Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has delivered a pointed warning to Turkey, saying Ankara cannot maintain "an active threat of war" and challenges to Greek sovereignty while seeking closer ties with the European Union.
Speaking alongside European Council President António Costa, Mr. Mitsotakis said Greece supports strengthening Turkey's European path but insisted that progress must go hand in hand with good-neighborly relations with Athens.
"My country is a peaceful country, which poses no threat to anyone," he said. "But it will not accept instructions from anyone on how to strengthen its defense readiness."
Turning to EU budget negotiations, Mr. Mitsotakis said reaching political agreement on the bloc's 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework by year's end is essential, expressing hope that European Council talks in December would yield consensus despite expected difficulty.
He said Greece continues to push for a more ambitious EU budget that protects cohesion funding and the Common Agricultural Policy while financing new priorities, including climate resilience following this year's destructive wildfires across Europe.
Mr. Mitsotakis also called for new joint borrowing tools to fund shared European public goods such as defense, and urged faster progress on completing the EU's single energy market, citing high and uneven energy prices across the bloc this summer.
He additionally pressed for advancing the Savings and Investments Union to give European businesses better access to financing.
On defense, Mr. Mitsotakis said Europe must build a unified shield against threats "from the North, the South, the West or the East," calling the EU's SAFE defense initiative a step in the right direction but insisting more funding is needed, along with careful vetting of any third-country partners to ensure member states' security interests remain protected.