Europe must boldly change and adapt to the new conditions, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday in an interview with the Greek public radio.

The prime minister therefore stressed the importance of the upcoming European elections. "We have to explain why these European elections are important, both for Europe and for Greece, because I think there has not been enough discussion about this issue in this election campaign period. Europe in 2024 faces different and much greater challenges than in the previous European elections in 2019. In a period of great geopolitical instability, with a war in Ukraine, great turmoil in the Middle East, great concern about Europe's competitiveness against the US and China, it is important that Europe regains its footing in order to gain a stronger geopolitical footprint. In order to do this, the necessary alliances between the forces of reason and of Europe will have to be established in the next European Parliament to allow us to take such bold decisions for the benefit of Europe. And this is where we want Greece, in these decision-making centers, to be a protagonist and not a straggler, as I think we have been protagonists in the last five years in important European decisions that benefited Europe but also benefited our homeland. So it is very important to realise that what will happen on Sunday, the MEPs we will elect and also the political balances that will arise from the European elections at a national and European level, will in one way or another affect our own lives at home."

Asked if he fears a risk of a split in the EU, the Greek premier replied: "No. Europe has proven itself to be very resilient and has a way of finally finding agreements that benefit European citizens. This does not mean, however, that I do not see the danger of the parties and the need for there to be - I speak on behalf of our own political family, the EPP - forces that are pro-European but at the same time recognise that Europe must boldly change and adapt to the new situation."

As he said, there has not been enough discussion about the fact that the main opposition party in our country is represented in the European Parliament by the Eurogroup of the Left, which does not participate in any decision-making process. "It is considered an extreme group, just as at least one of the two groups representing the parties to the right of the European People's Party are also considered extreme. "So let's have a sense of the European associations that will arise the next day and how what the Greek citizens will vote for, to the extent that we are responsible in the European Parliament, has its own reflection in the European alliances of the next day".