Athens and Paris set up “shield” in Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean – Mitsotaki and Macron announcements on Tuesday
Paris is his stopover Kyriakou Mitsotaki returning from New York. The Prime Minister is visiting the French capital today for the opening of the exhibition “Paris-Athens: Birth of Modern Greece” at the Louvre Museum.
The exhibition is organized with dedication to the 200 years of the Greek Revolution of 1821 and aims to report on the ties that unite Greece and European culture.
The Prime Minister will be received at the Louvre by the French President Emanuel MacronThe two leaders will inaugurate the exhibition together and then will have shown work at the Palais des Elysées.
There they will have the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues that concern both countries. Besides, it is worth noting that their meeting today follows frequent meetings they have had recently. A few days ago, the President of France was at the EUMED Summit in Athens and was reminded of their meeting at a dinner given by Mr. Macron for his guests in Marseilles, at the International Conference on Nature Conservation, dedicated to the French initiative “Mediterranean, exemplary sea by 2030”, where the Prime Minister addressed a speech.
The discussion they will have tonight is gaining additional interest after the latest developments in the international diplomatic chessboard and while both of them have talked about the need for a defense union.
Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the Prime Minister said that a European Defense Union would strengthen NATO, force countries to address issues of interoperability and meager defense budgets, and speed up cooperation on cyberspace issues. .
“If Europe aspires to be not only an economic but also a geopolitical superpower, it is time to start this debate seriously. And the countries that are more willing to move forward easily can do so at a faster pace. Our strategic interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Sahel region are forcing us to face this challenge with a renewed sense of urgency. Because there will be missions where NATO and the United Nations would not be present. “But the EU must be present,” he said.
In Paris, Kyriakos Mitsotakis will also meet with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
The program of the Prime Minister today is as follows:
At 20:00 Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the President of France Emmanuel Macron will jointly inaugurate the exhibition Paris – Athènes, Naissance de la Grèce moderne 1675 – 1919 (Paris – Athens, the Birth of modern Greece 1675 – 1919), at the Louvre.
Then the two leaders will have shown work at the Palace of the Elysium.
Frigates, corvettes and a new defense doctrine
According to diplomatic sources, at tonight’s dinner of Kyriakos Mitsotakis with the French president will be “locked” the political agreement for the purchase of three French frigates Belh @ rra, with the option to acquire one more (3 + 1), as well as three French Gowind corvettes.
The details of the agreement, which is expected to exceed 5 billion euros, are to be finalized on Tuesday in Paris, where the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, are also being transferred.
According to information, the three frigates will be built at the French shipyards of the Naval Group in Lorient, while the three corvettes will be built at Greek shipyards – most likely at Scaramanga.
The French proposal, submitted in the spring, provided for the construction of four new Belh @ rra and the free concession of two French naval warships, which, as it turned out, did not meet the needs of the fleet.
The new French proposal was for three French Belh @ rra frigates – the first already built in Lorient – and three more Gowind-type corvettes, smaller displacement ships which, however, are estimated by the Navy to meet the needs of daily operational operation of the fleet in the Aegean.