Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday expressed his satisfaction with the inclusion in the European Council conclusions of Greek initiatives relating to a common European defence, whether they concern the overall defence coverage of European territory or specific projects such as the European anti-missile shield, as he arrived for the European Council in Brussels.

Mitsotakis also referred to the issue of competitiveness, stating that there can be no European competitiveness without low energy prices for all EU member states.

Regarding the issue of housing, he recalled the initiatives taken by the Greek government, such “the rebate of an entire month’s rent to tenants at the end of November”, but also emphasising that a way must be found through the European budget, so as to relieve European citizens living in rented accommodation.

The following is the full statement of the Prime Minister upon his arrival at the European Council Meeting:

“Of the many issues that we have on the agenda of the European Council, allow me to single out three, to which I attach particular importance.

“The first issue concerns defence issues. It is clear that there has been significant progress on the issue of undertaking joint European initiatives for defence projects that concern all European countries.

“I would like to express my satisfaction that the conclusions of the European Council include the defence vision of Europe, which has a 360-degree approach. This has always been a consistent Greek position.

“I would also like to express my satisfaction that the Greek initiatives, which were presented some time ago, such as a common anti-missile shield for the European Union, seem to be gaining momentum and are included in the European Commission’s roadmap, as presented a few days ago.

“The second issue that I would like to focus on is that of competitiveness. European competitiveness without low energy prices cannot exist and it is clear that today there are large differences in energy prices between many European countries.

“I am glad that this is something that is now recognised and that the European Commission has undertaken specific commitments on how we can achieve lower energy prices in Europe as a whole, so that there are no such significant differences, which operate to the detriment of some Member States of the European Union.

“The third issue, which I am glad is being discussed at the European Council level, is housing issues. The Greek Government has undertaken a series of initiatives in order to address the increased cost of housing.

“Indicatively, I should point out that one entire rent will be returned to all tenants in our country at the end of November but it is very important to explain that this issue also has a European dimension and to think how, in what way, the next European budget can use European funds to address this issue, especially for those of our fellow citizens that are renting.

“Young European smust feel that acquiring their own home is not a pipe dream.”