The complex and frequently unpredictable emerging new threats for international security must be handled immediately and in an organized fashion, with international cooperation and action, since they constitute a stumbling block in the path of unified Europe, the defense minister Spilios Spiliotopoulos said on Tuesday, addressing the 9th conference organized by the Economist magazine at a downtown Athens hotel.

Referring to the European Union, he said that defense unification is the "alter ego" of political unification since sustained political authority contributes to the shaping of a common European security doctrine.

On the question of relations between the NATO alliance and the EU, the minister said supplementarity and equality are the keywords in their cooperation.

Focusing on the Balkans, he reiterated that Greece's strategic choice is for the region to become a region of peace, security, stability, prosperity and cooperation.
"This need for cooperation has been confirmed in our contacts with the bordering countries," he added.

Source: Athens News Agency

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