“The time has come for Europe to finally mobilise European funding to support joint European defence projects, such as anti-missile protection or the defensive wall against penetration by drones, one of the plans that has been proposed by the European Commission that are expected to be discussed today,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday, in a doorstep statement upon his arrival at the informal EU Council in Copenhagen.

The Greek prime minister also emphasised that any joint European defence project should not be restricted to the eastern border of the continent only but must look at European security as a whole. “Obviously, the southeast and the southern borders must also be covered so that Europe is protected against any future threat,” he said.

In his statement, Mitsotakis said the Council meeting will be an opportunity to discuss crucial issues for the geostrategic security of Europe. “The ongoing war in Ukraine and the general global geopolitical upheaval create, I would say, a sense of great urgency regarding the need for Europe to finally progress from words to actions regarding its unified European protection,” he noted.

“Greece is among those countries that have for several years now supported defence spending at a much higher level than the European average and we will continue to do so, committing funds exceeding 3% of GDP for our defence spending in the coming years,” Mitsotakis stressed, while adding that Europe must finally mobilise funding for common European defence projects and that this must provide full coverage of all European borders, not just those to the east.