Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said Donald Trump’s election in the United States emphasized the urgent need to bolster European competitiveness, speaking from Budapest during an informal European Council summit, Friday evening.
Mitsotakis remarked on the discussions held with former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi emphasizing the significance of moving from rhetoric to action. Mitsotakis said that European economic issues need more robust and decisive approaches than previously implemented.
Innovation and Productivity
Addressing the council, Mitsotakis pointed to challenges in innovation and productivity, observing that Europe still lags behind in fostering new, innovative businesses.
Energy Challenges
On the pressing issue of energy competitiveness, another focal point of his comments, Mitsotakis noted, “It is widely recognized that Europe faces a significant competitiveness issue in the energy sector, despite substantial investments in renewable energy.” The Greek premier lauded the Budapest declaration for directly acknowledging distortions in energy pricing and underscored the urgency of tackling them.
Defense Spending Exemption
The Greek Prime Minister also broached the issue of strategic autonomy in defense, advocating for increased investment in the European defense industry. He noted that Greece allocates nearly 3% of its GDP to defense and proposed allowing part of such expenditures to be exempt from EU fiscal limit calculations.
Gerapetritis-Fidan Meeting
On the subject of Greek-Turkish relations, Mitsotakis referred to a meeting between Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, emphasizing that “normalcy should be the goal in neighborly relations,” reflecting on his interactions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
