Following the conclusion of the two-day NATO summit held in The Hague on 24–25 June, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis answered questions from Greek reporters regarding the meeting’s key developments.
During the press event, Mitsotakis confirmed that Greece will meet NATO’s newly adopted defense spending target of 5% of GDP by 2035 “with certainty.”
According to the NATO declaration, this target includes at least 3.5% of each member state’s GDP allocated to “pure” defense, with the remaining 1.5% directed toward “protecting critical infrastructure, defending networks, ensuring civil preparedness and resilience, unleashing innovation, and strengthening the defense industrial base.”
The Prime Minister also emphasized that Greece is already among NATO’s top defense spenders. “We have exceeded 3%, and we have a large investment program in our defense industry for the next 12 years that may reach 28 billion euros.”
Mitsotakis criticized other NATO members for their past treatment of Greece during the financial crisis. “And let us not forget that there were many countries pointing their finger at Greece during the financial crisis, when Greece, despite its difficulties, always spent more than 2%, while those very same countries were spending 1% of their GDP on defense expenditures.”
He also commented on his brief meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the NATO summit. “I had the opportunity to have a brief conversation with President Erdoğan, as usually happens at these Summits. We raised the issues that needed to be raised and are waiting for a date to be identified, that will be convenient for both sides, for the High-Level Cooperation Council, at which point we will have the opportunity to say much more publicly.”
Addressing concerns over increased migrant flows from Libya to Crete, Mitsotakis outlined the specific measures being taken by the Greek government.
He confirmed communication with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and noted that the issue was included in her pre-summit letter to EU leaders.
Mitsotakis further announced the deployment of Hellenic Navy vessels outside Libya’s territorial waters to deter smugglers and stated his intention to cooperate with Libyan authorities to prevent migrant boats from departing or to return them while they are still within Libyan waters.
