On Tuesday 30 June 2026, the Deputy Minister of National Defence Thanasis Davakis participated in the Athens Defence Conference with the topic “Securing Europe’s Future: Strategic Autonomy, Regional Stability, and Industrial Resilience”, which is organised in Athens by the Delphi Economic Forum and the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP).

During his speech, Mr. Davakis made reference to modern deterrence, which, as he pointed out, “begins from the backline” and is based on technological superiority, a strong industrial basis, and a secure and resilient supply chain.

Among others, he spoke of modern electronic warfare and underlined that interception capabilities are now an absolute necessity for the establishment of tactical advantage windows, so that land, air, and naval forces can advance safely.

The Deputy Minister restated the significance that the Ministry of National Defence assigns to the extension of our European cooperation network, while particularly stating that:

“After productive discussions with my Polish counterpart, Deputy Minister Mr. Pavel Zalewski, in Athens, during which we signed the 2026 Military Cooperation Programme, we broadened this relationship in a following meeting with the Polish plenipotentiary for the SAFE programme, Ms. Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka. Together, within the framework of the SAFE European mechanism, the two countries rapidly proceed to the co-production, joint procurement, and development of a cutting-edge constellation of SAR military microsatellites, thus ensuring constant national surveillance”.