Greek Parliament Is Set To Adopt An Almost Double Defence Budget
Date
12/15/2024 2:36:05 PM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
AFP
Athens: Greece will almost double its defence spending with parliamentary debate on the 2025 state budget expected to culminate Sunday with a roll-call vote, traditionally regarded as a vote of confidence in the government.
As announced, spending for the defence Ministry will rise to 6.1 billion euros ($6.5 billion) from 3.6 billion euros, due to the increase in equipment deliveries in 2025.
"Compared to 2019, by 2025, spending on health will have increased by 74 percent and spending on defence by 73 percent, underlining the government's priorities", Minister of Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis said late November when he submitted the state budget for 2025 to parliament.
The major opposition parties, PASOK and SYRIZA as well as the Hellenic Solution party, have said they will vote in favour of the increased defense spending.
Nikos Dendias, the defence minister, told parliament Saturday that the spending is essential because of the challenges the country faces.
Greek armed forces had a 20-billion-euro shortfall during the country's decade-long debt crisis, Dendias said in November, when he announced a shake up of the defence forces to sideline older weapons in favour of drones after lessons drawn from Ukraine's war against Russia.
Among the main changes in the radical overhaul is the creation of an anti-air and anti-drone defence dome covering the whole of Greece.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Sunday morning in a social media post that he will present measures concerning the banking sector in a speech Sunday evening.
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