Greece fully supports the European Commission's plan to further strengthen European defence and insists on the adoption of the escape clause, National Economy and Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis said at the start of the informal Eurogroup meeting in Warsaw on Friday.

He added that "we are fully committed to exploring a mutually beneficial solution between the European Union and the United States, a mutually beneficial trade agreement."

In particular, the Minister stated: "It is at a critical moment for our continent that we meet in Warsaw today for the Eurogroup and Ecofin, under the Polish presidency of the European Union, and we meet at a critical juncture in global economic policy, as trade tariffs were recently imposed by the US. We will therefore discuss the impact and implications of these international trade developments and discuss further the best European response to them."

According to Pierrakakis, "Greece is fully committed to seeking any solution based on a fair international approach, based on international trade rules."

"We are fully committed to exploring a mutually beneficial solution between the European Union and the United States, a mutually beneficial trade agreement. And, of course, this will happen by strengthening cooperation within the EU, while deepening our Union, as we further advance our economic policies and coordinate them properly," he added.

As the minister said, "tomorrow we will focus more on the financing of European defence. Greece has long supported the need for further European defence cooperation. We fully support the Commission's plan to further strengthen European defence and insist on the introduction of the escape clause, which we believe is extremely important and inextricably linked to the financing of these defence policy decisions. We, as finance ministers, have a very important responsibility for creating and finding the necessary fiscal room to finance these defence policy solutions."