Franco-Greek partnership "will go down in our shared history"

Paris, 28 September 2021

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France/Greece

THE PRESIDENT – Our ministers have just signed a strategic partnership for defence and security cooperation which is the result of long-standing work, of a relationship that has intensified in recent years and of our work in recent weeks in particular. Indeed, it’s the culmination of a long-term effort that began with the joint declaration on defence and security in June 2008, building also on the Greek-French declaration of 23 October 2015 on a strategic partnership. But above all it’s the fruit of the last 18 months and of the intense work we’ve been doing with the Prime Minister, which led France to make a strong commitment alongside you in the summer of 2020 and also to have sustained strategic discussions that summer, in particular during the Ajaccio summit, and in recent weeks both in Marseille and then Athens for the MED9. We’ve stepped up these discussions, which have now clearly culminated in this partnership.

This partnership expresses our shared desire to increase and intensify our cooperation in the defence and security field on the basis of our mutual interests and the effective solidarity that makes our ties strong. They help protect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of our two States while promoting security, stability and prosperity in regions of common interest. This enables us to deepen Franco-Greek cooperation on strategic issues in the field of foreign military policy, as well as in the defence industry; that’s taken concrete form in Greece’s decision to acquire Rafale fighter jets, and today in your announcement, Prime Minister, of your decision to equip Greece with three Belharra frigates, to be built in Lorient, France – all of which testify to our trust and show how excellent our relationship is. We’ll also ensure that we step up this industrial cooperation and that these industrial cooperation projects, and job creation on both sides, are as present on the ground and as strong as possible.

This partnership is perfectly consistent and fully compliant with our commitments to the European Union and NATO, strengthening their effectiveness in protecting our territories and enabling us to take more effective and coordinated action, together, for peace and security in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. It thus contributes to Europe’s independence, to the strengthening of Europe’s sovereignty and to international peace and security. This partnership isn’t directed against anyone, but enables us to act more effectively and closely together to promote peace, cooperation and stability.

It’s also a result of the fact that, in all the regions I’ve just mentioned, we very deeply share a common vision, that of our interests, of stability and a desire to act and work together. In this regard, the partnership is in line with the battles we’ve been fighting together in Europe since you were elected, Prime Minister, and we’ve recalled this several times, whether it’s about technological independence, greater European military commitment, or being on the front line of the battles that are vital to us.

And the exhibition we inaugurated yesterday shows just how deeply-rooted this relationship is in our respective histories. As I pointed out yesterday, Greece was a civilization before being a nation-State, and it’s a civilization which has inspired us and enabled us to be ourselves. And Greece is also a nation-State which, in the space of two centuries, has pursued an unprecedented path: that of becoming independent and being a nation at the heart of Europe, its concerns, its imagination, its culture and its art – a living heart. For two centuries, France has fought for Greece’s ideals of independence and freedom, and it will continue to do so, because it’s about friendship between our peoples, our nations, but it’s also an existential issue for your people and for ours.

For all these reasons, this partnership is consistent with our histories, our deep commitments and, I believe, with what our countries and our continent need for the century that lies ahead. I’d therefore like to thank you, Prime Minister, as well as the ministers and colleagues who are accompanying you and who have worked alongside mine on this declaration, and I’d like to tell you how much we appreciate your being in Paris yesterday and today, and the signing of this document, which will go down in our shared history. We were by your side when the concern was there a year ago, by your side when the fires were raging this summer. We’re also by your side in these difficult days and hours, and I know that in a few moments you’ll be leaving us for Heraklion, where an earthquake has struck. Please accept France’s solidarity once again in this ordeal. But thank you for your friendship, your commitment and your courage, the courage of the Greek people. Thank you, Prime Minister. (…)

AUKUS

Q. – Until now you’ve never spoken about the AUKUS crisis, with the change to the purchase of our submarines. So first of all I wanted to ask if you could draw any conclusions on the role of France, the role of the French arms industry, the role of France in this region? And the United States was also competing to sell its frigates [to Greece]; has it withdrawn as a conciliatory gesture following this crisis? Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT – What matters today is what we sign, and that’s central to the European strategy we have. Following the call with President Biden, I had the opportunity to make a statement about the Indo-Pacific and the Australian contract. I’d say two very simple things in answer to your question.

