The General Director of National Defence Policy and International Relations, Dr. Konstantinos Balomenos, participated in the Informal Meeting of Defence Policy Directors of the European Union (EU) held in Bled, Slovenia, on 15 and 16 July 2021, with main focus on building the Union’s resilience in the context of the “Strategic Compass” as well as the operational part of the Common Security and Defence Policy.

During his speech, Dr Balomenos highlighted the problem of addressing the new security challenges through the possibilities offered by the EU defence initiatives. It also stressed that the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund funding tools should be used for research and development of modern and emerging technologies, while promoting the implementation of the EU space programme should be a priority.

In the area of operations, the General Director of National Defence Policy and International Relations highlighted the need to improve situational awareness in the maritime space, stressing that the Union must be a reliable maritime security provider, while demonstrating the importance of Strategic Communication (STRATCOM) as a crucial weapon against disinformation, reminding his counterparts of the incidents that took place a year ago at the northern eastern border with Turkey. Finally, he stressed the importance of being attached to the Strategic Compass, the Mutual Assistance Clause and the Solidarity Clause for the credibility of the Union’s determination.

In the margins of the Informal Meeting, the General Director of National Defence Policy and International Relations held a constructive bilateral meeting with his Portuguese counterpart, Paulo Jorge Lopes Lourenço, at which issues related to defence cooperation between the two countries at bilateral and European level, as well as security challenges in South-East Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, were discussed.