Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis highlighted Greece’s 25 billion euros defense investment program in remarks upon his arrival at the NATO Summit in The Hague, where discussions have focused on increasing military spending.
Mitsotakis said that Greece is already exceeding NATO’s defense spending targets.
“We have consistently exceeded the 2% threshold even during the very difficult times of the economic crisis,” he said, adding that over the next 20 years, the country is planning to invest more than €25 billion in its military.
Greece is now spending about 3% of its gross domestic product on defense – nearly double the average in the EU.
It has asked the European Commission to exempt its 2026 defense spending from the EU’s budget rules as part of the so-called fiscal escape clause as it aims to spend €25 billion by 2036 under a multi-year defense plan to modernise its armed forces and as it tries to keep pace with its eastern neighbour and historical rival Turkey.
Mitsotakis says this will help Greece reach the 5% target by 2035.
NATO members agreed in principle on Sunday to boost their defense spending target to 5% of gross domestic product, as demanded by US President Donald Trump, but Spain said it could meet its commitments without spending so much.
“The point of an alliance is to make sure that there is a fair burden-sharing and that there is no sense that certain countries are sort of free-riding on the defense commitment of other countries,” Mitsotakis said.
“So I think it is important to understand that these targets…should be binding and they should be binding for all 32 members of the alliance,” he added.
Regarding the Iran and Israel ceasefire, he recognized it as a positive step and also stressed the urgent need for a similar ceasefire in Gaza, noting that humanitarian aid must be delivered promptly and that diplomacy is the only viable path toward regional stability.
Source: pagenews.gr