Michalis Katrinis, a member of Parliament and head of PASOK’s National Defense Committee, raised serious questions about the government’s management of the SAFE program and its stance on developments concerning Turkey and the new European defense architectureKatrinis, speaking in the Plenary Session of the Hellenic Parliament.
According to the relevant statement, referring to the SAFE funding program, Michalis Katrinis complained that to date there has been no official briefing on the Greek plan, while information comes exclusively from “media reports and leaks.” He noted that reports indicated the government began with approximately 30 programs and narrowed them down to six, while three of these appeared to lack partners.
He placed particular emphasis on the May 30 deadline, which was a critical milestone under the SAFE Regulation for the inclusion of single-country contracts. “Today we are not discussing intentions. We are discussing results,” he stressed, requesting that the House be informed whether partners were ultimately found for these specific programs, whether they remain eligible, and whether there was a loss of funding.
At the same time, he noted that the country was informed of the signing of a loan agreement worth 787.6 million euros with the European Union “by the European Commissioner for Defense and not by the Ministry of National Defense.”
He also pointed out that Europe has already moved on to discussions regarding SAFE II, grants, drones, anti-drone technologies, and new industrial frameworks, without the government having presented Greece’s priorities.
Regarding Greek-Turkish relations, he called on the Ministry of National Defense to respond to Ahmet Davutoğlu’s statements regarding a “shared Aegean” and his references to the “Blue Homeland,” while he also raised again the issue of the transfer of critical defense technology from France to Turkey, noting that there had been no reaction from the Greek government.
He also emphasized that Turkey seeks to gain access to new European defense programs and funding instruments, either directly or indirectly, through partnerships with companies from EU member states.
In this context, he asked what initiatives the Greek government has undertaken to ensure that the participation of third countries is linked to respect for international law, good-neighborly relations, and the security of European Union member states.