The Minister of National Defence Mr. Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos represented the Hellenic Government at the informal meeting of EU defence ministers that took place on Monday, 6 April 2020.

The main topic of this informal meeting was the defence implications of the coronavirus pandemic. The EU defence ministers exchanged views on how to counter the pandemic. The main issues discussed were the military contribution within the framework of the national efforts to counter the pandemic, as well as its impact on current Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations – missions and at strategic level in general.

In hic address, Mr. Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos mentioned the provision of the Army Welfare Fund Hospital to the National Health System to treat COVID-19 cases, as well as of military medical personnel to work in NHS units and reference laboratories. Furthermore, the Minister of National Defence notified to his European counterparts how the Military Plants contribute to the coronavirus countering efforts with the production of protective equipment and supplies, both for the Armed Forces and society.

Mr. Panagiotopoulos also stressed the need for cooperation among EU member states and with other International Organisations, as well as the need to turn the lessons learned from this pandemic into strategic policies for the future using the tools provided by the European Union and mechanisms developed within the EU in the area of Defence.

The Minister also mentioned the importance of the development of improved practices to counter hybrid threats (migration – refugee issue, pandemic, fake news) in order to strengthen the credibility of the EU and protect the effectiveness of the actions and the solidarity among its member states.

In his address, the Minister of National Defence also strongly emphasised the importance of operation “IRINI” for security and stability in the East Mediterranean, as well as the role that must be played by the EU in the broader region. He stressed the substantial contribution of Greece to the operation, despite the well-known challenges it faces in the East Aegean and its land border concurrently with the pandemic.

He asked for more assets from member states since, as he stressed among others, what is at stake in this situation is the credibility of the EU in terms of its ability to conduct this and other similar operations.