The Deputy Minister of National Defence, Mr. Nikolaos Hardalias, participated in the annual Berlin Security Conference 2022 / 21st Congress on European Security and Defence, held on Wednesday 30 November and Thursday 1 December 2022, in Berlin. 

The Conference is an international forum on Security and Defence, organized by the German newspaper “The Behörden Spiegel”, every year since 2001.

This year’s Conference, in which Norway was a partner country, included the following three sessions:

• General topics: War in Ukraine, European Union (EU) Strategic Compass, NATO Strategic Concept, Combined Force Planning, Energy and critical infrastructure, arms control.
• Security and Defence: The British Perspective on Security and Defence, Space Defence, European Defence in the Land Domain, Comprehensive Defence Concepts in Europe, Airpower in a Changing Security Environment, Maritime Areas of Responsibility, Hybrid Threats, Cyber-Warfare, European Medical Healthcare, prospects and opportunities.
• Technology, research, development and procurement: technological progress in the defence sector, Energy and Security, a common European procurement programme, digitization of international military forces, local multinational cooperation programmes.

According to the announcement of the Ministry of Defence, the keynote speakers were the Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Olaf Scholz, the Prime Minister of Norway, Mr. Jonas Gahr Store, and the Secretary General of NATO, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg.

During their statements in the framework of the work of the Conference, the Chancellor of Germany, Mr. Olaf Scholz, and the Prime Minister of Norway, Mr. Jonas Gahr Store, both underlined the need for NATO protection of the European energy infrastructure, submarine pipelines and natural gas, of telecommunications infrastructures and internet lines as well as the creation of a special coordination office.

Referring to the war in Ukraine, they assured that they will continue to support the Ukrainian defence, while Mr. Jonas Gahr Store announced that his country will give Ukraine and other war-torn countries part of the high profits from the sale of natural gas, while at the same time the purchase of natural gas on behalf of Kyiv is planned, in view of winter.

On the part of NATO, the Secretary-General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, emphasized the need for a greater effort to secure maritime and general infrastructure against further acts of destruction and called on Germany to continue strengthening its Armed Forces, while, referring to Ukraine, he asked to continue and strengthen its support.

One hundred and forty distinguished speakers from politics, the Armed Forces and the operational community participated in thirteen high-level discussion panels.

As part of the Conference, an exhibition was held with pioneering technologies from leading system manufacturers in the field of Security and Defence.

Finally, the Deputy Minister of National Defence, on the sidelines of the work of the Conference, held a meeting with his counterpart for International Security of the United States of America, Mr. Celeste Wallander, and the President of the EU Military Commission, General Robert Brieger.

Mr. Hardalias was accompanied by the Ambassador of Greece to Germany, Mrs. Mara Marinaki, and the Greek Attaché of Defence, Colonel Evangelos Kolovis.

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