Greece’s intention to support the people of Turkey and Syria, as it has already done, by providing immediate assistance in finding survivors among the wreckage, as well as by providing significant humanitarian assistance, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized in his statements on his arrival at the crash site. extraordinary meeting of the Council of Europe in Brussels. He also stressed that in the context of the meeting, which will be attended by Ukrainian President Zelensky, undivided support for Ukraine’s struggle to defend its territorial integrity will be expressed, as well as a number of sensitive issues relating to the European family, such as immigration, will be discussed. be discussed.

European competitiveness, the weakening of state aid, the use of European funds are also topics on the agenda.

“We are in the Recovery Fund, we are in the absorption of European resources from the Cohesion Fund, from the NSRF, and we will continue to move along this path in the next period,” the prime minister said.

“The extraordinary summit is taking place in the shadow of the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria. I would like to once again express sorrow on behalf of the entire Greek people over the tragic losses. Let me reiterate that Greece will support the two peoples, as it has already done, providing immediate assistance in finding survivors among the rubble, as well as providing significant humanitarian assistance to support hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions of people. who will soon be homeless.

We will also be at the forefront of organizing a donor conference here in Brussels so that additional financial resources can be found to help rebuild the affected areas.

The summit will give us the opportunity to welcome President Zelensky to reaffirm our undivided support for Ukraine’s struggle to defend its territorial integrity.

The support of the European Union, of the entire European family, in this effort is taken for granted, and we will give the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian government the opportunity to make a just peace with the Russian invader, but on the terms he sets. .

We will also have the opportunity to discuss two critical issues concerning the European family. The first relates to immigration issues, especially illegal immigration, which again shows strong growth trends over the past year.

Greece will continue to fight for the European Union to do more to protect its external borders. This is what we as a country are already doing, but we are counting on even more European support. And we will continue to insist on additional European resources so that we have all the means at our disposal to effectively guard our borders.

And when I say by all means, I also mean the need for the European Union to use physical barriers, such as the fence we are building on Evros.

At the same time, it goes without saying that Europe must speed up its return policy so that those who do not qualify for asylum quickly return to their countries of origin.

At the same time, we will also discuss issues of European competitiveness, support for those technologies that will allow us to quickly make a green transition. This is a debate that has become more and more urgent since the decisions made in the United States.

Greece supports in principle loosening the state aid framework, but this should be done in a way that is temporary and targeted and does not deprive countries that lack financial capacity from supporting their national businesses.

At the same time, Europe will continue to fight on all fronts to improve its competitiveness. An additional way to do this is to soften the way we use European funds. But there is no doubt that at some point there will be talk about the additional financial resources that will be required to support European competitiveness.

In any case, Greece will remain one of the main actors in the absorption of existing European resources. We are the protagonists in the Recovery Fund, we are the protagonists in the absorption of European resources from the Cohesion Fund, from the NSRF, and we will continue on this path in the next period.”

Journalist: Today you will discuss immigration. What is your approach to bringing back more people who are not eligible for asylum in the European Union?

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: We have been very clear that the return policy of the European Union as a whole has failed. If you look at the total number of people whose asylum applications have been rejected, a very small percentage is returned. So we need better European coordination to make this happen.

At the same time, we have always advocated a more effective policy of protecting the external borders of the European Union. If we cannot effectively and fairly protect our borders, we will not be able to solve the problem of immigration. This is not just a problem of secondary flows, it is a problem of people trying to get into the European Union with a complete lack of coordination.

Reiterate the absolute need to neutralize, dismantle, destroy the networks of traffickers who profit from human suffering and today illegally traffic in the European Union, often in absolutely terrible conditions, as is happening today in the Aegean.

Journalist: Are you in favor of using European funds to build external border fences?

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Absolutely. Yes. It doesn’t make much sense to me that the EU would fund, for example, technology or drones or surveillance equipment, but refuse to fund the construction of the fence itself. We are talking about an integrated approach to the issue of managing the external border. And, of course, fences should be included in the funding package. In any case, Greece is building its own fence and will do so with or without European money.

Journalist: Will you offer (speech without microphone) because you are neighbors?

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Greece became the first country to send rescue teams to Turkey. They rescued many people from the rubble. We also sent a second team. We are sending five planes with humanitarian aid. Our duty is to help others. And the time has come to put aside our political differences and extend a hand of friendship to the people of Turkey, the people of Syria, who are suffering because of this terrible catastrophe.

And frankly, in terms of the relationship between the two countries, I can’t imagine a stronger message than a Greek lifeguard and a Turkish lifeguard working together to save a little girl in Turkey. I have said many times that the peoples of Greece and Turkey have nothing to share. We are friends. And we prove our friendship in these difficult times.

Thank you”.