The Minister of National Defence, Nikos Dendias, participated on Monday, 5 October 2026, in the Meeting of the Ministers of Defence of the Adriatic-Ionian (ADRION) Initiative. The meeting took place on board the historic ship Amerigo Vespucci of the Italian Navy, which was docked in Venice.
The meeting was also attended by the Ministers of Defence of the nations participating in the initiative, namely the Ministers of Defence of Italy (which was the host nation of the Meeting), Guido Crosetto; Albania, Ermal Nufi; Croatia, Ivan Anusic; Montenegro, Dragan Krapovic; and Slovenia, Valentin Hajdinjak.
The subject of the Meeting was the cooperation among the countries of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas and the aim was to enhance security, stability, and operational cooperation in the broader region, including the Mediterranean.
Among others, modern security challenges and the need for a strong, united European approach to defence in order to face them, were discussed.
The Greek Minister pointed out the need to establish a common European defence shield, modelled after the “Achilles’ Shield”, which Greece is already designing based on the time schedule of the “Agenda 2030” reform. The aim of our country is to contribute to the shaping of a broader regional security framework with consistency, a strategic mindset, and an active presence, while maintaining International Law and the International Law of the Sea as the main reference points.
On a bilateral level, Mr. Dendias discussed with his Italian counterpart, G. Crosetto, the potential grant of two used Italian minehunter vessels to Greece.
In the framework of the ADRION Meeting, Mr. Dendias also met with the Minister of Defence of Slovenia, V. Hajdinjak, with whom he discussed the enhancement of bilateral defence relations. During the meeting, the Slovenian Minister of Defence invited the Greek Minister to the SEDM (South-Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial) Process, which will take place in Slovenia and is chaired by Greece. In turn, Mr. Dendias invited his Slovenian counterpart to visit Greece.
