The deal reached at the European Council in Brussels was “a very good agreement for the benefit of European citizens,” government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said in a televised interview on Open TV on Friday. He noted that Greece’s proposals had been fully adopted as Europe’s strategic agenda for defence, and “all that the Greek prime minister had sought to ask for, to include in the discussion for a Common European Defence.”
Noting that the meeting had lasted late into the night, Marinakis said it was worth holding onto some important takeaways.
“The first fact is that the Greek prime minister was one of the key negotiators of the agreement on the level of individuals. It appears that we have – it remains to be ratified by the European Parliament – an agreement on the top positions, for Ursula von der Leyen, Mr. Costa and Ms Kalas…in other words the president of the European Commission, the president of the Council and the High Representative for foreign and defence issues. This happened in a much shorter time span relative to 2019 where, contrary to the predictions that were proved wrong, there appeared to even be a consensus between different parties, different European political families,” he said.
Secondly and more importantly, he added in response to questions, Greek proposals on policy had been adopted as part of the Strategic Agenda for defence. He noted that the issue of migration remained a foremost issue on the agenda, the fact that Greek borders are European borders, as well as issues relating to competitiveness.
Marinakis also referred to the letter on multinational pricing policies that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had sent to Ursula von der Leyen before the European Parliament elections, saying that its aim was to make this a foremost issue on the EU agenda as a key cause of high prices, and in efforts to convert a slowdown in inflation to a drop in prices.
