Germany for the role it played in supporting this long-standing Greek position.
I do not think that we have yet agreed, to be honest, on a new financial instrument to be able to finance defence spending.
However, I believe that this is a debate that needs to be held honestly and frankly in the European Council, because we are facing common challenges that can be addressed with common European financial instruments under certain conditions.
I think we have not yet reached the point of having this debate in depth, but I certainly believe that in future European Councils we will be very interested to hear the Chancellor’s views on this issue”.
Asked about the economy and the implementation of the Stability Pact, Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted:
“What I want to stress is that Greece is a country that is now a model of fiscal compliance in terms of meeting the fiscal rules. We have a high debt, we are reducing it very fast. Therefore, we are absolutely convinced that we will achieve the primary surplus targets that we have set.
We have indeed asked for additional flexibility on the escape clause for defence spending. This is something that was recognised as a European necessity and something that we have achieved.
But I want you to be absolutely sure that Greece will fully achieve the fiscal targets it has set, it will continue to reduce its debt, and for me it is also a personal commitment, dear Chancellor, that my country will never again go through a crisis similar to the one that brought us to our knees in 2015.
Fiscal stability is the foundation on which we build all our policies. And for me this is a non-negotiable priority.”
Asked whether reforms that have been successfully implemented in Greece could also be implemented in Germany, the Prime Minister said:
“I want to thank the Chancellor for his kind words. I just want to make a clarification that in Greece the five-day week is legally guaranteed. But we have added degrees of flexibility in terms of labour legislation that allow us to be able to meet the needs of both workers and businesses in such a way that we can guarantee labour rights and support the productivity of Greek businesses as a whole.
I want to refer to the very great importance I attach to the effort that the Chancellor is undertaking to establish a Ministry of Digital Governance. I say this because the Greek experience has been extremely positive in terms of simplifying procedures related to bureaucracy: better service to the citizen, but also the ability to address structural weaknesses in the Greek administration through the use of technology.
For example, the digital work card allows us to record, in real time, the actual overtime worked by employees. A digital tool, which is now serving workers’ rights and putting labour law in a whole new context.
Therefore, while discussing with the Chancellor the importance of reforms, I reiterated the need for these reforms to take place relatively soon, so that their benefits can be felt in society within a reasonable period of time.
And I have encouraged him, to the extent that I am in a position to advise him, to dare, especially in the area of digitisation, to move very quickly. I think it is something that will be very much appreciated by German businesses and the German state, but above all by German citizens.”
Asked about migration, the possible sale of Eurofighter jets to Turkey and the state of press freedom in Greece, the Prime Minister underlined:
“I had the opportunity to speak about migration issues in my introductory speech. I would like to stress that there has been a significant shift in the European debate on migration at the moment, from its internal dimension to its external dimension.
The great emphasis at the moment must be on guarding the European borders, and I am glad that the Chancellor recognizes the great difficulty and the great effort that my country is making to guard Greece’s external borders, which are also the external borders of Europe – we have both land and sea borders – as well as the implementation of the return of those who have entered the European continent without being entitled to asylum. This must therefore be our priority.
I am aware of the fact that there are issues of secondary flows. We are in open discussion with the German government. We have not agreed on everything in terms of the framework for understanding this problem, but I am addressing this issue which the German side understands, just as I am asking for a similar understanding on the German side of what it means to be in the difficult position of guarding Europe’s external borders. However, with goodwill and within a framework of cooperation between our competent ministries, I believe that we will arrive at solutions that will be mutually beneficial.
You asked me about the issue of the Eurofighter jets. I will answer directly that it is not the job of a Prime Minister, a guest in a big country like Germany, to indicate how Germany will sell weapons systems.
However, I think there is an understanding, I would say, of the need for such sales, but also for any future defence partnerships to meet certain basic conditions. And these conditions have to do with the fact that third countries that want to be linked in some way to Europe in terms of defence should, if nothing else, show a high level of compliance with the common foreign and security policy or – why not? – sign a defence cooperation agreement with the European Union.
In other words, there should be a framework in which the specificities of all Member States are taken into account. I think that this is something that makes sense, which the Chancellor also understands, and I believe that we will have the opportunity to go deeper into this discussion and into the specification of the relevant SAFE Regulation when it is discussed at the level of the competent ministers.
Finally, I found your question about freedom of the press in my country interesting. You know, Greece is a democracy which functions very well and the ultimate judge of the rule of law in our country cannot be other than the European Commission, which every year submits an annual report which includes the issues you have raised.
And it seems very strange to me, when in some of these rankings that come out from various non-governmental organisations, my country, which is a democracy that, as I said, functions very well, a European democracy, is ranked below African countries which, however, are not particularly known for their democratic reflexes.
Therefore, I assure you that in Greece everyone can say and write whatever they want. There is absolute freedom of expression and I also assure you that the criticism that is directed at my government, as is appropriate in any democracy, is very strong and we accept that this is part of the way in which legitimate democracies, like ours, operate.”
