Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias marked the fifth anniversary of the Greece–France defense cooperation agreement on Monday, September 28, stressing that the strategic relationship between Athens and Paris remains “exceptionally strong.”
In a post on X, Dendias recalled the signing of the agreement in Paris on September 28, 2021, when he served as Greece’s foreign minister.
“Five years since the signing of the Defense Cooperation Agreement with France, which I had the honor of signing in Paris as Foreign Minister,” Dendias wrote.
He recalled that the agreement was signed alongside then-Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and their French counterparts Jean-Yves Le Drian and Florence Parly, in the presence of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Dendias: Greece–France strategic partnership remains “exceptionally strong”
The Greek defense minister also linked the anniversary to the renewal of the agreement five months ago with his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin.
“The renewal of this Agreement, which I signed as Minister of National Defense with my counterpart Catherine Vautrin five months ago, confirms that the Strategic Partnership between Greece and France remains exceptionally strong,” Dendias said.
His statement underlines the continuity Athens attaches to its defense relationship with Paris at a time when European security and defense cooperation is becoming increasingly important.
The 2021 agreement that changed the defense relationship
The September 2021 agreement significantly deepened bilateral cooperation in defense and security.
One of its most politically significant elements has been the mutual assistance clause, under which the two countries committed to assisting each other in the event of an armed attack on their territory, subject to the terms of the agreement.
The partnership has also developed alongside Greece’s acquisition of major French defense systems, including Rafale fighter aircraft and FDI HN frigates, while cooperation has expanded into military exercises, defense industry, research and innovation.
The result is a relationship that goes considerably beyond a conventional arms procurement partnership.
From Paris in 2021 to Europe’s new security landscape
The geopolitical environment has changed dramatically since the agreement was first signed.
Europe is now debating how to strengthen its own defense capabilities, expand its industrial base and respond to a security environment shaped by the war in Ukraine, instability in the Middle East, hybrid threats and growing pressure for greater European strategic responsibility.
Against that backdrop, the Athens–Paris relationship gives Greece a major bilateral defense partnership with one of the European Union’s leading military powers.
France, meanwhile, has consistently promoted the concept of greater European strategic autonomy and a stronger European defense pillar.
For Athens, cooperation with Paris therefore operates on several levels: bilateral defense, European security, military interoperability and the wider strategic balance in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Why Dendias’ anniversary post carries political weight
There is also a distinctly political dimension to Dendias’ message.
By explicitly recalling that he signed the original agreement as foreign minister in 2021 and its renewal as defense minister five years later, Dendias presents the Greece–France partnership as a policy with institutional continuity across two of the most important portfolios in Greek foreign and security policy.
At the same time, his post prominently recalls the presence of both Mitsotakis and Macron at the original signing.
The documented message itself is straightforward: five years after Paris, Athens and Paris continue to regard their defense partnership as a central element of their bilateral relationship.
And Dendias chose an emphatic formulation to describe where that relationship stands today:
“The Strategic Partnership between Greece and France remains exceptionally strong.”
Source: pagenews.gr