The Australian decision doesn’t change France’s Indo-Pacific strategy in any way. It was announced in India at the beginning of 2018. We have several partners in the region, and there too, history and geography are stubborn. France is an Indo-Pacific power, regardless of any contract, since we have more than a million compatriots living in that region and more than 8,000 soldiers deployed there, and also many joint operations conducted with several partners in the region. So the Australian decision, whose full consequences have yet to be determined in the coming weeks, has no impact on France’s Indo-Pacific strategy. After we set it out in 2018, this Indo-Pacific strategy was worked on at European level and taken on board, expressed at European level just over a fortnight ago. And so we also have a European Indo-Pacific strategy to which we’re committed.

The second thing is that the contract with Australia was an important trade contract – it’s for ministers and CEOs to comment on that – but its goal, its aim, the industrial purpose was to build a submarine fleet in Australia for the Australians. And so the consequences for French industry in France are limited: a few hundred jobs, basically in engineering.

As for the American presence, it’s not for me to answer, because it was the Greek Prime Minister who took the decision, and it’s him handling things. We don’t talk about potential competitors or others.

At any rate, that’s what I wanted to point out on this issue, and I wanted to tell you that regardless of this issue, what we’re signing today is, in my view, a crucial partnership which is consistent with what we are. And we each recalled the power of history, which fully reflects the geopolitical situation, in particular in the eastern Mediterranean, and which is also consistent with the decisions we made and took on board in the summer of 2020. So all this dates back much further. (…)

Q. – I’d like first to go back to your answer to my colleague’s question. The Australian submarine contract has had major consequences on the relationship between France and the United States. What can you tell us about this? And is reconciliation possible, following your phone call with President Biden? Secondly, to come back to the defence agreement with Greece: this agreement was announced in a context of tension with Turkey. Aren’t you afraid these armaments will lead to an escalation in the eastern Mediterranean region?

France-US relations

THE PRESIDENT – On your first point, I had the opportunity to express myself through a press release following my conversation with President Biden. There have been no new developments since that discussion. The French Ambassador in Washington will return tomorrow with a clear mandate, on the basis of the discussion we held to establish the conditions for re-engagement. And so, on the basis of this discussion, talks will be held in the coming weeks. I’ll talk to President Biden again in mid-October to establish the conditions for such a re-engagement, in accordance with what we both expressed after our telephone conversation last week.

Eastern Mediterranean

As for your second question, I don’t feel that in the summer of 2020 it was Greece that was belligerent in the eastern Mediterranean. I think it’s our duty as Europeans to show solidarity with each of the Member States, and that’s what France did in the summer of 2020. That’s what we’re consolidating through this strategic partnership. Greece is on the front line in a troubled region with major energy and geopolitical interests. They’re major for Greece, they’re major for Europe and they’re major for France. So it’s legitimate for us to commit ourselves, on the one hand, to helping Greece equip itself to ensure its interests and territorial integrity are respected, and on the other hand to also commit ourselves to cooperating to protect it in the event of intrusion, attack or aggression. That’s my idea of friendship and of the European independence and territorial sovereignty that we hold dear.

EU/NATO

But more broadly, the four questions we’ve just heard lead me to say two very simple things. The first is that Europeans must get over their naivety. When we’re under pressure from powers that are sometimes becoming harsher, to react and show that we too have the power and capacity to defend ourselves doesn’t mean giving in to escalation, it merely means ensuring we’re respected. The second point is that the United States of America is a great historical ally and an ally in terms of values. And it will remain so. But we have to note that for just over 10 years now, the United States of America has been focusing a lot on itself and has strategic interests that are being redirected towards China and the Pacific. That is its right, that’s a matter of its own sovereignty. And I respect the sovereignty of peoples. But it would also be naïve of us – or rather, we’d be making a terrible mistake – if we didn’t seek to learn lessons from it and act accordingly. And so it’s with the same pragmatism, the same clear-sightedness about our independence, that we must, as Europeans, play our part in our own protection. That’s not an alternative to our alliance with the United States of America. It’s not a replacement, it’s about taking on board this European pillar within the NATO framework and learning lessons for ourselves from the fact that we’re being asked to take on more responsibility for our own protection. I think that’s legitimate. So it’s up to us to do that.

Thanks very much. Thank you, Prime Minister./.