Statements of Panos Kammenos, after his meeting with the Minister of Defence of Bulgaria Nikolay Nankov Nenchev at the MOD [photos]

“I want to welcome his Excellency the Minister of Defence of Bulgaria, the friend of Nikolay Nankov Nenchev, for today’s…
the official visit of the Greek Ministry of National Defence. We had the opportunity to make discussions and take decisions, which have to do with the emerging new geopolitical situation in the wider region.

Greece and Bulgaria, Bulgaria and Greece, constitute a core of stability in the European Union, in NATO, in the Balkans, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. We are countries first host for this huge wave of migrants, which comes from the East to the West. This theme, of course, is not only a matter of Greece or Bulgaria, is a european issue and as such a matter we need to deal with.
We decided that the two countries have close relations and common positions both at the level of the European Union and in NATO. We will prepare well jointly the meetings of the Luxembourg and Warsaw, we will exchange views and will have a close cooperation and on the issue of immigration, because it is very natural that the wave of immigration changed many times place of entry. Today it is Greece, tomorrow it can be from Bulgaria, the day after tomorrow from Italy. So it is of great importance to have a common policy and to take common decisions at a european level.
However, at the level of NATO, by the moment developed by the forces of SNMG 2 in the Aegean, should these political-level decisions to apply and to deal with directly, in particular, the issue of immigrants is not the same with the issue of refugees. The countries of us and Europe can’t at this time other economic immigrants.
So we took common decisions, but these decisions have to do with further debate on military and defense level. The Minister and I will give the political guidelines and the joint Chiefs, who already have launched a close cooperation, implement joint programming with the conduct of joint exercises, the exchange of education and, in parallel, with a common military plans that will help in the formation of a balkan policy in the framework of NATO.
I consider it a historic moment, the decision we have to make an offer to Romania for a tripartite meeting and the establishment of a common platform. The physical axis Romania – Bulgaria – Greece – Cyprus – Israel – Egypt are a very important alliance countries, which are located on the same side, against terror, to stop the phenomenon of terrorism and fundamentalism which is extracted this time to Europe.
We have other issues, which have to do with the protection of our borders in relation to the utilization of european funds from the Ministries of Defence, from existing programmes of the European Union, but also from programs that we will present together. Programs that have to do with receiving information, the equipment of the Armed Forces for border protection, as well as the development of new technologies such as the κυβερνοπόλεμος, satellite technologies, technologies for optical observation with thermal imaging cameras or unmanned aircraft.
These will no longer be the subject of work of the Committees which will create the General Staffs and at the same time, the common position of our countries as a balkan group in the framework of NATO and the European Union will form a new period in the two alliances, the European Union and NATO.
Today’s meeting is only the beginning. We agreed with the Minister that there will be meetings and in Sofia, before the Meeting of Warsaw. We will seek to become the tripartite meeting, so as to have fast results, which will be to the benefit of our peoples and for the benefit of a common policy on issues in the Balkans, Bulgaria and Greece know very much better than others”.