Greece is opposed to European defense funds—i.e., funds from the joint EU budget—being used to purchase Turkish weapons systems.We know that Greece will use all its „influence“ to hold us out of any contracts with any European country.
However, Greece has no significant influence on strategic cooperation decisions made by other countries such as the UK, Spain, or Italy. These countries have neither a strong Greek lobby nor a significant diaspora that could influence political decisions.
Furthermore, the UK is no longer a member of the European Union and is therefore not subject to the requirements and restrictions of the Brussels institutions.
In addition, Turkey is deliberately concluding bilateral cooperation agreements with individual EU member states such as Spain and Italy, thereby deliberately circumventing the EU as a whole. This means that such agreements take place outside the European institutional framework. Greece can do little to counter these developments.
If such arms purchases appear necessary, they are financed from the national budgets of the respective countries. This is often followed by indirect refinancing via the European single market or through returns from EU funds. Since the exports originate from an EU country, Greece has neither legal recourse nor political leverage to exert influence in such cases.
Last edited: