A string of coincidences led to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis becoming the first foreign head of government to be officially welcomed in Berlin by Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz – just one week into his term. Both leaders highlighted the symbolic significance of their early meeting and declared their intent to further strengthen bilateral relations.
Mitsotakis had traveled to Berlin to receive an award presented by Germany’s conservatives to honor notable achievements in economic policy. Among Christian Democrats – and not only within their ranks – Mitsotakis is seen as a shining example. The man credited with leading Greece out of its deepest crisis through firm leadership and liberal economic reforms is frequently cited as a model worth emulating. When conservatives from Germany and Greece come together, their views on economic policy often align seamlessly. In that respect, the Mitsotakis visit held little news value.
The key political signal of the meeting lies elsewhere: defense policy has returned to the heart of German-Greek relations. Before addressing any other bilateral issues, the German host raised this topic – underlining its urgency. There is growing frustration within the German arms industry that weapons “Made in Germany” play virtually no role in Athens’ massive rearmament programs. This discontent was unmistakable last week at the DEFEA international defense expo in Athens.
Merz has now announced that the two countries will deepen their defense cooperation, though he did not disclose specifics. However, it is well known that discussions involve Germany’s IRIS-T air defense system, which would integrate well into Greece’s planned “Achilles” defense shield. So far, Israel has secured the only significant business in this area.
The issue drawing the most attention among the German public is migration. Merz summarized the German demands directed at Greece in one sentence: secondary migration must be reduced, and returns to Greece must increase. This has long been a point of contention between Athens and Berlin, and the two sides did not close the gap during this visit. “We have not agreed on everything,” Mitsotakis remarked. The leaders have agreed to delegate the matter to their respective interior ministers – a familiar move.
What is new, however, is Germany’s interest in Greece’s border with Turkey in the region of Thrace. Merz announced that Europe should support Greece in further fortifying that frontier.
The migration issue is even more politically sensitive for Merz than for Mitsotakis. The new chancellor must deliver quick results to avoid further losses to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Still, Berlin is unlikely to carry out mass deportations without Greek consent. Yet a policy shift is underway: going forward, refugees granted asylum in Greece may no longer be allowed to board a plane and travel to Germany. This small step is expected to have a measurable impact on migration numbers over time.
When top officials from Germany and Greece meet, the topic of Turkey is never far off. Notably, Merz avoided naming Turkey even once during his public appearance with Mitsotakis. His stance was made clear during his inaugural visit to NATO last week, where he pledged to do everything in his power to deepen the alliance’s partnership with Turkey. Such rhetoric marks a departure from that of his predecessor’s government, particularly in its conspicuous omission of any criticism of President Erdogan’s authoritarianism.
Here, too, arms are central – especially the question of whether Berlin will maintain its veto over the sale of Eurofighter jets to Turkey. Mitsotakis’ visit did not yield any news on that front. Asked about the issue, the Greek Prime Minister responded that it was not the guest’s place to preempt the host’s answers. Behind closed doors, Mitsotakis will have voiced his concerns about German arms deals with Ankara. To what extent Merz takes Athens’ security interests vis-à-vis Turkey seriously will also determine the quality of future German-Greek relations.
Dr. Ronald Meinardus is a Senior Research Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP).
