Kyriakos Mitsotakis: In Brussels today for the informal European Council – What to recommend

By proposing two points to strengthen European defence and finance it beyond national budgets, he will be able to finance the requirements of collective European security beyond national budgets, the model of the positive experience of the Recovery and Durability Fund (RRF). At the same time, Kyriakos Mitsotakis proposes increased flexibility in the financial rules to give budgetary space to defence investment Member States: the exemption of defence investments from budgetary targets; to be made in advance rather than in retrospect (as is the case with the current financial framework, according to which expenditure on defence investments may be excluded when the excessive deficit procedure starts over a country). This would increase the budgetary area in the Member States that wish to invest in defence, without endangering their budgetary credibility. The catalytic role of the Trump election The debate on strengthening European defence in view of the proposals that the European Commission is expected to put forward in mid-March, takes place in a new landscape, where the biggest challenge for Europe is to seek a unified attitude and ways of constructive cooperation with the new American administration, and on the occasion of Donald Trump’s statements the debate on increasing defence spending as a percentage of GDP within NATO has opened. CORVERSE In the “table” and NATO with the United Kingdom At the meal of the informal European Council, EU cooperation will be discussed. – NATO with NATO Secretary General Mark Rute’s participation, while British Prime Minister Sir Kir Starmer will participate in the dinner of “27” as EU-UK relations are discussed in security and defence. ‘Strong European defence’ Greece is faced with the debate on the need for a strong European defence, as its defence expenditure already exceeds 3% of GDP, while Kyriakos Mitsotakis is among the first European leaders to support 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 the Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk – by letter to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leien, had proposed to strengthen European defence with an undertaking of common European interest, a European anti-aircraft shield that should be financed with Community resources. Kyriakos Mitsotakis was also among the 19 EU leaders who – on Finland’s initiative – signed the letter to the European Investment Bank to increase funding for European defence.