Good morning. I welcomed today in Athens with particular joy the President of the European Council. Your visit, dear Antonio, as part of your tour of EU member states, I believe reflects your commitment to better coordination among all partners, especially in a highly fluid international situation, and for better preparation of what will occupy us at the European Council in the current half-year, and as we discussed, there are very many issues.
Allow me to start by expressing our support for our Polish partners, who recently defended the eastern borders of the European Union against an open violation of its airspace. As members of a strong Europe, a Europe that does not yield to revisionism, we must prove on the ground that no violation of our sovereignty and sovereign rights can be tolerated.
We had the opportunity to discuss developments in Ukraine, which remains very high on our priorities. To express again publicly our support for the coordination between the European Union and the United States to end the war and begin peace talks. Obviously, a discussion that must take place with the participation of Ukraine and obviously only on the basis of the fundamental provisions of international law, with respect for the inviolability of borders and certainly with the observance of the necessary security guarantees, with the most important, as we discussed, the strong deterrent capability of the Ukrainian armed forces.
We had the opportunity to discuss developments in our wider region, the Middle East, where we actively support the negotiating efforts for a ceasefire. Efforts are being made by the US, Qatar, and Egypt. However, we are very concerned about the unacceptable violation of Qatar's territorial sovereignty. Something I also personally highlighted to the Emir of the state when I communicated with him, emphasizing at the same time that any further escalation in Gaza must be avoided, which worsens the already dramatic situation for civilians.
I remind you that Greece, dear Antonio, has for some time been providing significant humanitarian aid, not only through international organizations but also through airlifts of humanitarian material by the Greek Air Force.
With the President, we also discussed our common defense. It is a perspective that, as you know, Greece actively supports, believing in the concept of the Union's strategic autonomy. And especially with the recent events in Polish airspace, I had the opportunity to bring back to our discussion the need, in our view, for a common European financing tool that can fund defense procurement of common European interest, such as, for example, anti-aircraft and anti-missile protection.
I believe that this discussion is mature to take place and I am sure that we will conduct it in future European Council discussions. Regarding the participation of third countries in this new European Union defense initiative, our position is clear: in a European defense architecture, countries that still threaten EU member states with war cannot participate. It is, I believe, in their hands to build good relations with Europe, but this presupposes respect for its principles.
We discussed the major challenges of the migration issue, a matter that has consequences for both society and the economy and the security of our homeland, but also of all of Europe. After a long period of calm, we unfortunately had significant increases in arrivals in the last 48 hours in Crete. This reconfirms the need, dear Antonio, for an even more coordinated effort to protect the external borders of the European Union, so that we can effectively combat the smuggling networks that unfortunately exploit human suffering. And I think we will agree that the European Union must provide every possible support to the frontline states.
Finally, we discussed the next multiannual financial framework. It is a discussion in which Greece also approaches with a plan, with clear goals. We expressed from the outset our positive disposition towards the proposals of the European Commission. We know, however, what our priorities are: the protection of the cohesion envelope and the common agricultural policy, but also the overall support for the competitiveness of the European economy, without this ultimately being to the detriment of specific states. It will be a difficult discussion if we remember that the last time we needed five whole days to reach an agreement. But I welcome the will of President Costa for this discussion to be completed by the end of 2026 at the latest.
Finally, on competitiveness issues, I reiterated the great emphasis Greece places on creating a true common energy market, which would mean relatively equal energy prices for all member states. We saw a first improvement this summer compared to what happened last year. However, I think we still have a lot of work to do so that we can invest in the necessary interconnections so that energy really flows from the cheaper countries to those that need it more.
I conclude, dear Antonio, with the wish that the obstacles we face are only temporary and the bonds we forge are permanent. The same applies to our commitment to a strong Europe that will serve all Europeans. Thank you again.
Thank you for the visit, for the excellent hospitality, and for the constructive discussions, Prime Minister. I want to say to you not only a warm welcome to Athens, but also to visit not only Greece but also European institutions, to their citizens, to engage with all the leaders, because we are a union of diversity and all the voices, all the leaders, all the member states matter, and we need to work with all of you to build a stronger union.
We focus now on two main priorities: security and the economy. We need to boost confidence of investors and boost the economy. Without security, it is very difficult to succeed, and without a strong economy, we cannot have security. And for security, our first priority is to support Ukraine.
We need to improve our border management to face illegal migration, to fight smugglers, and to have a common political migration policy. And secondly, I agree with Prime Minister Mitsotakis when he said if we want to have an effective European defense, we need to have common capabilities. We need to spend more, but we need to spend better. And to spend better, we need to have not only interoperability, not only joint procurement, but also common goods funded by common funds.
We need to help our companies to scale up and create better jobs and more jobs. And for this, we need to use this investment also to improve our defense industry. And for this, we need to have flagship projects to improve our competitiveness also in this domain. Finally, Greece is in a very geostrategic, very important geostrategic position. It is the bridge between Europe and the Middle East. The Middle East is very challenging for Europe, for our stability, the capacity that we have to manage migration flows. And for this, we need to be very engaged in the region, asking for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and also to look at the situation in Syria and in Libya. This is one of the great advantages of our union: 27 member states with a regional approach, with regional points of view, to look at the world and different regions, to engage with our neighbors in the east, in the north, in the south. Thank you very much for this opportunity to work once again directly with you here in Athens.
