Mitsotakis’ proposals at the informal European Council meeting

The prime minister is joining the European leaders’ discussion on strengthening European defence with a two-point proposal. One concerns strengthening European defence and the second its financing not from national budgets.Mitsotakis is proposing the creation of a European financial instrument of 100 billion euros, which will be able to finance the requirements of collective European security beyond national budgets, following the model of the positive experience of the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF).

The Greek premier is proposing increased flexibility in fiscal rules in order to give member states fiscal space for defence investments. That is, the exclusion of defence investments from budgetary targets should be done in advance and not ex post as is the case with the current budgetary framework, according to which defence investment spending can be excluded when the excessive deficit procedure is initiated against a country.

This would increase the fiscal space in member states that wish to invest in defence, without jeopardising their fiscal credibility. The discussion on strengthening European defence in view of the proposals that the European Commission is expected to submit in mid-March is taking place in a new landscape, where the greatest challenge for Europe is to seek a unified stance and ways of constructive cooperation with the new US government, while the discussion has been opened on increasing defence spending as a percentage of GDP within the framework of NATO.

During the informal European Council lunch, they will discuss EU-NATO cooperation with the participation of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, while the dinner of the 27 will be attended by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer – as EU-UK relations in security and defence will be enhanced.

Greece is at the forefront of the discussion on the necessity of a strong European defence, as its defence spending already exceeds 3% of GDP, while Mitsotakis is one of the first European leaders to have supported Europe’s strategic autonomy and the need to strengthen European defence and the European defence industry amid multiple challenges.

It is recalled that last May, the prime minister – together with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk – in a letter to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, had proposed strengthening European defence with a project of common European interest, a European air-defence shield that should be financed with EU funds.

Mitsotakis was also among the 19 EU leaders who – at the initiative of Finland – signed the letter to the European Investment Bank to increase funding for European defence.

Source: pagenews.gr