Official Visit of the French Minister of National Defence to Greece

 

 

At a critical geopolitical juncture, with heightened activity and challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean, which has acquired growing economic and geostrategic importance as major gas reserves have been discovered and the recent intensified deliberations within the Brussels-Paris-Berlin triangle focused on achieving a common European defence, the Official Visit of the Minister of Defence of France, Sébastien Lecornu, in Athens on April 14th, emphasises that the Greece-France strategic defence agreement not only remains fully in effect, but is also rapidly moving toward a new upgrade.

The visit of the French Defence Minister, who met his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, took place just a few days after the presentation by the political and military leadership of the Ministry of National Defence of the Long-Term Defence Armaments Planning Programme 2025-2036 of the Hellenic Armed Forces to the Hellenic Parliament’s Special Standing Committee on Armaments Programmes and Contracts. A central pillar of this plan is the modernisation of the fleet, a domain where a collaborative relationship has already been established through the acquisition of three French FDI (Belharra-class) frigates. The potential acquisition of a fourth FDI frigate equipped with strategic weaponry (SCALP Naval missiles) remains on the negotiation table.

Within this context, the two Ministers paid a visit not only to the Piraeus harbour – where they went on board the French frigate D-656 ‘ALSACE’ – but also to the Salamis Shipyards, which builds pre-equipped blocks for the hulls of the Belharra frigates for Greece and France.

 

Defence Ministers’ meeting

 

The further strengthening of the relations in defence and strategic cooperation between Greece and France within NATO and the EU dominated the meeting between Defence Minister Dendias and French Armed Forces Minister Lecornu at the Defence Ministry in Athens.

Minister Dendias called the meeting “fruitful and candid, within the framework of our long-standing, traditional bonds, common values, shared trust and mutual respect,” saying it had reaffirmed “that Greece and France are close allies and friends and share the same perception regarding the developments in Europe and the wider region”.

Referring to the bilateral agreement on strategic national relations between Greece and France, signed in 2021 on defence and security, Minister Dendias pointed out that “Article 2 ensures the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both nations, as well as our common interests.” “Greece is always certain that France will take into account in its decisions the security of Greece and the need for our country to maintain a comparative technological advantage of deterrence against the forces of revisionism. Greece does not threaten but is threatened,” he clarified, adding that discussions must begin on the renewal of the Greece-France agreement.

“We already have close cooperation,” he continued, “which is reflected in the acquisition of three Belharra frigates and the discussion about the acquisition of a fourth, the acquisition of Rafale (aircraft), which with their weapons are key to deterrence and defence in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.” He also emphasised that an agreement for the purchase of 16 Exocet missiles by Greece was signed after the meeting with Minister Lecornu.

“Close cooperation in the field of innovation has begun,” added the Greek Defence Minister, while referring to the first Greek-French symposium on innovation in defence, organised in December 2024 in Athens.

He reiterated that Greece and France participate jointly in missions and referred to Operation ‘Aspides’ as an example, while regarding European defence cooperation and industry, he explained that “Greece appreciates France’s contribution to the creation of a common European environment,” within the context of reducing the EU’s dependence on third parties.

Regarding funding to third parties, Minister Dendias clarified that “we must limit funding to third parties,” referring to “those who act in a manner of dubious credibility with regard to the strategic interests of our country”.

He also expressed Greece’s views on the draft SAFE regulation and stressed: “The security issues of all EU member-states must be fully respected. There must be clear eligibility criteria. We believe in both qualitative and quantitative criteria.”

“Qualitatively,” he added, “cooperation should include partners who share the principles and values of the EU and quantitatively, who meet a minimum threshold of compliance with the common foreign and security policy.

“I cannot understand how countries with complete divergence from the common foreign and security policy can participate in SAFE.”

He also acknowledged France’s efforts to strengthen European defence: “We are absolutely ready to cooperate with France on this,” he said.

Minister Dendias said that they also discussed a series of issues worldwide, such as Ukraine, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean, the Middle East, but also North Africa and the Sahel.

Furthermore, he informed the French Defence Minister about his recent trip to Lebanon and the Greek government’s decision to support the Lebanese Armed Forces, while with regards to Syria, he underlined “the need to protect all ethnic and religious communities,” making extensive reference to the Christian community.

On his part, Minister Lecornu thanked is Greek counterpart for his warm welcome and stated, among others, that “the issue of maritime defence is the cornerstone” of Greek-French discussions in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa.

“This is the first time in many years that we have seen the sea route experience such instability and destabilisation,” he explained. “Both Greece and France are two major maritime nations,” he added.

He also thanked Greece for the way it has welcomed “the entire French navy and the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle.”

“The need at the political and operational level sets the tone for the industrial sector and not the other way around,” the visiting French Defence Minister clarified. He said they had discussed the different capabilities of the two countries, including the Mirage and the Rafale aircraft, but also the entire Navy.

He also referred to the cooperation between Greece and France in the Red Sea, while making special mention of the weapons given to Ukraine.

Regarding electronic warfare, he said that “we examined the needs” while clarifying that there is a “common desire to move forward with the issue of the fourth frigate (Belharra)”.

“We will continue,” he clarified, “to work together on a set of munitions,” while also referring to the agreement with MBDA for Exocet missiles, adding that “ships and planes must carry the corresponding equipment.”  “France must also renew its own equipment,” he said, while adding that “there is nothing final at the moment,” and that he himself was working in this direction.

Minister Lecornu clarified that the goal is to increase the number of ships in the French navy, while noting that this raises production issues, “since the greater the demand, the greater the production of equipment and ammunition must be.” “We must see together how this future production will be carried out and what degree of autonomy we want to achieve, and therefore, in this context our cooperation is the cornerstone,” the French Minister underlined.

 

Meeting with the Prime Minister

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis received visiting French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu at the Maximos Mansion in Athens, underlining the close ties between Greece and France.

“France is one of Greece’s closest partners. In the sectors of defence and security we have established a very important strategic partnership, which is constantly deepening,” he said, praising the levels of cooperation between the two countries.

He stressed that Greece and France consider the European Commission’s ReArm plan a firm foundation for achieving the European Union’s strategic autonomy, saying: “It is a goal for which we have worked together from the start with French President Emmanuel Macron. The goal is to enhance, as a Union, our level of readiness and the capabilities of our defence industry, to reduce our dependencies and not to maintain them.”

The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of the French Minister’s visit, noting that defence cooperation was now at the top of the EU’s agenda, and added: “More particularly, we must reduce our dependence on countries that act in a way that is counter to the EU’s strategic interests. And we must protect the national security and defence interests of all the EU member-states, without exception.”