German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is seen in a September 30, 2025, file photo. [AP]
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who is visiting Greece on Monday, is expected to renew pressure on the government to drop its objections regarding Turkey’s participation in the European Union’s €150 billion Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program designed to boost investment in defense industries.
The ratcheting up of pressure is also due to the fact that the deadline (November 30) for countries wishing to receive loans through SAFE is approaching.
A few days ago, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met on the sidelines of the European Political Community (EPC) Summit in Copenhagen with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who had requested the meeting with the central issue on the agenda being the unblocking of Turkey’s participation in SAFE.
Mitsotakis repeated Greece’s points, that Turkey cannot join SAFE unless it drops its threat of war if Greece were to extend its territorial waters in the Aegean and its theory of the “gray zones,” on the basis of which Ankara disputes Greek sovereignty over islands and islets in the Aegean.
But, among EU members, only Cyprus and France share Greece’s objections, even though many understand Greece’s stance.
Practically all the other EU countries support cooperation with Turkey, as they consider the state with the second largest army in NATO and a flourishing defense industry to be a useful partner for Europe.
The assessments of quite a few Europeans – mainly Easterners – that Turkey’s stance on Ukraine and its good cooperation with Russia could be ambivalent have been conveyed to Athens in various ways, but they believe that at this stage, Europe needs both the industrial capabilities of the Turks and their willingness to get involved in active operations if required.
Also, Greece’s reluctance to provide its aging Mirage 2000-5 fighters to other EU countries so that they, in turn, can provide Ukraine with these or other planes does not sit well with Eastern Europeans and other EU members.
Scandinavian countries are also positive about Turkey and SAFE, even though two (Finland, and, especially, Sweden) recently became the target of Turkish obstructionism when they applied to join NATO.