Mitsotakis to Euronews: The transatlantic relationship is becoming more complicated

The transatlantic relationship is becoming more complicated and we need to manage it in a different way, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with Euronews.

The full interview with journalist Méabh Mc Mahon follows:

Méabh Mc Mahon: Good Morning. It’s wonderful to have you, because as our viewers are probably wondering, what goes on at those EU Summits, what do you talk about until the early hours of the morning?

And last night was rather tense. We see EU leaders visibly exhausted, Prime Minister. Is this because of their workload or is this because of Donald Trump?

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Well, first of all, I can tell you that these Summits are complicated. There are 27 of us, and if you also include the High Commissioner, the President of the Commission, the President of the Council, it takes a lot of time to go around the table. But I think yesterday was a very good discussion. There is, in spite of the sense of restlessness, a real sense of purpose about Europe getting its act together. The transatlantic relationship is becoming more complicated. It needs to be managed in a different way.

Méabh Mc Mahon: And was Donald Trump the elephant in the room?

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Europe needs to stand up for its own interests. Of course, the US President was mentioned. I think it is good that he made comments to clearly indicate that he wants to de-escalate the situation in Greenland. I think it is very positive that Europe stood up with one voice, maybe with one exception, to defend Denmark and Greenland.

Méabh Mc Mahon: Tell us about the exception.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Well, the exception is Hungary. This has been the case over the past year. So this should come as no surprise. But I think we found a way to work around this problem and to send the…

Méabh Mc Mahon: What about the other exception? I mean, I watched that video clip from Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, who I believe was sitting right beside you. He was criticising the Summit, saying it was a “waste of time”. He was very critical of EU leadership as well. What did you say to him?

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Well, we can look at the glass half empty or we can look at the glass half full. What I can tell you is that the whole strategic autonomy debate is picking up steam. I was one of the first proponents that we need to invest more in our common defence and we need to sort out our competitiveness.

Méabh Mc Mahon: What did you say to him? What do you say to disruptive leaders who sit with you in that room for five hours?

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I think we all have to be cordial and respectful. This is also true when it comes, I would say, to the US-European relationship. It was also reflected in the statements made by António Costa. I think we’re all very frank in these discussions. People need to understand we’re by ourselves, there are no advisors.

Méabh Mc Mahon: No phones.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: No phones. In this case, also no conclusions, which makes it easier to be very open and occasionally quite blunt in expressing our views.

Méabh Mc Mahon: Did you discuss Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”? We know that Hungary has joined, Bulgaria also joined. What was the consensus on it last night?

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I think the consensus is that what has been announced by Donald Trump goes way beyond this UN Security Council mandate. I think it is important that the US is involved in the reconstruction of Gaza. I don’t think that we would have had a truce without the involvement of Donald Trump.

But I think we also need to recognise that moving forward, what has been established is something in which most European countries cannot join. However, we would like to be part of an arrangement to address the Gaza issue.

So, if there’s a way where we can work with the US, but only for Gaza and only for a limited amount of time, Greece certainly would be very very happy to take a lead in finding a consensus to do that.

Méabh Mc Mahon: But you don’t want to join up.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I don’t think we can join what has been currently presented. But we need to work towards ensuring that there is a European presence when it comes to the future of Gaza.

Méabh Mc Mahon: What about Mercosur? Of course, the Greek farmers are thrilled this week because of that vote in the European Parliament to send it to the Court of Justice. What is your view there?

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: My view is very clear. I mean, there are more benefits than drawbacks when it comes to these big international trade agreements. The Commission President and the President of the Council are going to India. I’ll be going to India in a couple of weeks. We need to establish trading relationships with other countries or other groups of countries. We are a medium-sized, open economy. We’re the leaders in global shipping. We have every interest in ensuring a rules-based international order that favours free trade.

Méabh Mc Mahon: I wanted to ask you also about Ukraine, of course, and President Zelenskyy’s speech in Davos being very critical, but we will have to leave it there. Thank you so much, Prime Minister, for being with us here live.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Thanks for having me.