ATHENS, April 7. /TASS/. Greece supports a coordinated response to the new US tariff policy from the 27 countries of the European Union (EU), Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the first ministerial meeting on economic policy.
"Greece emphasizes a unified response so that we can be effective on the EU-27 level," Mitsotakis said in a televised speech. "That strategy, I believe, will be detailed within weeks. And I think we were right in not reacting immediately and impulsively, because this is a kind of issue that requires a thorough examination and a lot of analysis of how Europe might react. One thing is clear: we will obviously strive for the protection of our national interests," the Greek prime minister stressed.
At the same time, Mitsotakis said it is better not to have high expectations on this issue as there is no certainty how the US will react. "Obviously, there is a great interest in the genuine products of [Greece's] primary sector exported to the United States. Olives, olive oil, and feta [cheese] - these are products that cannot be produced in the United States, so imposing tariffs [on them], at least in my opinion, does not seem very sensible," Mitsotakis said.
"But, just as certainly, all actions related to supporting innovation and the export-oriented approach of the [Greek] economy become increasingly important at this stage," the prime minister noted. "We focus on the single market and on the elimination of barriers, we are developing the economic relations with other major economies such as India - all these actions become even more important at a time when the Greek economy will basically have to strive for access to global markets for its products with even greater systematicity.".
