Defense and energy have been the top state affairs in a row since the nation-state emerged, and that is not going to change in the near future..
Putin's invasion of Ukraine has dramatically highlighted their importance, reminding us that every country must rely on critical defense and energy fronts., above all and before anything else, to its own strengths. EU Member States are no exception to the rule, as defense and energy self-sufficiency are not areas for joint action on the basis of a European plan. The mobility of recent weeks in Europe is visible and promising, but the scope of the decisions or the time of their implementation is not foreseen.
At this time it is nationally useful and crucial to have an honest assessment of the country's defensive and energy position and to adopt realistic national goals..
On the issue of defense, we are on the right track because we remain on the rails of politics set by Konstantinos Karamanlis and Andreas Papandreou after 1974.
Η Ελλάδα είναι ειρηνική χώρα, firmly committed to international law and at the same time shielded defensively because there is constant conspiracy from the east that in recent years has been "upgraded" with unacceptable revisions. Today it is understood that revisionism is not a whim of some authoritarian leaders, opens a unique opportunity to change Europe's view of Greece as its southeastern border. Οι εξελίξεις καθιστούν τώρα κατανοητά ότι η αμυντική θωράκιση της χώρας μας και οι απαιτούμενες δαπάνες έχουν νόημα και περιεχόμενο ευρωπαϊκό, not narrowly national. The perspective of the Euromilitary is a strategic choice for the EU and Greece in this context must claim and achieve the serious participation of our defense industry in the project., as well as the recognition of a sufficient part of our defense spending as European. The positive outcome of Nikos Androulakis's initiative in the European Parliament on the arms embargo in Turkey shows that with serious work and clear goals we can achieve a lot.
There are two problems with this national strategy, one is the attitude of the official opposition that moves in the realm of wishful thinking. Ο ΣΥΡΙΖΑ όμως γιγαντώθηκε τα προηγούμενα χρόνια διακηρύσσοντας ότι μπορούμε να είμαστε πλούσιοι, beautiful and healthy and in this constellation remains to this day. Πολύ πρόσφατα ο αρχηγός του θυμήθηκε το παπανδρεϊκό «η Ελλάδα ανήκει στους Έλληνες», forgot, however, that Andreas consistently supported and voted for defense spending uninterruptedly from the 1974. The other problem is the conservative logic of the large political group in the EU, to which ND also belongs, which stands phobically on European integration or to put it another way it is a logic that is extremely doubtful that it is on the right side of history.
Η τελική κατάληξη στο ζήτημα της κοινής ευρωπαϊκής άμυνας έχει μεγάλη σημασία για την Ελλάδα, but even greater is the fact that the country's defense does not depend on the moods of any neighbor or partner.
Exactly the opposite is the reality of the country on the crucial front of energy as our dependence on imported fuels, oil and gas, increases over time instead of decreasing.
Over the years 2005-2020 the degree of energy dependence of the EU has decreased slightly, from 58% in 55%, while in Greece in the same period it increased by 68% in 78%.
Valid estimates speak of a degree of dependence 85% the 2021 with the main feeder the absolute connection of the country to the imported natural gas.
The problem of uncontrollable addiction is huge in itself, but it becomes a national threat as it feeds the big patient of our economy that was and remains the foreign trade deficit, the factor that, together with the huge budget deficit, led to bankruptcy. As simple as possible, imports remove growth (GDP) and add debt because this is always calculated as a percentage of GDP. For Greece, with debt almost three times the European average, decisively reducing energy dependence is an existential issue. In order to have a sense of magnitude, it is worth noting that the share of imported fuels in our trade deficit is constantly moving in double digits and has reached 37% of the whole 2012 when the price of crude was moving high. It is no coincidence that in the midst of the energy storm, the debt threat is back in the news..
As imperative is the need for immediate answers to the exercise of precision, so it is a national need to strike evil at its root which is nothing more than energy dependence.
It is difficult to talk about self-sufficiency with today's data, However, we can pursue it by adopting and serving a medium-term plan that will be constantly updated while achieving the goal of full carbonization. 2050.
It is clear that the development of new gas-fired power plants should be abandoned immediately and the life of the lignite plants should be extended accordingly, which should be withdrawn as planned and not anarchically as the government is trying..
Even Bill Gates in his recent book ( How to avoid a climate catastrophe, page 317 ) writes "… it makes no sense to spend time and money on the transition from coal to gas…".
Given that in Greece no issue arises from the development of nuclear power plants the only available solution of energy self-sufficiency, which is at the same time environmentally acceptable, located in RES and storage. Το μεγαλύτερο εμπόδιο σήμερα στην ανάπτυξη ΑΠΕ είναι το δίκτυο μεταφοράς που χρήζει άμεσα αναβάθμισης αφού οι δυο τελευταίες κυβερνήσεις σημείωσαν πλήρη απραξία και ελάχιστοι πόροι έχουν προβλεφθεί από τη σημερινή κυβέρνηση στο Ταμείο Ανάκαμψης στον τομεα αυτό. This must change immediately as large energy communities must become national targets with an emphasis on agricultural production and processing and the ability of each household to meet its energy needs with photovoltaics on the roof and / or by renovating facades in buildings.. Να ξεκινήσουμε άμεσα από εκείνους που είναι σήμερα στο κοινωνικό τιμολόγιο με πλήρη κάλυψη της δαπάνης τους ώστε να εξασφαλίσουμε αξιοπρέπεια αντί επιδομάτων στους πλέον ευάλωτους. Επίσης ένα σοβαρό σχέδιο με στόχο την ενεργειακή αυτάρκεια πριν από όλα οφείλει να προωθεί συστηματικά την εξοικονόμηση που πρακτικά είναι η μεγαλύτερη ανεκμετάλλευτη πηγή εγχώριας ενεργειας.
It must be emphasized here that RES can only be an energy solution in conjunction with energy storage for reasons that are easy to understand.. With the exception of pumped storage which has a satisfactory degree of efficiency the other known storage technologies, such as hydrogen, return only about a third of the stored energy, which means high electricity costs. Corresponding cost problems today characterize the various alternative non-polluting fuels. Here the hope for the whole world rests once again on technology and innovation. There are no guarantees, but there is confidence in science that it will eventually find the solutions, after all, we have no other way to deal with Climate Change
The choice of gas as an intermediate fuel has completely collapsed and the government is trying to save it by announcing drilling in the Ionian and Aegean. Apart from the fact that the development of such activity in the diamond of the Greek Archipelago must be seriously discussed, The usefulness of hydrocarbons after ten years is extremely doubtful, with the criterion of complete 2050. Όσο για τον East Med καλοδεχούμενος, ωστόσο τα τέλη διέλευσης δεν είναι η απάντηση στην ενεργειακή εξάρτηση ούτε στο δημόσιο χρέος της χώρας και κάτι αντίστοιχο ισχύει για τις εγκαταστάσεις υποδοχής LNG που προγραμματίζονται το επόμενο διάστημα.
To avoid misunderstandings, everything is on the table and must be discussed soberly without losing the great national goal. Greece must be freed from the modern shackles of energy dependence and today is today, the homeland above all.
I wish Happy Birthday to all Greek women and men, we celebrate his anniversary on March 25th 1821!
