The Minister of National Defence Mr. Panos Panagiotopoulos in his briefing to the Committee of Foreign Affairs and Defence for all matters of his pertinence, he underlined the following:
1. The Ministry of National Defence and the country’s Armed Forces actively and effectively participate in the undertaking of national salvation reformation of the country, carried out by the coalition government under the Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.
Radical cuts are made to the Defence Ministry’s budget, concerning operational expenses, armaments expenses and the payroll.
The vast majority of the equivalent measures proposed to the Government by the Ministry were accepted.
Wages cuts will not exceed, in the middle term, a percentage of 7%. As far as the lower ranks are concerned, they will be much smaller.
Operational cuts consist in the shutdown of 55 military camps and 15 Recruits training centres, the withdrawal of 47 old A7 aircraft, the withdrawal of 11 old vessels, the reduction by 30% to the number of students admitted to Military Institutions Of University Education, the reduction by 10% to the number of senior officers, etc.
I am fully aware of the fact that our country’s Armed Forces are called to carry a significant part of the historic duty to save the country.
However, there is an undeclared “financial” war. And this is a war we must win… The Armed Forces’ role will be definitive…
2. The men and women serving in the Armed Forces deserve a public praise, for they have dissociated any financial problems from the execution of their duty, to which they are devoted, according to the Nation’s, the People’s and the Hellenic democratic state Constitution’s commands.
3. Our country must restore as fast as possible its fiscal and financial stability and plan the next step.
The National effort made by the government under Samaras must succeed, since it is the country’s last chance.
4. Referring to his public stances, at the NATO Defence Ministers’ Meeting as well as at the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers of Defence at Nicosia-Cyprus, he pointed out that Greece should not be seen as a country that only has fiscal and financial issues. One of the fundamental constituents of our country’s classic identity is that it constitutes a key country to the global security system and, particularly, to the security system of western interest.
We should negotiate at a more powerful level with our privileged geostrategic and geopolitical position.
5. At other points of his statements to the Committee of Foreign Affairs and Defence, the Minister of National Defence cited that, among the issues discussed during his official visits to countries of the South-Eastern Mediterranean, such as Israel and Egypt, also features the issue of the EEZ.
Moreover, he stated that:
6. No one ever considered charging the Armed Forces with police duties, and any stories to the contrary do not stand to reason.
7. His intention is to bring forward to all International Fora, the political issue of illegal immigration Greece is facing, even though it is understood that it is not an issue of immediate jurisdiction for the Ministry of National Defence.
8. As far as the relations with Israel are concerned, he underlined that they serve Greece’s national interest and under no circumstances do they disturb our traditional bonds of friendship and cooperation with the Arab countries.
To further support this argument, he made detailed reference to the results of his visit to Egypt and his meeting with the Egyptian Defence Minister.
