Mitsotakis in the Parliament: For the first time, military assistance in case of an attack

For historical Agreement but also a historic meeting, the Prime Minister said, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, from the floor of the Parliament, during the debate on the ratification of the Agreement with France on defence and security cooperation.

«This historic text is brought to the attention of the Parliament, making today's debate historic, as its approval means the armouring of the country, the strengthening of the Southern European part of the agreement, but also the first attempt for strategic autonomy of Europe».», stressed and underlined that for the first time a military assistance clause is explicitly and unequivocally provided for in the event of a third party attacking one of the two states.

«We all know who is threatening whom with a casus belli in the Eastern Mediterranean,« he added, noting that »we have been negotiating such an agreement since 1974. Today it is becoming a tangible reality, again with a Southwestern government.".

«For this government, Defence and Diplomacy are two sides of the national shield,’ the Prime Minister stressed.
«A unified European stance is being put together in the Mediterranean», the Prime Minister noted, explaining that these are proof of a strong, self-reliant European presence of tomorrow.
He shares the view of the French President Emmanuel Macron, that we must «stop naively welcoming the tectonic changes in the global geopolitical chessboard», stressing that Europe's autonomy is a one-way street.

For frigates

Referring to the frigates acquired by the Greek fleet, he stressed that «the three frigates Belharra frigates was the ardent desire of our navy and now Greece will have surface ships, worthy of our Greek captains, for the next 30 years». «The first Rafale will arrive in Tanagra before the end of the year. In addition there are the agreements with Egypt and Italy on maritime zones, there is also an agreement with the United Arab Emirates with a corresponding mutual defence assistance clause, relations with Israel and the extension of the defence agreement with the US for the next 5 years,» Kyriakos Mitsotakis said and described as «very important» the «Euro-Atlantic dimension of the agreement, but also the strengthening of the European framework» as «this agreement is fully compatible with the Franco-German Aachen agreement.».

«As true Europeanists, we are called upon to become European pragmatists by courageously charting the path of the EU's strategic autonomy, which is a one-way street,» Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed in his speech. «All citizens understand the importance of the Greek-French Agreement which provides for armed assistance from the EU's strongest military power, the only one with nuclear weapons in the Union», he added.

The cost

The Prime Minister also explained that «the price of frigates does not exceed our fiscal capacity, as we have taken advantage of the momentum to negotiate hard. Their repayment is spread over time, but the timing of delivery is also very important as the agreement with Greece ultimately preceded orders from the French Navy.».

«There is no defence without a strong economy to finance it», the Prime Minister continued, adding that «neither is there an economy without a strong defence and foreign policy to support it».

The Prime Minister also revealed that «similar armament programmes are also being launched in the land army as our country has abandoned the foolish doctrine of “we will take a risk with our neighbours without arming ourselves. The first new frigate will sail to the Salamis naval station in 2025, where some of your fellow travellers performed kitschy ceremonies in favour of the Salami Eaters, worshipping the waters, because it is good to be judged but not forgotten.» As he said, the first frigate will sail to the Salamis naval station in 2025.

«Yes, Greece is the last outpost of the West to the East, unless you want on the map to transfer us and take us to Denmark.», he said, addressing the opposition.

Attack against Tsipras

Call the Alexis Tsipras to reconsider his stance to the agreement, which is negative. «The term territory includes land, sea and air. The treaty operates on the basis of international law,» he said, adding: «In no defence agreement in the world is there any reference to EEZ or continental shelf,» he said in high tones. He accused the opposition leader of nullifying advantages that Greece is gaining for the first time.

«I welcome the decision of KINAL to support the agreement. I call on SYRIZA MPs to reconsider their stance in the vote that follows, especially at this juncture when Turkey is openly challenging the sovereignty of the eastern Aegean islands,» he said.

«The responsibility is heavy and the verdict of history will be heavy», the Prime Minister concluded.