Today, Thursday 14 May 2026, the Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias, accompanied by the Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Dimitrios Choupis, attended the inauguration ceremony of the new Officers’ Military Housing complex in Agathonisi.
The blessing was officiated by His Eminence, the Metropolitan of Mesogea and Lavreotiki, Mr. Nikolaos.
The new Officers’ Military Housing complex in Agathonisi was a donation from “Eurobank”, which was represented for the inauguration ceremony by its Deputy CEO, Stavros Ioannou.
In his address for the ceremony, the Minister of National Defence stated the following:
“It is a great pleasure and honour for me to be here again today in Agathonisi, the northernmost island of the Dodecanese. Just a few days before the celebration for the Incorporation into the Motherland for the symbolic delivery of three additional housing units of the Housing Programme for our Armed Forces. The delivery of these units is yet another stage in the fulfilment of this enormous programme, whose aim is to meet all of the Armed Forces’ needs.
But here, in the Eastern Aegean, it bears an additional symbolism. It symbolised what this place means for our country. Of course, priority has been given within the framework of the Armed Forces housing construction programme to the delivery of the houses of phase A and B here on the Eastern Aegean islands, as well as in Evros.
I would like to thank Eurobank and its Deputy CEO, Mr. Ioannou, for their donation of €34,000 for the furnishing of these houses – I know that Eurobank always helps the Ministry of National Defence. I will ask for more.
These military houses will allow our personnel here in Agathonisi to fulfil their duties as required without distractions and without having to pay a lot for housing, especially during the summer months. I think it is a main political direction, not only of the Ministry, not only of the Government, but of the entire Greek society, to support the Military Family with actions.
I also think, and I always say it inside and outside the Hellenic Parliament that the construction of houses and their delivery for use by our personnel is the proper way to deal with the housing problem in our country. A policy of benefits does not solve the problem, it makes things more difficult. Let me put it in simple economic terms: when there’s a supply problem, you don’t subsidise demand. You solve the supply problem.
So I think that what we do at the Ministry of National Defence with the construction and repair of more than 17,000 houses within the framework of the entire programme across the country is a correct model for Greek society.
And, of course, strictly in our domain, it is a requirement for the full and unhindered fulfilment of the constitutional mission of the Armed Forces personnel. And this is only part of the “Agenda 2030”.
Because it’s not just our personnel who protect the country. It’s also their families. And these families carry a burden, a great burden which sometimes is not equally visible. So this military family must be supported by the State with projects which improve its everyday life, improve its prospects with fair pay rises, decent free housing for anyone reassigned to a place they did not chose, with targeted measures to deal with high prices. With commissaries, child care centres, even with Assisted Living Housing for retired personnel who honourably served the country wearing the uniform of the Armed Forces and need assistance as they reach seniority.
I would also like, ladies and gentlemen, to refer to our broader National Defence and Security strategy here from Agathonisi. I would like to say that we Greeks deal with, and we know it, revisionist aspirations which have been escalating lately, invoking in fact non-existent rights.
They are escalating due to unilateral plans which directly violate the rules of international law, and sometimes even common sense, are contrary to any notion of good neighbourly relations, International Law provisions, anything provided by the International Law of the Sea.
Here from Agathonisi, I would like to remind once again that all our islands have exactly the rights, provided by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. No more, no less.
I would also like to say what I always say, that the Aegean, like all seas, can be a place of friendship and a meeting point, but in order to do that there must be rules, and the rules are the International Law and the International Law of the Sea.
I would also like to say, because it should under no circumstances be considered that this matter has been forgotten, that I still expect and will expect with great interest the explanations which the Minister of Defence of Ukraine promised to provide to our country concerning the drone found in the Ionian Sea.
This issue is very serious. This craft contained explosives, which posed a great risk to the security of navigation. I don’t even want to think what the collision of a passenger ship or any ship with that drone would cause. Hence, Greece expects and will not forget that it is owed clear explanations.
Other than that, the Ministry of National Defence will of course do what it has to. It will forward the report and the findings to the Hellenic Coast Guard, which is solely responsible for the policing of the seas, which in turn will forward the dossier to the Greek prosecutor for further action.
I would like once again to state my great pleasure to be here today in Agathonisi, as well as my pride in this place, in its people, and I would like to congratulate the Mayor for their high morale, for the Greek flag that flies here proudly and is supported by the people and the personnel of our country’s Armed Forces.
Thank you very much”.
The ceremony was attended by MPs Christodoulos Stefanadis, Ioannis Pappas, Mika Iatridi, and Vasilios Ypsilantis, as well as the Chief of Hellenic Army General Staff, Lieutenant General Georgios Kostidis, the Chief of Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Dimitrios – Eleftherios Kataras HN, the Chief of Hellenic Air Force General Staff, Lieutenant General (HAF) Dimosthenis Grigoriadis, the Mayor of Agathonisi Evangelos Kottoros, the Commanding General of the Supreme Military Command of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, Lieutenant General Dimitrios Vakentis, the Commanding General of the Construction and Natural Disaster Relief Command, Major General Nikolaos Gretsas, the Director of C Branch of the Hellenic Army General Staff, Major General Dimitrios Kourkoulakos, the Commanding General of the 79th Higher National Guard Battalions Command, Brigadier General Emmanouil Touloupakis, representatives of the Regional government, the Samos Constituency Steering Board, national guardsmen with their families, and citizens.
