The Russian invasion of Ukraine has encouraged citizens of European Union countries to give massive support to the formation of a common security and defense policy.
Although the prime minister insists that ballot boxes will be set up at the end of the government’s four year term – something that should be the rule and only be breached in very few cases and under extremely special circumstances – almost everyone is acting as if elections will be held in autumn.
Greek-Turkish relations are back on the razor’s edge for what seems like the umpteenth time in the past few years and our thoughts are with those who guarded and continue to guard the country’s borders all the way from Evros in the north to Kastellorizo in the south.
I have been trying for a long time to understand exactly what various Western officials mean when they monotonously repeat that “Turkey is a valuable ally.”
The introduction of the digital identity card and the digital driver’s license, which were promoted by the conservative New Democracy government, is another positive step in the reform of the functioning of the state and in the improvement of people’s daily life in Greece.
In difficult times, we refer to the advice of those who lived and handled difficult situations with Turkey. Because, as the late Greek diplomat Vyron Theodoropoulos often said, “history should not teach you what to do but what not to do.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s growing belligerence towards Greece, other than repeating his favored tactic of raising tension to see what he will gain from it, may signal a couple of things. All of them dangerous.
The hosting of this year’s annual Summit of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in the northern port city of Thessaloniki bolsters Greece’s international image as a factor of stability in the Balkan and Eastern Mediterranean regions.
Just a few days ago we heard Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias advise Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the days of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent are over and with them the visions of conquered lands that appear to have the Turkish president so firmly in their grips.
It has been repeatedly pointed out that we should not personalize Turkish aggression because President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attitude toward Greece goes beyond his abrasive authoritarian style.
Greece’s former conservative prime minister Kostas Karamanlis recently criticized the 2004 enlargement of the European Union. He called it “untimely and hurried” – and he was right.
OPINION
