Yellow card in Skopje. Athens will denounce at the NATO Summit the violations of the Prespa Agreement by the neighboring country, warning that it will block North Macedonia’s accession process to the EU. if the challenges continue.
Mitsotakis and Gerapetritis at the NATO anniversary summit
The issue of violation of the Prespa Agreement by the new leadership of North Macedonia will be raised at the NATO Summit (July 9-11) in Washington by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, clarifying that, if Skopje insists on the same direction, they will de facto cancel the their European course.
The Greek Prime Minister, accompanied by Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, will attend the NATO Summit for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Atlantic Alliance. During the work, the Greek side aims to denounce at the international level that the neighboring country does not respect the Prespa Agreement, while in practice it disputes the one and only name for all (erga omnes) and that if Skopje insists on this redemptive line, they will essentially make any process of immediate convergence with the European family extremely difficult.
Possible meeting between Mitsotakis and Erdogan at the NATO summit
It is worth noting that the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Kristian Mickoski, will be present at the Summit, accompanied by the new Minister of Foreign Affairs. According to information, Skopje has not requested an appointment with the Greek side.
On the agenda of the Summit will be the strengthening of the defense capabilities of the Alliance and the greater contribution from European NATO member states and Canada to the implementation of the envisaged commitment to defense investments, the confirmation of support for Ukraine, as well as NATO’s cooperation with partners (EU and IndoPacific 4 – Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea). In terms of defense capabilities and commitment to spending at least 2% of GDP, our country is in the hard core of allied countries that exceed this figure. It is recalled that the Greek Prime Minister has submitted together with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk a proposal for a European air defense shield that will be financed by European resources and will function in addition to NATO.
The official program of Kyriakos Mitsotakis does not include a meeting with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor a meeting between the foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey, Giorgos Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan, however it is possible that there will be informal contacts between the two leaders on the sidelines of the NATO Conference. The next meeting between Mitsotakis and Erdogan is scheduled for next September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Dinner at the White House
On Wednesday night, Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be at the White House at the dinner hosted by US President Joe Biden in honor of the leaders. During his stay in the American capital, the prime minister will have meetings with members of Congress, while he has been invited by the think tank Council on Foreign Relations, where he will discuss with the former US ambassador to Athens, Daniel Speckhardt. In another event, he will meet as part of the NATO Public Forum with the former US Deputy National Security Advisor Nadia Sandlow. After the completion of the work of the NATO Summit, the Prime Minister will go to New York, where on Friday he will have a meeting with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The focus will be on Greece’s assumption of the position of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (2025-2026), as well as the Cyprus issue and the work of the UN Secretary General’s personal envoy for the Cyprus issue, Maria Angela Holguin Guéillard.
The NATO Summit in Washington is marked by a changing of the guard in the leadership of the Euro-Atlantic organization, with Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg leaving and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte taking his place, while the “specter” of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Trump’s possible victory in the US elections on November 5 has raised concern, since the plan for NATO includes a “radical reorientation”, according to which Washington will give up primacy over Europe, while the former President will seek an agreement with Putin for Ukraine.
Trump has threatened several times to pull the US out of NATO, but according to national security officials and defense experts who will likely be used in a second term, he is unlikely to do so. The above does not mean that NATO will emerge unscathed from a second Trump term. In exchange for continued US participation in NATO, Trump will not only require European countries to increase their military spending, but will do what Dan Saldwell – a defense expert and insider on the advisers’ reasoning for Trump’s national security issues – he characterizes as a “radical reorientation” of NATO.
The change envisioned by Trump contains the “significant and substantial” reduction of the US’s security role, stipulates that member states that do not meet the target of 2% of their defense spending “will not enjoy the defense bounty and the U.S. security guarantee,” while, on resolving the Russia conflict, his team’s reasoning includes a commitment that NATO will not expand eastward — particularly into Ukraine and Georgia — and negotiating with President Putin regarding which territories will pass to Russia.
The Summit is expected to be both a celebration of NATO’s 75th anniversary and an assessment of how well the Alliance is adapting to a new security environment. The allies will welcome Sweden to the club, seek to project an image of resolute unity in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and define NATO’s future policy roadmap.
However, the 2024 Summit will be only a stepping stone in a long-term effort to transform NATO. Perhaps more important is the potential transformation of “transatlantic values” to align with a new political landscape on both sides of the Atlantic. While the US election and the prospect of a second Trump administration attract the most attention, European politics is also changing rapidly. Eight EU countries currently have far-right parties in government or governments whose survival depends on far-right support: Italy, Finland, Hungary, Croatia, Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia and the Netherlands.
The results of the EU parliamentary elections in June they confirmed the growing influence of the far right in European affairs. Thus, the 2024 election results might make NATO a political alliance whose members have very different understandings of the rule of law and individual freedom. This situation will clearly affect NATO’s political priorities and public diplomacy.
Regardless of the outcome of the Washington Summit, these challenges should be the focus of NATO’s new secretary general, as they will determine whether the alliance can overcome internal divisions and adapt effectively to a transformed geopolitical environment.
Source: Realnews, enikos
Read also
Heatwave “duration” from today, the weather until Friday
French elections – Final results: Confirmation of political fluidity, the scenarios
“Football” today 8/7 for the summer sales, how long will they last
Patras: Student rents with penthouse prices – The most difficult year in recent years
Concern for the objectives: Risk of launching the ENFIA
Achaia: Barrage of checks for abuses on the beaches – The nailing “goes cloud”
Giannis Antetokounmpo: The emotion and the celebrations with the sons of FOTO
Ilia: New 4.7 Richter earthquake “worried” Western Greece, what seismologists say
#NATO #Summit #Yellow #Card #Greece #Skopje
