The Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias attends the New Year’s Pie cutting at the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Appointment as Honorary member of the PCCI

The Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias attends the New Year's Pie cutting at the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Appointment as Honorary member of the PCCI

January 14, 2026

The Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias, representing the President of the Government, attended the New Year's pie cutting event on Monday 12 January 2026 at the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).

At the same event, following a unanimous decision by the PCCI Board of Directors, Mr. Dendias was awarded the title of Honorary member for "his long and valuable presence on the domestic and international political scene, faithfully and effectively serving from key positions our Democratic regime, the Constitution, and the national coat of arms".

In his address, Mr. Dendias stated the following:

"It is a great honour for me to be here at the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I would tell the Chairman that my father brought me here when I was still a student, during the chairmanship of the late Chairman Kassimatis.

I always feel like a member of the Chamber family, even though I "strayed" Mr. Mayor. You are right, Mr. Chairman. However, I must say that - and I agree with what the Chairman of the Chamber said - Chambers are Legal Entities under Public Law. They are not legal entities under Private Law, but under Public Law, due to an oversight on the part of the legislator. It is precisely because they have to perform the role of institutional interlocutor of the State. Chambers are not trade union representatives. They have the role of institutional advisor.

I now come to the question that I imagine each of you has. What does the Minister of National Defence have to do with an event organized by an important economic entity?

Ladies and Gentlemen, indeed the Ministry of National Defence is a provider of security services to the Greek people, and our Homeland. This is its primary, constitutional duty.

But I would like to tell you that things have changed. We are in the 21^stcentury and the Ministry of National Defence on one hand, in order to fulfill its constitutional role, must change and become a mechanism for processing information and knowledge. This is the big "Agenda 2030", which I do not need to explain here now.

However, it constitutes a profound change in the very nature of the Armed Forces, how they now operate precisely to fulfill their constitutional role, and, on the other hand, how the Ministry can be a lever for the development of the Greek economy.

Unfortunately, our Homeland in the past, with the responsibility of almost all those who governed, failed to leverage economic growth through the high costs of National Defence.

By 2004, to give you a figure, we had spent around €270 billion on our National Defence. If that money had been spent wisely, the Greek economy would have grown at a different rate.

We are therefore trying to set a virtuous example. We are trying to address, through the way we manage the Greek taxpayer's deficit, we at the Ministry of National Defence, and study the two basic problems that led our country into the very difficult crisis of 2010: Public debt and the external balance.

As for the first point, what we are doing is strictly adhering to our fiscal framework. We are not deviating from it. We cannot overburden that country with debt. A country that is overburdened with debt is, by definition, powerless.

But the second thing we are doing is even more important. It is the effort to leverage growth while also addressing the external balance. In other words, we are investing money in such a way and in dual-use products, so that we can have exportable activities and products.

To achieve this, we have created a long-term armament plan, covering 12 plus 8 years, so that businesses would have a clear vision and know where we are headed. Businesses involved in shipping and shipbuilding & repair, for example, need to know what the country will need in the coming years, so that they can be able to invest.

And on the other hand, we should bring innovation into the Armed Forces.

I would like to point out that in recent years, just a few years ago, the Country had, the Armed Forces had, Cavalry, but they did not have a single drone swarm.

So, a few years ago we created the Hellenic Center for Defence Innovation (HCDI), which, following an international model, leverages the needs of the Armed Forces. What do I mean by that? In the past, the Armed Forces would go abroad, if they needed something, buy it, and bring it back to the country.

What do we do now? The Armed Forces are raising questions through the HCDI in the Greek innovation ecosystem, and the Greek innovation ecosystem must first provide answers on a theoretical level, and then on a practical level.

Since it sounds a bit complicated, let me give you an example: Question: How do we deal with a drone swarm of a specific type? You all understand what I mean.

The Greek defence ecosystem provided the answer. And the answer is the CENTAURUS anti-drone system. The best system for dealing with BAYRAKTAR on the planet at this moment. And that is Greek know-how and Greek manufacturing.

With such a commendable example, we are now moving forward. And I am sincerely confident that, in the years to come, if we follow this commendable example, we will be able to use our defence spending as a lever for the country's development.

Because, Ladies and Gentlemen, we are a small country with a small GDP. At €230 - 240 billion, we are a small economy. In order to survive, we must aim much higher.

And there are examples. There are examples, there are countries in our wider region, with a similar population to ours, that have double the GDP. So we can do it too.

Mister Chairman, I will conclude so as not to tire you. It is a great pleasure for me to be here today. It is a great honour, perhaps - I would like to be honest with you - I do not think I deserve it, but in any case I thank you warmly for considering me worthy of this honour from the chamber family. I think my father would be extremely pleased.

The only thing I cannot express regret for Mr. Mayor, is my feelings for Panathinaikos!

Thank you very much. Happy new year; stay safe!"

The event held at "G. Kasimatis" Hall in the PCCI Building was also honoured with the presence of the Minister of Employment and Social Security Niki Kerameos, the Minister of Social Cohesion and Family Affairs Domna Michailidou, the Deputy Minister of National Economy Georgios Kotsiras, the Deputy Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Kostas Katsafados, the Deputy Minister of Maritime Affairs Stefanos Gkikas, the President of Syriza Sokratis Famellos, the MPs Nikolaos Vlachakos, Georgios Vrettakos, Dimitrios Markopoulos, Ioannis Tragakis, the Deputy Regional Governor of Attika Stavroula Antonakou, the Deputy Regional Governor of Piraeus Stavros Voidonikolas, the Mayor of Pireaus Ioannis Moralis, His Eminence the Metropolitan Seraphimof Piraeus, official representative of foreign diplomatic authorities in Greece, the Head of the Greek Coast Guard Vice Admiral Tryfon Kontizas, Secretaries-General of Ministries, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Sustainable Development of the Municipality of Piraeus Dimitris Karydis, the Chairman of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises Spyros Theodoropoulos, the President of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping Georgios Alexandratos, the President of Federation of Attica & Piraeus Industries Stavros Theodoropoulos, the President of the Piraeus Medical Association Nikolaos Platanissiotis, the President of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation Rear Admiral Emeritus Panagiotis Laskaridis, Regional and Municipal Councilors, representatives of Security Forces, Chairmen and Members of Chambers' Board of Directors of the shipbuilding and repair industry, social partners, manufacturing and scientific entities.