Article by Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis in the newspaper “TO PARON tis Kyriakis” titled ‘The strategic autonomy of Europe is its new big bet’ (26.09.2021)

With the conclusion of the EUMED Summit last week, one thing became clear to both European leaders and European societies: that Europe faces major and multiple challenges it needs to address and, if it does not do so in a timely and effective manner, it will quickly be sidelined.

Geopolitical developments are ongoing and the formation of alliances is constantly changing. Global competition has shifted to the Indo-Pacific region, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan has been accompanied by increased refugee flows, while civil conflicts and hybrid threats in the wider Southeastern Mediterranean are intensifying.
In such a state of upheaval, Europe needs to strengthen its voice. It must prove self-sufficient and autonomous in the critical areas of security and defense. It cannot depend solely on others to have peace and stability in its territory. It needs to develop its own comprehensive security policy, enhance its own defense institutions, and arm itself by using its own resources to deal with crises in its neighbourhood. Europe has both the know-how and the experience to do so, without of course becoming isolated from its traditional allies and partners. And this debate has opened up for good within the Union, starting with the EUMED Summit in Athens, where the French President – whom I had the honour to welcome – was the first to speak of the “perspective of the European Union” and the need to build alliances. Europe’s strategic autonomy is, therefore, its new big bet.

During the Summit of the EU-Mediterranean Group, however, it was not only geopolitics that concerned us, in the light of recent international developments. The climate crisis that is knocking on the door of the Mediterranean was also high on the agenda and the Athens Declaration sealed in the most emphatic way the importance of addressing it for the sake of the peoples of the Mediterranean. As I pointed out at the EUMED Ministerial Summit in June, when we first put the issue of climate change on the agenda, the European South must be on the frontline in this fight and make the climate a top political priority for the Union. Not only because it has always been an advocate of European integration, but also because it has accumulated hard-earned and valuable insight, having experienced in the bitterest way the effects of climate change during the course of this summer, effects which were addressed largely thanks to the unprecedented European solidarity.

In order to protect the Mediterranean – the ultimate force behind the “Mediterranean front” on which we have long based our prosperity – we signed the Athens Declaration calling for the full implementation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and a substantial strengthening of RescEU resources in the Mediterranean. At the same time, we committed ourselves to make full use of the unprecedently large number of tools we have at our disposal, such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility, so as to implement decisive adaptation and resilience policies, in line with the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change. The message sent was clear. In the face of the common environmental challenge, the political, operational and institutional coordination of the Mediterranean states should be similarly common.

Of course, in a Summit attended by traditional maritime nations, guardians of European borders, issues of border security and good neighbourliness could not be left out. In this context, we sought to reaffirm the European support against Turkish provocations. The messages repeated by our European partners were clear and tough. The Mediterranean does not need further tensions and trouble-makers. Anyone who does not comply with International Law and threatens the region’s stability will find the European family on the side of Greece and Cyprus.

Similarly, everyone expressed their determination to protect our land and sea borders. Migration flows cannot be uncontrolled nor can our countries become a gateway for those who seek to enter indiscriminately. What happened in the recent past will not be repeated; this time Greece will be prepared.

Overall, the EUMED Summit in Athens was an in-depth political debate on the future of Europe. The leaders talked openly and dared to touch upon major issues that are going to concern European societies, such as security, defense, economy, energy and health. All the big dilemmas unfold before us. Greece comes to this debate with a clear position on what their solution should be: More Europe, a stronger Europe, a more determined Europe.