The General Director of National Defence Policy and International Relations (GDNDPIR) of the Hellenic Ministry of National Defence (MoD), Ambassador a.h. Michel Spinellis, participated, on 16 May 2024, in the 3rd Strategic Review Event of the Permanent Structured Cooperation; on 17 May 2024, he participated in the meeting of the Defence Policy Directors of the European Union (EU) held in Brussels.
During the meeting of the 16 May 24, the Defence Policy Directors of the EU Member States exchanged views with the Political and Security Committee ambassadors and the EU Member States’ Military Representatives on the future of PESCO in the context of its strategic review for the years 2026-2030.
Ambassador a.h. Michel Spinellis, in his intervention, noted, inter alia, that the main future objective of PESCO after 2025 should be to strengthen the EU’s security and defence ambitions by supporting the cooperation of the Member States of the Union, in order to support the further development of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). In addition, he stated that, at the same time, particular objectives should be achieved through PESCO, such as creating economies of scale as well as pursuing the Union’s strategic autonomy and collective resilience.
Finally, the General Director of GDNDPIR pointed out that PESCO can evolve as a valuable instrument to mobilise financial resources and thus, incentivise Member States to invest more, better and jointly within the EU.
During the meeting of 17 May 24 a debate was held on EU support for Ukraine, as well as on EU engagement in the Sahel and the Red Sea in the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). A working lunch followed during which the Defence Policy Directors exchanged views on the strengthening of the EDTIB in accordance with the perspectives of the European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS).
Ambassador a.h. Michel Spinellis, in his speech, first confirmed Greece’s commitment to continue providing support to Ukraine at all levels, in both bilateral and EU contexts. In addition, with regard to the EU’s long-term security guarantees, he pointed out the need for the Ukraine Assistance Fund (UAF) to operate immediately under the European Peace Facility (EPF), subject to the strict application of the rules of origin of the equipment provided, for reasons of transparency.
During the second session of the meeting, the General Director highlighted the active role of Greece in Operation EUNAVFOR ASPIDES and pointed out to his counterparts the need for the operation to receive support by the remaining Member States with additional staff and means to safeguard the Union’s strategic interests in the region.
The meeting of EU Defence Policy Directors concluded with a working lunch where the General Director stressed the need to support EDTIB in strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy and security capabilities and at the same time, made several proposals to achieve this objective.
