The KYSEA meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at Megaro Maximos, has concluded.
Shortly before the end of the meeting, the Minister of National Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos left the Maximos Palace, who is leaving for Brussels, in order to participate in the meeting of the NATO Defense Ministers. At 17:00, Mr. Panagiotopoulos will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who is known for the tactic of keeping an even distance even in obvious cases of threats and violations by the neighbor.
Tomorrow, the defense minister will have meetings with his counterparts from the US, France and Germany. As of now, there does not appear to be an appointment with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.
On the agenda of KYSEA were immigration and the Turkish challenges, after the recent illegal Turkish-Libyan agreement for the exploitation of the Libyan EEZ by Turkish companies. At the same time, issues related to the equipment programs, which have been launched and require the “green light” from the body, were discussed.
In a statement issued by government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou, he stated in his announcement that “we deal with calm and determination” the ongoing provocative behavior.
“The Governmental National Security Council (GNCSC) during today’s regular meeting dealt with the approval and progress of the implementation of equipment programs as well as the upgrading of systems of the Armed Forces and the Coast Guard. He also dealt with the strengthening and updating of the “Aegis” Civil Protection program and with operational and organizational issues of the Evros fence extension plan.
Finally, Turkey’s continued provocative behavior in our region and the southeastern Mediterranean was discussed. Behavior that we deal with calmly and decisively.
Today’s meeting was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias, the Minister of National Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos, the Minister of Citizen Protection Takis Theodorikakos, the Minister of Immigration and Asylum Notis Mitarakis, the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy Giannis Plakiotakis, the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Christos Stylianidis, the Minister of State Giorgos Gerapetritis, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Yannis Bratakos, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesman Yannis Oikonomou, the Commander of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Themistocles Demiris, the Chief of the General Directorate of Defense and Security, General Konstantinos Floros, the Director of the Diplomatic Office Anna Maria Boura and the National Security Advisor Thanos Dokos”.
Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias gave an update on the developments in Greek-Turkish, after his visit to Cairo, where he discussed the scenarios in detail with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Soukry. A briefing was also held by Mr. Panagiotopoulos, who received the visit of Nikos Dendias yesterday, in order to inform him about Turkolivykos.
The immigration was also found on the carpet. The Minister of Citizen Protection, Takis Theodorikakos, referred to the procedures for expanding and upgrading the fence and means of protection, as well as the sea routes that traffickers use more and more often, something that was clearly seen with the shipwreck in Kythira. Also discussed was dealing with migrant smuggling rings that are intertwined with NGOs, which play a suspicious role. The Minister of Immigration and now a permanent member of KYSEA Notis Mitarakis informed about the issue, with an emphasis on the upgrading of security information around this hybrid threat, although so far the country does not seem to be facing a problem of inflows and hosting, given that many structures are closed or operating far from their maximum capacity.
Finally, the Minister of Civil Protection Christos Stylianidis informed about the course of the AEGIS program for the upgrade of Civil Protection and about the procurement procedures of 7 Canadairs in the next 2-3 years, two through RescEu and another 5 with a combination of European and some national resources .
The last meeting of KYSEA took place at the end of August, when it was decided to extend the fence to Evros and to upgrade the electronic means of monitoring and surveillance. The essential change compared to the past, however, as protothema.gr is informed, is that the KYSEA will meet more frequently from now on, perhaps even monthly, and not just ad hoc. The body will meet regularly and based on its agenda. However, the next meeting is planned for December, unless there is an extraordinary event.
In an environment of heightened geopolitical challenges, the fact that our country does not have a statutory National Security Council is a disadvantage. In this light, KYSEA will take on more “parametric” characteristics and its role will be upgraded.
