{"id":4141,"date":"2026-05-05T18:33:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=4141"},"modified":"2026-05-05T18:33:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:33:00","slug":"pierrakakis-strategic-counterattack-for-european-sovereignty-and-economic-autonomy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=4141","title":{"rendered":"Pierrakakis: Strategic counterattack for European sovereignty and economic autonomy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-path-to-node=\"1\">The <b data-path-to-node=\"1\" data-index-in-node=\"2\">Kyriakos Pierrakakis<\/b> invites <b>Europe<\/b> for dynamic action, underlining that the continent is at a critical <b data-path-to-node=\"1\" data-index-in-node=\"114\">turning point<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"2\">The need to shift the European strategy from <b>passive defence to proactive shaping of the future<\/b> was highlighted by <b data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"126\">the president of Eurogroup<\/b> during his testimony to the Economic Affairs Committee of the <b data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"213\">European Parliament<\/b>. <\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"2\">According to <b>Pierrakakis<\/b>, &#8220;<b>the world is changing rapidly and we are moving to a new world order<\/b>&#8220;, which requires the <b data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"364\">European Union<\/b> to evolve into an entity that decides its fate by boxing.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"0\">Because of the resilience the eurozone has shown in recent years, from the pandemic to the energy crisis, <b data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"113\">Kyriakos Pierrakakis<\/b> warned that current and future challenges require a more proactive attitude &#8211; to create <b data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"236\">space for growth<\/b>. He said that current levels of growth <b data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"297\">are <b data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"370\">not sufficient<\/b> to address future challenges, such as <b data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"370\">demographic pressures<\/b> and issues of <b data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"407\">productivity<\/b>, calling for broader reforms to strengthen <b data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"482\">competitiveness<\/b> and <b data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"509\">European sovereignty<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"1\">&#8220;Resilience is defence, but now we have to go on the offensive<\/b>&#8220;, aiming for a <b>stronger and more autonomous Europe<\/b>, he said.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"2\">He placed particular emphasis on <b>energy<\/b>, noting that <b data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"57\">&#8220;energy means sovereignty, security and protection of citizens&#8221;<\/b>, and did not rule out significant economic repercussions from the <b data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"186\">war in the Middle East<\/b>. He said recent data show <b data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"255\">increasing inflation<\/b> and slowing economic activity, with uncertainty becoming <b data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"362\">&#8220;the new normal&#8221;<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"3\">In the field of <b>economic policy<\/b>, he stressed that relief to households and businesses is necessary, but <b data-path-to-node=\"3\" data-index-in-node=\"124\">&#8220;measures must be targeted and temporary&#8221;<\/b>, giving priority to protecting the <b data-path-to-node=\"3\" data-index-in-node=\"219\">most vulnerable<\/b>. &#8220;No European strategy will succeed if it is not <b data-path-to-node=\"3\" data-index-in-node=\"289\">socially just<\/b>,&#8221; he stressed, adding that fiscal flexibility exists but should be used carefully and within agreed rules.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"4\">Referring to the <b>conclusions<\/b> of the <b data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"34\">International Monetary Fund<\/b>, he noted that untargeted measures often benefit higher incomes more, confirming the need for better policy design. He also stressed that according to the IMF, EU options after 2022, such as <b data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"292\">diversification of energy sources<\/b>, have already reduced the impact of the crisis.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">He also made a special reference to the <b data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"32\">digital euro<\/b>, stressing that it is a crucial tool for <b data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"94\">monetary sovereignty<\/b> and the resilience of the European payment system. <b data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"174\">&#8220;Every month counts&#8221;<\/b>, he noted, stressing the need to <b data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"232\">speed up procedures<\/b> so that Europe does not lose the edge in the digitisation of the financial sector.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6\">He noted that the <b>global financial system is undergoing a rapid digitisation phase<\/b>, with different approaches from major economies. Referring to the US, he noted that it is not moving to a digital dollar, but relying on <b data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"236\">stablecoins<\/b>, while China is going in the opposite direction, exclusively promoting a digital currency. In this context, he stressed that the European strategy should be based on a public infrastructure, with <b data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"437\">&#8220;the digital euro core&#8221;<\/b>, which he said could strengthen the <b data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"506\">international role of the euro<\/b>, while allowing private innovation to develop around it.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7\">He particularly emphasised the fact that today <b data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"46\">&#8220;95% of stablecoins are pegged to the dollar and less than 1% to the euro&#8221;<\/b>, which, he stressed, makes the need to promote the digital euro even more urgent. &#8220;If we don&#8217;t move quickly, we will miss a huge opportunity to strengthen the <b data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"311\">international role of the euro<\/b>,&#8221; he warned.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"8\">Referring to <b data-path-to-node=\"8\" data-index-in-node=\"18\">artificial intelligence<\/b>, he stressed that Europe should focus on strengthening its <b data-path-to-node=\"8\" data-index-in-node=\"99\">technological dominance<\/b>, noting that we often &#8220;overestimate the present and underestimate the future&#8221;. He said the key challenge is the need for <b data-path-to-node=\"8\" data-index-in-node=\"252\">global coordination<\/b> in technology governance at a time when multilateral coordination is being tested.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\">In conclusion, <b>Kyriakos Pierrakakis<\/b> cautioned that the stakes are very high and expressed hope that <b data-path-to-node=\"9\" data-index-in-node=\"119\">international cooperation<\/b> will move forward in a timely manner without the need for a negative event to precede it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kyriakos Pierrakakis calls on Europe to take dynamic action, stressing that the continent is at a critical turning point.<br \/>\nThe need &#8230;<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}