The Minister of National Defence Mr Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos participated today, Thursday 8 December 22, via teleconference, in the European Defence Agency (EDA) Annual Conference, which was conducted in Brussels, titled “Investing in European Defence”.
The Minister of National Defence participated in a ministerial panel along with the Minister of Defence of Sweden Mr Pål Jonson, the Deputy Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic Mr Jan Jires and the Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency Mr Jiří Šedivý.
Mr Panagiotopoulos stressed the particular role of defence investments in the construction of European security and defence, especially today, that the war in Ukraine, the resurgence of revisionism and the asymmetric threats, contest the European Defence Structure and undermine the stability and the security of the European continent.
The Minister mentioned the significance of the European defence initiatives and funding tools (Permanent Structured Cooperation – PESCO, European Defence Fund – EDF) aiming at the development of high value military capabilities, able to enhance the operational readiness and the deterrent force of the Member-States, against challenges and threats against their sovereignty. He stated that initiatives like the advancement of the Joint Procurement Framework in Defence constitutes an opportunity for the achievement of economies of scale and the enhancement of the defence industry of the EU Member-States.
In this framework, he stressed that the threats currently faced by the Member-States and the EU also dictate direct cooperation and coordination, so that defence industries from groups of Member-States can cooperate for the production of particular defence systems which will enhance their security and defence, thus securing the participation of all the Member-States in the overall end result and the advancement of the European strategic autonomy.
The Minister of National Defence added that the EU and the European Defence Agency can play a significant role towards that direction, so that the first basic steps will be taken for a joint future of procurements and European Defence.
