The Greek government, led by PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is preparing for additional military spending. Speaking shortly after the European Union leaders' summit in Paris, Mitsotakis stated: "Next week in Parliament, we will have the opportunity to present more details on the country’s new armament programme."

Mitsotakis calls for urgent ceasefire and announces increased military spending

Regarding discussions at the summit about the war in Ukraine, Greek PM noted that “there was a broad consensus that we must reach a ceasefire as soon as possible.”

He went on to emphasise that “all pressure at this moment must be directed towards Russia to stop its military attacks on Ukraine, especially against critical infrastructure. This would allow us to achieve an initial ceasefire and buy more time for Ukraine to negotiate a fair and sustainable peace.”

Mitsotakis also confirmed that Greece will not be sending troops to Ukraine. He stated: “Greece is not among the countries ready to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a ‘coalition of the willing’. Furthermore, we believe that this debate could be somewhat divisive and may distract us from the main objective, which is to bring the war to an end as soon as possible. And that can only be achieved through an initial ceasefire.”

Greece to strengthen defence forces with new investments and pay increases

On the issue of the new military spending plans, the PM reiterated: “Next week in Parliament, we will have the opportunity to present more details on the country’s new armament programme and place this discussion within the context of the major geopolitical shifts currently taking place across the world.”

He also announced new pay increases for members of the armed forces, saying: “In the coming days, we will be presenting an important initiative – the new pay scale and ranking system for the Armed Forces. Announcements on this matter will be made shortly by the responsible minister.”

He added:

“What I can say is that, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, we will be in a position to grant significant new pay rises to our uniformed personnel. These increases are largely financed through savings achieved by the Ministry of National Defence as part of the new force structure.”

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