Greek shipyards press EU to make Greece the Southern Pillar of defence shipbuilding

Greek shipyards have called the European Commission to recognise Greece as the Southern Pillar of European defence shipbuilding.

The aim is to establish Greece as a leading power, having an equal footing with France, Italy and Spain.

The board of the Hellenic Shipyards Association said the national objective is to ‘secure a stable share of European naval defense production’ covering every stage from design, construction, and support to sea trials and proposed an autonomous specialized recovery fund dedicated to the ‘Shipyard of the Future 2027–2035’ that would support infrastructure, digitalization, green transition, and skills development.

The current SAFE (Security Action for Europe) programme is failing, it said, as 60-70% of its resources are directed toward the space sector, while €15-17bn in unallocated funds are being diverted away from the shipbuilding industry.

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