Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met today with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, at Maximos Mansion. The Prime Minister’s statements after the meeting are as follows:
Madam President, dear Roberta, I am delighted to welcome you to Greece, which you are visiting for the second time in your capacity as President of the European Parliament. Indeed, the timing could not be more appropriate, as your visit coincides with the launch of Europa Experience.
We visited a while ago this truly impressive interactive space in the center of Athens, which gives our young fellow citizens, young Greek women and men, the opportunity to engage with what the European project really means, and I think it is a truly important and meaningful initiative.
I think you also saw in the eyes of the young children their interest in the interactive experiences that this space offers, and I think that is very important at a time when, unfortunately, the voices of populists, on both the right and the left, are very loud. And I think that at this juncture it is very important to educate our young people in particular, because the Union contributes to peace and prosperity on our continent.
We discussed this role in detail today with the President, in view of our country’s assumption of the Presidency of the Council in the second half of 2027. What we agree on first and foremost is that complex challenges require immediate, bold, and dynamic responses. Even more so when the highly fluid international situation requires Europe to ‘come of age’ and mature geopolitically. It must now make strategic choices that will be crucial not only for the prosperity of its peoples but also for their security. At the same time, it must strengthen relations between Member States.
We discussed diplomatic developments surrounding the issue of Ukraine. Once again, we reiterated the need to provide substantial support to the Ukrainians who defend themselves. In this direction, moreover, were the very important energy agreements we signed a few weeks ago with President Zelenskyy, in view of a difficult winter, with Greece playing a crucial role in supplying natural gas to Ukraine, which is facing challenges.
The goal, of course, now that there appears to be new momentum, can be none other than a just and sustainable peace. However, it must be a peace that is compatible with the security interests of European states.
Europe must be present, not with words, but with actions, otherwise not only will it fail to write its own history, but history will pass it by.
We have spoken at length and discussed many times, including during the President’s regular briefings to the European Council, the issues of European competitiveness, which I personally believe to be the primary challenge facing our continent today.
We agree in principle on the need for the proposals of the Draghi and Letta reports to be implemented and to materialise more quickly. Moreover, we agree on the need for a truly integrated single market that will offer real growth opportunities to all businesses in all Member States.
In this context, I insist that initiatives such as the Savings and Investments Union, the Energy Union so that we can finally achieve converging low energy prices across Europe, the simplification of the regulatory framework, the fight against bureaucracy – something that should be so obvious, but which is also difficult to implement – the new ‘28th regime’ for start-ups, all of these are critical priorities.
More than a year has passed since Mr. Draghi wrote his report, and the truth is that, despite the agreement in principle, the progress we have made is unfortunately not what we would have hoped for.
European businesses today face excessive compliance costs, with regulations that we ourselves often recognize as unnecessary or excessive.
This simplification is necessary in order to remove these obstacles. This is also the purpose of the omnibus legislative initiatives proposed by the European Commission.
But all this, as the President knows, requires unanimity in the Council and a majority in Parliament. And it is not easy to find such majorities in such a diverse body. It requires dialogue and compromise, flexibility and will. Sometimes, however, it also requires courage to go beyond the boundaries of our political families and ideological starting points.
And I really want to express my admiration and joy that Roberta is the President of the European Parliament in these difficult circumstances, as she has proven that she has the ability to listen and compromise, but also to take decisions whenever necessary, in order to find the broad majorities that are essential for Europe to move forward quickly and respond to the needs of its citizens, but also to be able to withstand relentless global competition.
Insisting on these convergences, I would like to talk briefly about the Multiannual Financial Framework. The improvements presented by the European Commission in its initial proposal cover, to some extent, our own reservations.
For us, competitiveness and cohesion are two sides of the same coin, with the single market as the bridge that connects them.
As for the Common Agricultural Policy, a central pillar of the European edifice, it must become more effective, it must place emphasis on the common market, and it must also be combined with measures to adapt to the climate crisis, especially on the critical issue of water management, which is a concern for all countries in southern Europe.
