Kyriakos Pierrakakis: The five lessons Europe must draw from Greece

At a clip erstwhile geopolitics is forcefully returning to the halfway of economical policy, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, speaking astatine a meal astatine the Athenian Club organized by the University of Piraeus and the Panteion University arsenic portion of the “3rd Maritime Security Conference,” referred to maritime security, the vigor situation successful the Strait of Hormuz, Europe’s technological sovereignty, and the Greek economical experience.

Mr. Pierrakakis noted that existent events gave the league a magnitude that apt could not person been foreseen erstwhile its docket was designed. As helium said, the planetary economy now faces a caller world successful which crises travel 1 another, portion geopolitics has returned arsenic a decisive origin successful the decisions of governments and European institutions.

The curate referred to his ain generation, which grew up successful an situation wherever globalization, technology, and the thought of the “virtual state” seemed to outweigh classical geopolitical analysis. As helium admitted, this appraisal proved wrong. Geography, maritime power, and strategical routes for transporting vigor and goods person returned successful a decisive mode to planetary politics.

The situation successful the Strait of Hormuz

At the halfway of his code was the situation successful the Strait of Hormuz, which Mr. Pierrakakis described arsenic a captious “chokepoint” for the planetary economy. Citing the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, helium stressed that unless the Strait reopens quickly, the existent situation has the imaginable to go the largest vigor situation successful history.

According to the information helium presented, lipid losses transcend those of the crises of 1973 and 1979, arsenic they are present estimated astatine 13 cardinal barrels per day, compared to astir 10 cardinal then. Similarly, successful earthy gas, yearly losses—if extrapolated implicit a afloat year—reach 110 cardinal cubic meters, compared to 75 cardinal cubic meters during the situation pursuing the Russian penetration of Ukraine.

The curate emphasized that the planetary ngo is to forestall specified an outcome. Europe, helium said, has already learned from the 2022 vigor situation and present knows that enactment measures indispensable beryllium temporary, targeted, and tailored, without fiscal argumentation clashing with monetary policy.

The value of escaped navigation

Mr. Pierrakakis pointed retired that the closure of the Strait does not lone interest lipid and earthy gas. It besides affects captious proviso chains specified arsenic fertilizers, helium, and petrochemicals. Asia is deed hardest, arsenic 80% of lipid and 90% of earthy state passing done the Strait is directed there. However, the effects are already disposable successful Europe and the United States, chiefly done higher substance prices.

For a European concern minister, arsenic helium said, resolving the situation depends connected 3 parameters: its duration, the grade of harm to vigor infrastructure, and the authorities that volition look aft the Strait reopens. On this point, helium was clear: “We bash not judge successful tolls. We judge successful the state of the seas.”

Technology, sovereignty, and European strategy

The curate past linked geopolitics with technological sovereignty. Referring to artificial intelligence, helium noted that nary state oregon authorities is present large, powerful, oregon autonomous capable to modulate it unsocial to the required extent. The precise quality of caller technological models demands planetary practice and a coordinated response.

At the European level, helium argued that a broader exertion argumentation is needed—perhaps adjacent a benignant of “doctrine”—to specify wherever Europe seeks autonomy and wherever it opts for strategical partnerships. Sovereignty, helium said, tin nary longer beryllium equated with afloat autonomy. In an interdependent world, the cardinal is to debar asymmetric dependencies.

As a diagnostic example, helium mentioned 5G networks. Policies of the archetypal Trump administration, helium said, indirectly strengthened 2 European companies, Ericsson and Nokia. However, Europe failed to prehend the accidental to physique a unified concern strategy astir these “winners.” Instead, it remained successful a fragmented exemplary with 27 antithetic spectrum auctions, 27 strategies, and 27 regulatory authorities.

The Greek “Phaistos” example

Mr. Pierrakakis contrasted this with Greece’s acquisition successful 5G, when, arsenic Minister of Digital Governance, a exemplary was implemented linking spectrum auctions with innovation. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds was directed to the instauration of the “Phaistos” money to concern 5G applications, portion startups and universities gained entree to spectrum.

According to the minister, a akin pan-European model—with a unified auction, EU-level funding, and utilization done the European Investment Bank—could signifier a genuine concern strategy for Europe.

Greece arsenic a lawsuit survey of change

In the last portion of his speech, Mr. Pierrakakis referred to the Greek system and the lessons that Europe tin gully from it. He recalled that past week a superior surplus of 4.9% of GDP was announced, portion Greece shows the fastest indebtedness simplification globally, sustained superior surpluses, and a maturation complaint doubly the European average.

He besides highlighted the integer translation of the state, noting that Greece—once 1 of the astir bureaucratic countries successful Europe—now provides much than 2,200 integer services. He besides mentioned the Cadastre, the physics diligent file, and projects nether the Recovery Fund.

He made peculiar notation to energy, noting the translation of Public Power Corporation, the gradual phase-out of lignite, the summation successful renewable vigor sources, and the value of the vertical LNG corridor for the vigor information of Greece and Europe.

The “dividend of the obvious”

Closing, the curate returned to the request for a dual argumentation mindset: connected the 1 hand, implementing the evident reforms that person been pending for years, and connected the other, the quality to respond to the unexpected.

As helium said, Europe has earlier it a ample “dividend of the obvious,” from the Savings and Investment Union to the integer euro, the Banking Union, and the Capital Markets Union. If these plans determination forward, they tin adhd important maturation momentum to subordinate states.

Within this aforesaid framework, helium included the betterment of backstage universities successful Greece, describing it arsenic an evident measurement by planetary standards that had nevertheless been delayed for decades successful the country.

The connection of his code was that Europe cannot spend to hold the evident nor beryllium caught disconnected defender by crises. It needs planning, adaptability, and strategical thinking—knowing, arsenic helium said referencing Carl von Clausewitz, that each program changes erstwhile the conflict begins.