Greece’s deputy minister for foreign affairs has advocated for a bigger EU budget and joint debt in targeted sectors to address “unprecedented technological and industrial transformation” in one of the most “turbulent” times for Europe, ahead of ministerial talks on the bloc’s long-term budget on Tuesday.
The talks have so far seen a deep divide between wealthy northern states calling to slash the proposed budget, and a larger group of member states, including Greece, who want increased resources to fund priorities.
Tasos Chatzivasileiou told Euronews’ flagship morning show Europe Today that the issue is not “who contributes and who receives” but rather how to make “Europe stronger” and give it “more leverage across the broader neighbourhood”.
The minister also floated a new idea to use 5G and 6G contracts to raise new funds that would be channelled into the EU’s long-term budget.
Watch in the video player above.