As far as defense is concerned, I have spoken many times, we have discussed the Greek proposals with the President, and we have taken significant steps in this direction. When talking about defense, it is important to recognize that the approach we need to take must be a 360-degree approach.
And to establish genuine strategic autonomy, based on the defense industry and support for start-ups, which are proving to have a very important role to play in this constantly changing theater of war, as we unfortunately see every day in Ukraine.
Europe must send a message – it must send it to its enemies and it must send it to its friends – that it is finally taking its security seriously. And it must prove this with concrete actions that are visible to all.
I would like to remind the President that Greece is one of the few countries currently generating significant primary surpluses, which is helping substantially to reduce debt and consolidate the concept of fiscal stability.
And we achieve this by spending well above the European average on defense. We are doing our part to participate in the joint effort to build European strategic autonomy, but it is important that all Member States do the same, especially those that are lagging behind in this area.
Finally, we discussed the migration issue, in view of the full implementation of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum in June 2026. For us, it is crucial that the agreements are respected and that responsibilities are shared fairly among Member States, based on the principle of solidarity, but not only that.
I reiterated Greece’s long-standing position that protecting the European Union’s external borders and combating smuggling networks are the foundations of an effective migration policy. And I think that both of us have witnessed this gradual shift by the European Union towards positions that are much closer to those that my country has consistently advocated.
We cannot allow illegal networks to control who enters Greek and European territory. And on all these issues, we consider the European Parliament to be an ally. After all, President Metsola is well aware that our continent is stronger when the institutions and Member States of the European Union work together, on the same path of cooperation and common solutions.
I will conclude, therefore, by noting that today’s meeting has confirmed the common ground and common approach that we share, but I also think we share a common anxiety to move more quickly and more boldly on the decisions we need to take, decisions that have already been agreed and which must be implemented for the good of all European citizens.
When asked about the European strategy that should be followed in order for Europe to strengthen its competitiveness and about Greece’s priorities in this area, the Prime Minister said:
I don’t think we need to do much more than read once again Draghi’s report to understand the magnitude of the problem, I would say that this is a gradual and sometimes not so obvious decline in the competitiveness of the European economy from year to year, and of course we need to read once again the recommendations and proposals on how this trend can be reversed.
For me, the priorities are very clear. As the President said, we need simplification of the regulatory framework. Under normal circumstances, this should be the easiest task we are called upon to tackle, because there is no doubt that we have imposed bureaucratic burdens on European businesses which, especially for our smaller businesses, are extremely onerous.
And I know that the President is working very systematically to find the right majorities so that the relevant legislation can be passed by the European Parliament as soon as possible.
At the same time, we must address the issue of high energy costs. If we look at energy prices, they have almost doubled in the European Union over the last five years – especially for our industry and the cost of electricity production – making us uncompetitive.
A single European energy market, more interconnections, market control by a European regulator: these are essential priorities, combined with increasing the penetration of renewable energy sources, which now provide cheaper energy than in the past. These are priorities and initiatives that must definitely be implemented.
Single market for capital and investment. We need scale in terms of capital investment so that European companies can be financed in Europe. The 28th regime. I often talk to start-ups, who tell me that “we can work in Greece, but if we want to go and work in Malta or other European countries, we face a lot of bureaucratic problems.” In other words, the creation of a truly single market.
And, of course, the flagship of all this, the new Multiannual Financial Framework, which must address all these challenges in a coherent manner and enable us to find the necessary majorities and consensus to make this a reality.
In this environment, Greece is currently managing to grow at rates well above the European average. And it is growing at these rates with a different growth model, which relies less on consumption and borrowing and more on investment and extroversion.
But we also know that in order to maintain this growth, we must implement deep structural reforms, we must improve the productivity of the Greek economy, and we must constantly maintain our growth advantage in order to converge with Europe.
That is our goal, but obviously, and I will conclude with this, the Greek economy cannot prosper if the European economy is facing structural problems.
We are a small, extroverted, open country. We rely on Europe doing well in order for us to do well. In order for us to continue doing well, Europe must also do well, and this challenge remains before us today.
